glenboy Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to you all :) !! Anne and I are planning a trip to the Western Isles end of May/June in our Motorhome. We will be using CalMacs Hopscotch ticket. Any advice / insights re touring and camping in the Isles would be most welcome. Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Glen are you thinking of using sites or going wild? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 glenboy - 2014-01-03 11:12 AM Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to you all :) !! Anne and I are planning a trip to the Western Isles end of May/June in our Motorhome. We will be using CalMacs Hopscotch ticket. Any advice / insights re touring and camping in the Isles would be most welcome. Glen Hi Glen I suggest you Google the Benbecula Council Offices website - ( " Comhairle nan Eilean Siar " ) They will provide camping / caravan leaflets. We got some a few years ago and they detailed where fresh water / dumping facilities were available. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I assume by the Western Isles you mean the Inner and Outer Hebrides, perhaps you need to be a little more specific. However we went in September 2013 to Outer Hebrides and although we enjoyed it were a little disappointed. The much vaunted wild life was non existent, although in May/June you should see more birds if you are interested. We started from Skye and crossed over to Harris, we then drove straight up to the top, Lewis and worked our way south. We stayed completely on sites so at least put some money back into the local economy, the people are some of the most friendly I have ever come across. First site we stayed on was Laxdale Holiday park at Stornaway on Lewis. This is a decent site and handy for Stornaway, although Stornaway itself has nothing of note and apart from being the only town of any size is not really worth a visit except for shopping. Lewis is pretty flat but the coast is pleasant although in no way rivals the Scottish mainland west coast. We toured out on our scooter and covered most of the island over four days, had some decent coastal walks. We then moved on to Harris which is the only really mountain area of the group and scenery, for us, is better but again does not rival the mainland, here we stayed at Lickisto Black House campsite at Lickisto, Harris. This site is an acquired taste, all a bit 1960 hippy, apparently been voted Scotlands coolest site, whatever that is, it is just OK, nice walks from site though. Then moved on to North Usit and stayed at Moorcroft camping at Carnish, North Usit. This is a really good site with brilliant facilities and well looked after, again nice walks from the site on the sea shore. Finally Kilbride Camping at West Kilbride South Usit, again nice site with new facility block although the site itself needs some updating, the new owner said he had this 'in hand' for 2014. We did stay on one other site but have forgotten the name but is was pretty scruffy so quickly moved on. Their were a few people staying off site, in laybys etc, generally littering up the place. If you wish to do this most of the ferry terminals, although not all, have dump and water facilities, you can get a list from any of the tourist offices. We found the Uists ok but pretty flat, although if like sandy beaches their are a few of these. They seem to consist of more water than land and their is no town of any size although we had no problems with grocery shopping or fuel. Would we go back, no, but worth a 'one off visit', have a good time. If you have time and have not been Skye is worth a look and better than any of the Outer islands. We were going to take the scooter across to Barra but had enough by then so headed back to the mainland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Glen ( As I understand it, the Western Isles is the ' modern ' name for the Outer Hebrides - so that is where I assume you are going ). We took a tip from an article in a magazine written by a student who travelled ' south to north ' on the islands and found that the scenery was less ' spectacular ' the further north he went. So we travelled north to south - from the Butt of Lewis at the top down to the island of Barra, and would agree with him that the scenery improves as you go. We used both sites and a bit of off - site camping - and enjoyed the experience with no problems. Some fantastic white sand beaches around - pity they don't get the weather to make the most of them. Have a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick GCT Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hi all, we too are going over to the Outer Hebrides this year , but at end of April till late May. Taking almost 4 weeks as we plan to tour on the mainland as well. We will also be using the Hopscotch ticket (oban to s .uist , n.uist to skye, skye to harris, then lewis to ullapool. So any further info. on this topic will be read closely! Glenboy,you and Anne have a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebeaches Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 We had an enjoyable trip around the Outer Hebrides in Spring 2012. Crossed from Skye and then worked south to Barra, so didn't tour Lewis. But explored the remainder fairly thoroughly. After much research, we decided against a 'Hopscotch' ticket, and just bought singles as we went along. Because we used the bridge to get from the mainland on to Skye, surprisingly, it worked out a few pounds cheaper. At the time all the relevant Hopscotch tickets included a ferry crossing from Mallaig to Skye, which we didn't require. But more importantly, from our perspective, it meant we had absolute flexibility about what route to take as we went. In the event, we pretty much followed our outline plan, but we could have varied it at any stage along the way if we wished. We travelled at Easter and found the ferries all had plenty of space. We did not pre-book anything more than an hour in advance, each time just turned up for the next ferry. We found the CalMac staff to be extremely helpful and always willing to give an idea of whether they expected space to be available if we telephoned in advance to check (which we did a couple of times before our first crossing). Once the initial single ticket was purchased at the office in Skye we were 'on the system' and were given a reference number. From then on we would just turn up at a ferry ramp, ring the office to check if the next scheduled ferry was on time and ask them to reserve a space for us. By providing the reference number the staff would confirm we were all booked on, and then we'd pay by credit card once on board. Returning to the mainland (Oban) from Barra, we just called in the office at the quayside to buy our ticket. As it happened we did return slightly earlier than planned because the weather really closed in whilst we were on Barra, we couldn't see a thing and big storms were forecast for the following three days - we cut and ran. Thoroughly enjoyed our trip. We didn't use campsites, but were very careful where we parked overnight. As already mentioned, found the locals extremely friendly and wanting to wave as we passed. Oh and another reason we didn't pre-book our outward crossing, or buy an advance ticket was because we'd decided we would only actually go to the islands if we were in with a chance of reasonable weather. If the forecast was too bad, we determined we'd wait until another time. In fact we were quite lucky and our strategy paid off. Yes we had some rain and squalls, but plenty of sunshine too - the weather doesn't half change quickly there - frequently experienced all four seasons in a day! :-D Have a great trip - it's a good adventure. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebeaches Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Just to add about wild camping - when we landed in Tarbert from Skye, we went directly to the tourist office in the square by the terminal to enquire about sites. We were told there weren't very many and they said it was perfectly OK to camp where we wished, as long as we took heed of any signs and also respected the locals own space ie avoid parking next to their properties etc. There has been something of a clamp down in recent years, especially by the beach at Barra airport. But we didn't have too much difficulty elsewhere. In fact we discovered one or two gems. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 For Golden Eagle spotters. I can recommend two spots where with a bit of patience you may strike it lucky: North Uist: there is a small road - I think its called Committee Road - which links the north and south sections of the circular road round the island, and near the summit from the southern approach on the right hand side you will find a small car park. Pull in there and sit quietly. You may be lucky as we have been twice. (Also seen male and female Hen Harriers here hunting low over the ground) Great Bernera: go as far as you can on the 'main' road on this island, accessed by a bridge, and you will find a car park where wild camping is accepted quite happily by the locals. Or was 2 years ago. On this road there are also opportunities to spot Golden Eagles There are lots of other spots for Eagles but these are our favourites. DON'T confuse buzzards for eagles - latter is a lot bigger Arthur :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mardee Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I agree that Lewis is flat and less scenic than Harris but it is worth going over to the west side and visiting Callanish standing stones and Carloway broch. Uig sands are worth a visit and a beautiful spot to wild camp in good weather. There are toilets and a shower. There is a small fee. We couldn't work out where to go to pay the fee but left it in the Community owned shop which has a much wider range of goods than you would expect and is well worth supporting. We spent a night at the Butt of Lewis which was amazing but only if weather is good because it is very exposed to Atlantic gales. It is worth remembering that on Sundays you will find almost everywhere closed so make sure you have fuel and food on Saturday. There is LPG available at Angus Campbell filling station (Gulf)Cannery Rd Stornoway (the only place in Western Isles) . We found on our last 2 visits that Engebret filling station did not have LPG available in spite of being listed in our LPG guide. Regards Margaret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 When i toured there in 2008 i wildcamped throughout. I started at Stornoway, Harris, Uists, Benbecula, and finally on to Barra. One road which is a 'must see' and memorable trek is the B887 to Hushinish on Harris. The road is a typical island B road, single track which winds its way to Hushinish where you will be rewarded with the most spectacular beach and scenery i've ever seen. A few palm trees and you could easily be on some exotic Caribbean beach! Look out also for the remnants of the derelict Whaling Station and the lovely little School which (when i was there) had just five pupils!! Also along this road you will pass Amhuinnsuidhe Castle http://www.amhuinnsuidhe.com/ The B887 is a dead end so once you have reached Hushinish you have to return! But i actually stopped there overnight on the little carpark. Nobody will bother you as there is no-one there! I went in high season and there was just one couple walking the beach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravemaurice Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 We haven't taken our van to the Hebrides but have been before and would offer this essential tip - if you go determined to see wildlife you'll just get frustrated. In the past we have happened upon otters and all sorts of eagles by chance including two white tailed youngsters knocking a heron out if the air before repeatedly swooping and thumping it in the water and then lifting it out to devour it on a rock - all about 10 yards from us! When I told frustrated wildlife seekers they were ready to string themselves up. Just go and enjoy the islands and you'll get used to spotting the birds and beasties naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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