Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides

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Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides

15th pictures

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Peaceful summer days like this are rare on the wild west coast of the Isle of Mull. A single track winds north at Balnahard.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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That’s what it’s all about in Scotland: to experience the vastness and solitude of the highlands – like on the B 869 at Drumbeg.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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“Scottish Breakfast, complete” and you won’t need anything for the rest of the day.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Hardly any other Scottish castle is more picturesque than Eilean Donan Castle on an island in Loch Duich.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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North Queensferry shyly crouches in front of the 100 meter high arches of the Forth Bridge.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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The puffin takes its beak pretty full!

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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This iron signpost has stood on the edge of a single track on the Isle of Mull since 1897.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Smart quote at the bookstore: “I disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend your right to say it to the death.”

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Days of rain have filled the streams in the Glencanisp Forest well.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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The “Standing Stones of Callanish” stone circle on North Lewis is said to be older than the Egyptian pyramids.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Bright colors against cloudy winter days, Tobermory is the capital of the Isle of Mull.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Ancient walls with thick moss accompany the single track in the highlands near Drumbeg.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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Hardly any lighthouse is as spectacular as the one at Neist Point on the Isle of Skye.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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It pours like buckets as the express train locomotive 45 407 thunders up the slope at Glenfinnan. “The Jacobite” steams through the highlands.

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
Jo Deleker

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The solitude of the highlands can also be found in the Clisham Mountains on North Harris.

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Tour tips

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides

Motorcycle tour Scotland and the Hebrides
“Heavy Rain Warning”

“Far in the west, where the sun is setting, it’s better, much better than you think.” This slightly changed lyrics by Herbert Gronemeyer fits perfectly to the Scottish Hebrides, that wild and often surprising group of islands in the far north-west of Great Britain.


Joachim Deleker

05/10/2021

With a motorcycle to Scotland? Knowing that the weather there can also drown dreams solidly from time to time? Yes. I still want to go there. Finally explore the Hebrides, those magical islands in the Atlantic. The DFDS ferry takes me to Newcastle overnight, and in the evening I park the Tenere on the Scottish west coast with a view of Arran Island. Put up the tent, start the travel relax mode, from now on there are no appointments, timetable or everyday office life. Weather, mood and mood now determine the course.

Arran Island

Sounds like maximum freedom, doesn’t it? Arran Island fits in perfectly with this. On the 90-kilometer circumnavigation of the island, I hardly encounter 20 cars and 200 sheep, the island pulse beats noticeably slower than on the mainland. Arran never gets hectic unless the ferry leaves five minutes early. Or when the midges come. When there is little wind and sun they attack, the Scottish west coast monsters, tiny, infinitely annoying, fearless of any chemical club, leaving nasty itchy bites behind. There is only one effective repellent against the beasts, a hat with a mosquito net. Looks like shit, obscures the view and prevents eating and drinking. But he finally gives you peace from Culicoides impunctatus.

Kintyre and Mull

It goes on, the small, black and white Calmac ferry ships me over to Kintyre, another large ship then from Oban to Mull, the southernmost Hebridean island and – I simply claim that now – the most beautiful. Mull doesn’t have that “I-have-to-go status” like the neighboring island of Skye, which is pretty crowded on summer days. Mull breathes his relaxed and concentrated West Coast aroma on every meter of his single tracks. The evening round along the rugged and panoramic west coast is awesome. If the weather cooperates. Like today, calm, cloudless, 22 degrees. Perfect.

In third gear, the Yamaha bobs through Glen More, a squeaky green highland valley garnished with rhododendrons and purple bluebells, a few blue lakes, on the right the almost 1000 meter high Ben More, in front of it a white yard and a herd of shaggy highland cattle. Fully the Scotland cliche, but very real here and now. The single track climbs up to a shallow pass and the panorama switches to wide. In front of me the calm ocean, decorated with a few islets like Ulva, Staffa and Lunga, breeding ground for the funny puffins. Take a deep breath, it’s beautiful here, that’s garbage! I stay in driving mode “Relax”, I keep prottel from bay to bay, from pass to pass, always along the coast, until I reach Tobermory shortly before midnight, it is still not dark. With its colorful houses it is “capital city” von Mull is a real bright spot among the sometimes dreary Hebridean towns.

Skye

The next day, the next ferry, the next island. Skye. The dream destination of many travelers, Scotland on a small scale, from the rough west coast to the wild highlands and the gentle east. But despite the many tourists there are still quiet corners. Nowhere else is the view of the rugged Cuillins Mountains more magnificent than from the fishing village of Elgol with its end-of-the-world atmosphere. Or Neist Point, Skye’s most westerly point, a huge cliff topped with the tiny white lighthouse. A spectacular photo opportunity. Also because of the magnificent sunset. And the Outer Hebrides can be seen far out in the Atlantic. I want to go there.

“heavy rain warning”

But the BBC is broadcasting one “heavy rain warning” for the west. Should take two days. What now? Ignoring such a warning on the already rainy coast would not be a good idea, I’d better find a safe shelter. It starts overnight. It pours horizontally. Days in the cafe with Scottish breakfast including the mysterious black pudding and all kinds of tartlets. Phew At least there is internet and I book the ferry to the Outer Hebrides. Works fine. It’s just stupid that the SMS with the TAN I need to pay doesn’t reach me. No net. The disdainful reality is stabbing the digital revolution in the back. Finally, I just drive to the ferry to Uig, where the guide greets me by name. Huh? Well, apparently the booking went well without paying online, and I’m the only biker on the list anyway. The ship rides over the gentle swell to Tarbert for 90 minutes.

Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides are harsh islands, directly exposed to the nasty climate of the North Atlantic, it is a challenge to live out here. Agriculture and forestry as in the richer East are hardly possible, idyllic corners are rare, and the few places are not candidates for “our village should become more beautiful”. Rough West Coast flair.

But then I discover paradisiacal places that change the picture. Like the dream beaches of South Harris, yellow sand, deserted, Caribbean-green sea and gentle, dark mountains. Or the single-track roller coaster through the lonely gneiss humps on the southeast coast. Or the treeless Clisham Mountains, almost 800 meters high and powerfully present. Or the magic of the Standing Stones of Callanish, the Scottish Stonehenge, but almost without tourists and older than the pyramids of Giza. It is these individual spots that astonish you in this rugged landscape.

In the evening I find a tiny campsite on Cliff Beach on the north coast. There are three womos here, five pounds are put in a mailbox, there is no water or toilet. But the endless view over the ocean to, well, almost to Canada, a sandy beach without a trace and the best outdoor feeling. A sea eagle circling above me in the stiff breeze. It feels so far out, so good!

Northernmost Hebridean island

Until breakfast. Then the BBC threatens another “heavy rain warning”, this time even for three days. So yo, carpe diem! The XT is quickly packed for the cruise over Lewis, the northernmost Hebridean island. A vast, hardly populated country, rolling hills under melancholy clouds, moor and ponds; straight roads try to reach the horizon. To the north it gets flatter and flatter, apart from peat there is nothing to get. Here and there a few sheep and houses that mainly radiate poverty. How different the capital, Stornoway, looks like. Beautiful Victorian buildings from the rich time of the herring boom, thick trees, even a few cafes. Inviting, not dismissive.

Assynt Peninsula

The Loch Seaforth, Calmac’s flagship, is already waiting on the quay. The ferry rushes across the sea at 19 knots and unloads me in Ullapool. One of the most spectacular stretches of the west coast around the Assynt peninsula begins here. Highland atmosphere at its best. The single track meanders around high and striking mountains like Suilven and Stac Pollaidh, comes through nice places like Lochinver or Drumbeg and then throws itself as the B 869 into crazy inclines and curves. Permanent grin guaranteed! Mighty Caledonian pines grow on Loch Assynt, and the ruins of Ardvreck Castle extend photogenically out of the lake on a peninsula.

From here it’s only 60 kilometers to the north coast near Durness, but the rain warning is on my neck, I’d rather give the XT my spurs and head south to Applecross. I can endure two days there. Cafe, breakfast and tartlets, you know. The only rainy area in Europe drops anchor over Scotland and tips 80 millimeters of water overboard. As much as at home in two months. Bikers who come to Applecross over the 626-meter Bealach-na-Bo pass tell of storms, horizontal rain and zero visibility up there.

Steam train “The Jacobite”

When I climb over the pass the next day, the world is a different one again. There is no wind, a few fleecy clouds wander eastwards, the view in the crystal clear air extends as far as the Hebrides. It’s that fast. Past the country’s most famous castle, Eilean Donan, the Tenere roars to Fort William. At the foot of Ben Nevis, at 1,344 meters the highest peak in Great Britain, with five meters of rain per year also the wettest. The 75-kilometer West Highland Railway to Mallaig begins in Fort William. “so what?”, Now non-Harry Potter fans ask themselves. The steam train runs here every day in summer “The Jacobite”, pulled by a mighty two-cylinder express locomotive, today it’s 45,407. This is a visual and acoustic experience, especially on the slope at Glenfinnan. Steam operation like 60 years ago. The British love their traditions.

As gorgeous as the cloud of steam develops in the recent drizzle, riding a motorcycle in these conditions is just as annoying. And the weather report leaves little interpretation for hope. The Scottish summer is not a good one this time. At some point you are washed so soft that only one option is left: canceling the trip. Sometimes the timing doesn’t fit.

Information about a motorcycle tour in Scotland’s Hebrides

Scotland’s west from the highlands to the Outer Hebrides promises great landscape cinema. But you should bring a healthy dose of resistance to bad weather.

Getting there: The best way to get here is by DFDS Seaways with the clever night ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle, www.dfds.com. From there it is barely two hours to Scotland. Ticket prices vary depending on the day of travel. There is also a night ferry from Rotterdam to Hull, namely that of P.&O, www.poferries.com. Those who prefer to drive the long way through England can take one of the canal ferries, e.g. B. Dunkirk – Dover with DFDS, or by train through the Eurotunnel.

Travel time: Best between May and September. The midges (blood-sucking bite flies) mostly appear from mid-June, the summer tourists from the beginning of July. The Scottish west coast is one of the rainiest regions in Europe. The annual mean here is about 2000 millimeters, on the east coast only 750. Nevertheless, longer periods of bad weather are rare, the typical coastal weather with a mix of showers and clouds is much more common. The summer of 2018 was extremely dry in Scotland too, while the summer of 2019 was unusually wet.

Stay: There are over 300 campsites between “very basic” and five-star caravan parks (“no tents please”). Prices range from 10 to 20 pounds. Bed & Breakfast (B&B), sometimes even with family members. The prices are mostly between 30 and 50 pounds per person per night. Even in remote areas, signs point to B&B out. In addition, numerous inns and hotels offer shelter for the night.

literature & Cards: Travel guides for individual travelers come from these publishers: Stefan Loose Verlag, 668 pages for 24.95 euros; Michael Muller Verlag, 804 pages, 26.90 euros; Reise Know-How, 564 pages, 23.90 euros; DuMont, 448 pages, 24.99 euros; Lonely Planet, 556 pages, 25 euros. There are good maps from: Michelin, sheet 501, 1: 400000, 9 euros; Marco Polo, 1: 300000, 10 euros; Kummerly & Frey, 1: 275000, 12 euros.

Scotland facts:

  • Capital: Edinburgh
  • Area: approx. 78,000 km²
  • Population: approx. 5.5 million
  • Currency: British pound (GBP)
  • Languages: English, Lowlands Scots and Gaelic

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