Scotland isles

Comfy Old Boots

Comfy Old Boots

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Hello!

Myself and herself are heading to the isles for a week on the bike. Landing in Troon and leaving a week later,

It would be great if you could help out with a few things.

Plan is to head for the east coast of loch lomand, do another night somewhere beer tarbert, then go to Jura and islay.

Plan on drinking quite a bit of peaty whiskey and I'm a big fan of Scottish craft beer.

Just wondering about the best roads to take and more importantly places to stop off and stay for the night.

We're thinking of spending the bulk of out time on islay but open to suggestions.

Is it worth getting the easy pass for the ferries?


Should we be looking further north? It's her first trip away I the bikes so I don't want to ride to much but need my fix of enjoyable roads.

Looking forward to any comments or suggestion you might have.

Ta!

Owen.
 
when are you going cos its gales & storms at present,you best bring a boat & lifejacket instead :)
 
SOB we have been to a few of the islands and i must say Islay and Jura are both amazing. We based ourselves in Port Charlotte on Islay and just done days here and there. You will make your way round Jura in one day and to be honest you will see more deer the people but its worth seeing Scotlands last wilderness. Islay might be a bit small to spend a full week on so i would suggest you head up to mull and experience one of the best biking rds in Scotland the a816. We always find the islanders very friendly and glad of some new company. What date in may are you heading over as we are going in may as well.
 
Beware the island Rover or Hopscotch tickets.
There is a significant discount currently applied on many main crossings (called the Road Equivalent Tarriff if you're interested).
Point is, this discount doesnt apply to these 'special' tickets - so you can easily end up where the 'special' ticket is actually more expensive than simply buying the individual legs.
Off season, you will have no problem getting on the boat (if its sailing!). So just turn up and go.
Download a copy of the timetable from the Calmac site.

If you're on Islay, make sure you take a trip across to Jura.
I can heartily recommend the Bowmore House B&B in Bowmore. The guy is a whisky nut and does the best cooked breakfast (with a dram if you're up for it :D). They also have self catering if you prefer.
 
ride up to ullapool if you can,its a brill place to great ferrys from ,also isle of skye,ferrys go from uig ,roads are brilliant and not to much traffic.
but in scotland the weather has alot to do with enjoying yourself.
i love the place and always go two or three times a year.
 
Did a big road trip of scotland last year with the wife, absolutly loved evry minute off it, the scenery is awsome, the roads are just the bollox! , and we found the locals couldnt be more friendlier! In fact we had such a good time, it spoilt us really, and now every trip we take is always compared with our trip to scotland!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
 
fizzer said:
place to great ferrys from ,also isle of skye,ferrys go from uig ,
Click to expand...

Just to clear that up a wee bit, there is only one vehicle ferry from Ullapool and that goes to Lewis, you can then, if you wish, get a ferry from Harris to Skye.

If you wish to get on to Skye from a different jumping off point, there are two other ferry routes
Mallaig and Glenelg and of course, the free Bridge too...;)
 
Sounds great! Really helpful info there folks. I'm well used to bad roads in the west of Ireland. Can't wait now...
 
I have done a couple of Islay/Jura trips and distillery tours. Roads on these two islands are not brilliant but the overall location more than makes up for it. We camped on the only proper campsite on Islay at Kintra Farm. Awesome beach side location. Other times we have stayed at the Jura Hotel on, erm Jura and wild camped just up the coast from Craighouse. Last Jura trip I got permission from the estate to ride bikes up to the very northern tip of Jura to walk up to a view point for the Corrieveckan whirlpool. You might not get the permission but if you can make your way up there it's worth it.

Each trip we used an island hopscotch ticket from cal mac taking in Arran first then islay and back via Tarbert, Cowan peninsula to gourock. I have also travelled to most of all the other main Hebridean islands over the past few years. Faves are Skye, Harris, and Barra. Least faves were Mull, and north Uist. Not that they were bad, they just didn't do it for me the way others do. That said if it wasn't for the distillers islay would be barely worth a visit.

Distillery wise Jura was the best tour and most generous with the samples by far. But they have upgraded the shop side of things now and I suspect it won't be the same. Bruichladdich was also good with a wide range of whisky to sample and a good tour too. Ardbeg has a good restaurant but was v busy. Bunnahaibban was very industrial while Bowmore is very commercial/ touristy. I haven't been to any of the others.

Enjoy.


Sent from my iPhone with a smile :)
 
Oh, and the very best thing about biking around islay is smelling the angels share drifting off up the heavens as you ride past the distilleries and the warehouses. Fill your lungs, it's like breathing in whisky.


Sent from my iPhone with a smile :)
 
SOB if you like peaty whisky why not try and incorperate part of your holiday with the whisky festival on Islay, the open days are well worth it, the islay brewery also have an open day, just thought, the festival is usually on around the end of May.:flag
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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