Touring Reports

Or the Three Rallies tour...

We set off Thursday 2 p.m. after half an hour hunting the lost bike keys. Made good progress despite heavy showers and gusty winds, until 40 minutes of filtering through almost stationary traffic passing Manchester. Arrived to a friendly helpful welcome at the the B&B in Carlisle. Secure parking for bikes & 1 mile straight run from the motorway.

Friday, weather more of the same, but the motorway getting more interesting, curves and hills. This trend continuing with the A 82 after Glasgow and becoming quite extreme on the final 30 miles to Kilchoan (a single track curvy switchback worthy of a fairground ride). Road-works in Glen Coe lead to a chance meeting with more bikes and a panoramic view. No surprise to meet more Mayflower members on the Corran ferry a reunion of those who hadn’t met since .... the last event 1 month ago!

Antler Rally

Run by Loch Lomond MCC at Kilchoan in Ardnamurchan, using the village hall with camping on the sports field. Weather as expected wet & windy but warm dry & friendly in the hall. Next day we fill the ferry to Tobermory, an exciting crossing on a small ferry in significant chop and swell. Tobermory is beautifully bracketed between the distillery and the Mishnish hotel - a pub of traditional character many small rooms and odd corners. Saturday evening we are welcomed in by bagpipes and more live music during the evening.

Moving on from the rally we cross the classic motorcycle challenge, the ‘Pass of the Cattle’, looking particularly ominous today, a surprise sunny break turns dark as we clime into the low cloud. Back into the sun as we drop into Applecross a pleasant campsite and excellent inn famous for its local seafood. The next day we continue the coast road, slow winding and beautiful and the only other road to Applecross showing just how remote some of these villages are. The day ends at the local metropolis that is Ullapool, ready for the Stornoway ferry. Still an active fishing port as well as tourist and ferry centre.

The next morning a text from Caledonian Mac Brane tells me the ferry is cancelled so we explore a nearby valley on foot in some of the oddest weather I have experienced, still very strong winds but warm and sunny. That evening we continue the exploration of the national specialties and I am introduced to ‘Black Bottle’ an excellent blended whisky.

Arriving at Stornoway we immediately head off round the north loop of Lewis to the Callanish standing stones. And then on to Tarbert, I think probably the road with the best scenery in the islands. Just south of Tarbert, follower the sign for ‘Touring Park’ 3 miles if very narrow single track resulted in hard standing for 3 camper vans and a marginally less boggy patch, enough for 3 small tents. We returned to B&B in Tarbert, apparently there is reasonable camping further on we were told later. Our flying visit to Lewis and North Harris is then followed by a leisurely tour of South Harris to Rodel then back to the ferry at Leverburgh for 2:40. Despite seeing a reasonable surf on the western beaches the Leverburgh to Berneray ferry experienced total calm as it threads its way on a sheltered path through numerous small islands, a route as twisty as any of the roads. The late crossing resulting in a need to progress ‘directly’ to our camping at Liniclate on Benbecula. This is an easy walk from the Dark Island Hotel purveyors of good food, excellent liquor coffee and the most poetically described and superb whisky selection.