looking at doing a cycle tour in late september/october. fancy the hebrides again.

just wondering how we stand for going. anyone have any idea's

Should be OK from 15th July Tony.

New timetables are online. You can only book 4 weeks in advance though. That means 4 weeks before you leave, you can book the outward trip but then you have to wait however long before you can book your return. Spaces on the ferries are limited due to Social Distancing and there are no catering facilities onboard.

We're hoping to get over in August so the wife can see her family (especially her mother). Likely facing the CalMac wheel of fortune.....

cheers colin. i thought you might have known.
may stick to the mainland then.

so a bit of advice then.
start in fort william, ride up the west side to kylesku, and return via oykel bridge, contin, great glen.

anything to avoid, or add ??

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:52 pm Should be OK from 15th July Tony.

New timetables are online. You can only book 4 weeks in advance though. That means 4 weeks before you leave, you can book the outward trip but then you have to wait however long before you can book your return. Spaces on the ferries are limited due to Social Distancing and there are no catering facilities onboard.

We're hoping to get over in August so the wife can see her family (especially her mother). Likely facing the CalMac wheel of fortune.....

I wonder if on the day tickets will be issued or if all travel will need to be pre-booked? Obviously capacity will be reduced so it may not be 100% reliable.

Yep all fine from the 15th July.

Most camping places don’t seem to be opening until August that’s including any of the trusts land used for wild camping.

We’ve just booked ferries to go to Harris on 21st July, availability seemed ok.

We did try to go to Tiree but they seemed to sell out in no time each day, so think it was mostly limited capacity for the islanders.

What way are you getting to the West - and I assume some off-roading?

If you don't mind the A830 then you could head for Mallaig and the ferry to Armadale (but see above re; ferries), the short trip across Skye to Kyleakin and then the bridge back to the mainland, Plockton, Strathcarron etc etc etc.


At Kylesku, you could head for Achfary then the head of Loch Shin and Glen Cassley to Rosehall and on to Oykel Br.

I assume Oykel Bridge is down past Croick, Gleann Mor to Garve and Contin?

Do you know if the pre booking is for foot passengers too Colin?

Yes, they want everyone to pre-book as they are limited by passenger numbers, not vehicles.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:41 am Yes, they want everyone to pre-book as they are limited by passenger numbers, not vehicles.

It's the same for foot passengers on the vehicle ferries to/from the Isle of Wight now. I looked on the Wightlink website and they have amended the booking system to allow this.

You also select if you are taking a bike with you even though they are free. For some reason in the drop-down menu when you add a bike you can select up to 40 per foot passenger, it might take me a while to wheel those down the gangway

Ive never been to harris and lewis. I'd really like to though