Monday 30^th July 2018

Cycling the Outer Hebrides

Skye and Raasay

We left home at 6 am on the tandem, heavily laden with clothes, food and tools for 10 days. From Manchester Airport station we could train 3 hours to Glasgow where we would then go from Queen Street station to Mallaig another 4 to 5 hours. The bike went in the trains as 2 separate “unicycles” and these need to be booked on. Our booked seats were positioned quite far in another carriage from the tandem but we found some unmarked ones nearby. It does seem crazy that when you book both together that they can’t at least be in the same part of the train!

Queen Street station is having a bit of a revamp and we didn’t want to wait in the crowds there, so we found a bench and were entertained by a Rod Stewart wannabe while we ate our sandwiches.

We took the bike apart but still didn’t want to venture into the crowds and sometimes there isn’t much time after the platform number goes up till the train is actually due to leave. A railway official saw us dithering on the periphery, guided us through the gate and told us to wait by platform 2. Also he wished us a happy holiday and said he remembered us from when we did the coast ride more than 5 years earlier.

Bikes hang from hooks on Scottish trains but Bob is well practised. This train splits, with 2 carriages going to Oban while the larger portion goes on to Mallaig. The journey is really pretty with Ben Nevis at Fort William and the crescent shaped viaduct famous from Harry Potter films gives spectacular views.

Mallaig always shocks me by its size. For a ferry port and end of line station it seems too small. There aren’t even toilets on the station. The steam train was preparing to take tourists down the line. The air was thick with sulphurous smell and water vapour. People in the museum don’t seem to mind you using their toilet, though it was about to close at 5. As it happened the B and B was very close just opposite the harbour. The room was delightfully Scottish with Harris Tweed lampshades, cushions and strongly smelling lavender bag hearts.

Looking out towards Skye from our window in the morning we could see a seal bobbing up and down in the water close to the water’s edge. At breakfast we learnt that the B and B family had been feeding mackerel to a group of them and this one must have been hopeful.

The ferry office opened at 7.10 am and Bob bought our tickets to Skye and after breakfast we visited the Seamen’s Mission to buy 2^nd hand books, as many as in any book shop all sorted into categories. You paid in the café which seemed to be open all day.

It was vague contradictory verbal instructions from various ferry workers but eventually we stood waiting for the right boat- some went to Rhum and Eigg. A Belgian family waited by us and they said that the bus behind us in the queue was from their village and it was the second time they had seen them on their family trip. Today they noticed the driver (in a purple kilt!) was actually one of their neighbours. Small world!

The ferry cost us £2.90 each. We’d expected a bigger boat with a café as there used to be before the bridge connected Skye to the mainland. There was only seating down one side of the boat which was devoid even of drinks machines and it had only one toilet per sex. The engine was very quiet being, we think, electric. The crossing was smooth and seemed less than the advertised 45 minutes.

We arrived at Armadale in the Garden of Sleat region with its abundant wild flowers and various artisans selling their wares to tourists. We looked out for the disused road bob had noticed on his map which could provide a safer route than the main road but despite spotting it sometimes yards away we couldn’t see how to get on it. There were no signs to help. At ferry times the road can be busy and there are heavy lorries.

We made good speed to Broadford but by then the rain had started and the wind was gusty. We stopped at a delicatessen serving food before we got too wet and ate a toastie but we could have done with the soup advertised that hadn’t been made today. They were selling craft gifts and we liked the knitted jelly fish which cost £50!

The traffic increased after lunch and the side gusts of winds almost pushed us off the bike twice. At last we came off the main road , taking one for Mull, which gave us a very shingly, potholed single track route to Sconser. We would take the ferry to the isle of Raasay from here, where we would stay the night. We seemed to climb a lot despite it being lower than the main road and we had good views down to the Loch. We rode 2 sides of the Loch where we could see a salmon farm and a sprinkling of houses.

As it drew near to the ferry time-3pm, we spotted the boat on its way back from Raasay. We overtook it but then it looked like we would be cycling inland a bit and the boat was almost at Sconser. Pedalling hard and dripping wet we saw the ferry sign and arrived just in time. Tickets are bought on board- £3.90 return. This boat was larger than that from Mallaig but still without drinks or snacks. This ferry is a hybrid but using electricity today. Quiet and smooth it took about 15 minutes to cross.

We had trouble finding our B and B as the roads weren’t always signposted on both ends. We ended up going in a circle and asking directions from the little community shop. There is one hotel and that’s the place to eat out-a bistro or restaurant at Raasay House. After finding our B and B our host booked us a meal in the restaurant, though we weren’t sure what the difference was. It was only a 10 minute walk away and we were lent big umbrellas which kept the wind and rain off.

The next- door farm had goats and we passed the most abundantly flowering fuchsia ever and the modern, small Raasay Distillary.

Our young waiter in black was very enthusiastic about the island and he brought me a brochure with a better map than the OS one Bob had. He looked up how far it would be to the North of Raasay on the hotel’s website. At 10 miles with 1,000 metre of climb one way only and still 30 miles to go to Uig we decided unfortunately exploring the north was out of the question. This is the drawback to pre- booking accommodation though it is necessary!

We enjoyed venison casserole and soup washed down with Skye Black beer.

It was an early night. All was quiet in the house- unusually so. The hardy Scots seem to prefer firm beds and I tossed about for a bit but Bob found it comfortable. Around 10 it seemed like the room above us was used as a gym. There were heavy steps pounding in regular rhythm, which went on for some time until I put the television on loudly. We thought there was only us and the lady of the house. The noise moved then and eventually I got to sleep. At breakfast I asked what it could have been and the lady apologised saying that because we had arrived by bike which was locked away out of sight and there being no car in the guests car park, her daughter had come home and thinking the room empty she would have been dancing- Ballet?!

Breakfast was generous with proper Scottish porridge and we then cycled down to the Southern end of Raasay where there are the remains of concrete WW2 buildings and something that looked ship or submarine shaped. An old pier straddled the sea. The boat went at 9.55 so we only managed a few miles. We wished we’d booked 2 nights here so we could have explored the island properly. We had a good look at the 2 lichen covered and weather beaten mermaids on the fortification at the harbour.

Climbing the mound it sits on you can see a canon within. People on the ferry had enjoyed their stay at Raasay House. It is a beautiful island despite the rain!