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Outer Hebrides June 2017

Created: 10 Jul 2017
Jul 10

Apologies for taking so long to get this blog and tour pictures on the website, ran out of time before going to Italy & Switzerland. Thanks to Roy and Alison for once again doing an excellent job. Here is her blog and go to the gallery to see her tour pictures.

HIGHLAND AND HEBRIDES JUNE 2017

It is always an absolute joy to tour the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  It doesn’t matter how many times you ride down any particular road, the stunning scenery seems to change every time … different time of year, different weather etc.  It’s awesome!

It was a hot day when we met the group in Carlisle for our first night of the tour.  The following morning we packed up and made our way to Inveraray, through the Gallloway Forest, Clatteringshaws for a coffee and cake and then out to the west coast.  This was quite a high mileage day but we managed a quick stop for ice-cream at Girvan then up to the Clyde ferry.  We’d had a bit of an incident earlier in the day, which held us up for about an hour and a half, so were pushing to get to our next hotel early enough for a shower before dinner.

We had lots of photo stops on the Monday as we decided to do the coast road from Lochgilphead and through Oban.  We visited the Island of Seil and the Bridge over the Atlantic. We went through to Easdale on the island where we had a wander and got a coffee.  We had a lunch break at Spean Bridge before visiting the Commando Memorial and the Loch Garry viewpoint.  A lone piper played at Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed castle in Scotland which appears on Scottish calendars.  Our accommodation that night was a lovely guesthouse in Plockton, home of the TV series Hamish Macbeth.

On Tuesday we went over the bridge to Skye.  Photo stops and coffee stops were at Portree, the Kilt Rock, Uig and then back to Plockton for an early finish.  Had lots of time to wander around Plockton where there was a quite a few classic Jaguar XKE (1950s) cars doing a round trip of Britain to raise money and raise awareness of prostate cancer.  

The weather was clear the following day so we went over the Bealach na Ba to Applecross for ice-cream, the coast road to Torridon and then Kinlochewe for lunch.  The views over Loch Gairloch were beautiful as were Loch Ewe and Gruinard Bay where a giant meteorite struck the earth over 1.2 billion years ago.  We arrived in Ullapool about 3.30 pm for the 5 o’clock ferry to Stornoway.  We all had time for a bite to eat as it was going to be a very late dinner at our Stornoway hotel.

On Thursday it rained … and rained!  Ah well, its Scotland after all!!  We decided to go on to South Harris and ride the Golden Road to Leverburgh.  We managed to find a little café/village hall and we parked up in their carpark only to find the café was closed!  By this time some of us were desperate for the loo!!  We were just about to pull out when a car came in, parked, and a lady got out and opened up.  She said she was the advance party and the cavalry would be arriving shortly!  We all had hot drinks and a snack.  Brian and Jane decided to dance the Gay Gordons!!  Real good atmosphere and lots of laughter!!  There were lots of golden beaches on the way back and yellow irises in abundance on the roadsides.  We called in at the Gearrannan Blackhouse village, an evocative port of call for anyone trying to understand the way of life once very common on Lewis.

Friday morning saw a few of us go up to the Butt of Lewis in the very north of the Hebrides.  Not much to see there apart from the lighthouse but the views were stunning with beautiful little beaches.  Three seals popped their heads up to say hello and have their photos taken, and also a dolphin.  The Butt of Lewis is in the Guinness Book of Records as being the windiest place in the UK, but I’m so pleased we went there!  We had a coffee/cake stop at Cros on the way back to Stornoway and everyone filled up with petrol (cheaper than the mainland!) before catching the ferry back to Ullapool.

The weather forecast for Saturday was not very good … gale force and storm force winds heading south!  We therefore decided to have a short ride to Lochinver and Drumbeg.  Lochinver has a famous pie shop (called ‘The Pie Shop’) where we had coffee and cake which was to die for!  This bakery sends pie orders by post all over the country and, as Roy is a pie connoisseur, I’m sure some will be winging their way to Coldstream in the very near future (or I’ll just have to pack less clothes on the August tour, and make more room to bring a few home!)

On Sunday it was time to head south for Perthshire.  First stop was for coffee at the Victorian spa town of Strathpeffer.  Trains no longer bring visitors to Strathpeffer but the railway station still stands, having been restored to new uses with a museum, café, and a gift and fairtrade shop.  From here we had a good few miles of A9, through Inverness and down to Carrbridge where we then headed east ... Bridge of Brown, Tomintoul, the Lecht (ski centre),  passing the Queen’s residence at Balmoral and Braemar, Glenshee (another ski centre) and on to our hotel.

On the final day of our tour, we took the scenic route to Kendal.  Crieff, Gleneagles (famous for its golf course), Knockhill race circuit and down to the Forth Bridges viewing point.  The new road bridge is nearly finished but there were quite a lot of roadworks in preparation for altering the road layout when it finally opens on 30th August 2017. HMS Queen Elizabeth was setting off for sea trials from Rosyth shipyard … she is the largest aircraft carrier ever built for the Royal Navy.  She was supposed to sail at midday and huge crowds were at the viewing point to see her off.  We waited for a good hour and a half as this was something we were very unlikely to witness again but, in the end, her sailing was delayed by about 12 hours!  We then had a quick jaunt down the A7 with its wide-open roads and sweeping bends, a little stretch of M6 and then on to the A6 to our last hotel near Kendal. 

We were all a bit weary having clocked up about 1600 miles on tour (plus mileage either end), but the best was saved until last ...  a fantastic family run hotel, with great food and comfortable rooms. 

Thank you all for your very good company.  It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as Roy and I.  We look forward to seeing you on tour again in the future.

Comments (1)

  1. Stephen Chatterton:
    27 Jul 2017 at 11:36 AM

    Great review Alison.
    I am on the late August trip so all this was very helpful.
    Looking forward, cheers

    Stephen


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