West coast /Isles

[vanvliet]

Can anyone suggest a good tour of the West Coast /Isles ( route / van sites / ferries) ? We have a seven day break coming up. Please email me or post here
Thanks

[Muzorewa]

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 37&t=34038

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 37&t=43655



Caledonian MacBrayne is your only choice for ferries, select a suitable hopscotch ticket from these....
http://www.calmac.co.uk/tickets/island-hopping
....or get an 8-day island rover ticket where you can go wherever you want. But book the main sailings in advance if you can, you don't want to be left stranded - especially as the Oban to Islay service only runs once a week

[dave_aber]

Applecross is a must-see. Awesome road in (Bealach na ba), Nice casual campsite, good pub with fantastic food, and another quite interesting road out to the North.

[dunslair]

The summer before last we went from Oban to Barra, then up through the outer Hebrides before going back to Ullapool and down via Gairloch, Applecross, Loch Carron Fort Bill. We did it all in about 9 days, so with a bit of compression it would work fine in 7.

[hatris]

Hi Vanvliet, we also fitted a lot into a short time. We regretted this after and wished we had taken it slower, some of these places need time to apreciate them. We had too many ferries booked, but Muz is right and you have to book some. Unless your a good sailor don't take the long crossing to Barra, but Barra was one of our favourite places, so worth getting to. Could have done an enjoyable trip with half the ferries and more time to enjoy the place. Enjoy your trip, very jealous. Trish

[Muzorewa]

I would agree on Applecross. Applecross and Knoydart had been on my ‘to do’ list for about 20 years and finally getting there, in perfect weather, was unforgettable. So much so that of the five most memorable places we went on that 2009 tour, Applecross (& the Applecross Inn), Knoydart (& the Old Forge Inn), Staffa (& Fingal’s Cave), Ulva (& the Boathouse) and Iona, I’ve vowed never to return to the first four again because the experience cannot possibly be surpassed and would only leave a tarnished memory in less favourable conditions. I want to savour the images & memories we already have.

I would go back to Iona though. It was great but the weather was a bit Scottish. I’d definitely go back to see Iona Abbey without scaffolding, the old Nunnery without rain, and photograph the medieval church within the Abbey with a decent camera

[seventiesboy]

The difficulty I guess is suggesting somewhere in that geographical area that is NOT good to visit. It truly can be awesome in the North West Highlands, as Muz said though, and as you know, the weather can be a bit "Scottish."

We are using CalMac this year Mallaig to Armadale, Uig to Tarbet and Stornoway to Ullapool staying a couple of nights in the North part of Skye, three nights wild/semi-wild camping on Harris and then two nights at Gruinard Bay before heading off to Speyside for a week where we have a property.
We have a hopscotch ticket for the ferries that worked out very reasonable cost wise.
We know the north of Scotland well (I am an expat living on the "wrong" side of the border) and if we catch the weather right it should be an awesome road trip.

Last year we went further North and round by Durness. The campsite itself there is a bit dismal IMHO, perched on a cliff top, the views can be stunning but so can the gales. The beaches up there are out of this world.
There is a good little at Scourie just south of Durness and you can (or could in the past) wild camp on the old pier at Tongue and there are really good wild camping opportunities by Loch Hope.

As I said, it is hard to recommend places not to go.

Hope this helps.

Buy some Smidge and have a good one

[vanvliet]

Thanks peeps. We leave next Monday. If this weather keeps up the next 'extra' for the Bong will be a set of oars

[dave_aber]

Wait....You're heading to the West of Scotland and you DON'T have a set of oars ?

Good Luck!

[scanner]

The summer before last we went from Oban to Barra, then up through the outer Hebrides before going back to Ullapool and down via Gairloch, Applecross, Loch Carron Fort Bill. We did it all in about 9 days, so with a bit of compression it would work fine in 7.

Be careful on Barra as they have had a big clamp down on wildcamping and you can't stay at Traigh Mhor beach by the airport any more. Vehicles can't even park there now (let alone camp) and even foot/cycle campers are asked to give the area a miss.

http://www.isleofbarra.com/for-visitors ... -site.html

[seventiesboy]

Have you packed your "Smidge" ??

[vanvliet]

I used to do a lot of hillwalking and 'skinsosoft' (!) works for me. I also have a netting hat and anti midge incense sticks somewhere !
We went on an East Coast trip up to Orkney a couple of years ago with t' Bong - great weather not a midge in sight.
The present warm ,wet weather may well will bring them in swarms though

[vanvliet]

Had to do a rethink . I rang Caledonian Mcb to book the ferry from Oban to Barra but it was fully booked when we wanted to travel and getting off the Islands next Sat was also booked up ! Turns out that next week is dominated by the 'Celtfest 'music festival and apparently finding a campsite site with vacs anywhere at this late date would also be a nightmare .
So, after a good look at the map we are going up to Applecross and will also spend a few days on Skye.
The Western Isles will have to wait for another year.

[seventiesboy]

Thanks for the heads up on that one my friend.

We are off to the Hebrides next weekend, luckily with Calmac already booked.

Never heard of "Celtfest" before but the website looks good.

Enjoy Applecross, just don' pig out too much in the Inn...........it is awesome there.

[vanvliet]

Yes ,the bands looked interesting and ,as you say, a good website - maybe next year.
Let us know how you get on - - -