“Oh Jean” Hebridean Way 2022 Day 6 Stornaway - HM Yacht Iolaire memorial - Tarbert - Ferry to Skye - Uig (the other 3 ferry to Ullapool - Garve - train to Inverness - sleeper train home!)

 

Stats : 43.4 miles, 2805 feet climbing, 1 ferry 1 left behind gilet, 1 lost headphone jack (me) 30 miles, 1 ferry, 1 train, 1 sleeper train (Dec) 47 miles 1 ferry, 1 train, 1 sleeper train (Kieran & Frankie)

So the day finally comes when the team splits! The last night together hadn’t been quite as chaotic as Derry had been at the end of the Ireland end to end, and Stornaway had been a bit of a disappointment. It looks a bit down on its luck, lots of empty shops and restaurants and a general shabbiness about it. We did find a little place that although got off on the wrong foot with to much choice of beer (5 pages worth!) turned out to be great! Food was good and the 2 young guys running the place had some great tunes on, a mixture of Gaelic traditional stuff mixed up with more modern stuff. It was so good we asked for the playlist! Then it was early to bed for the extra early call in the morning.

I was planning on staying in bed, but Frankie’s alarm, him clumping round the room and the fact that I’d locked the clown bike to mine with my lock meant I’d have to get up anyway. Down at breakfast for quarter to 6 everyone had the very unsatisfactory continental, Dec even putting back the extra danish pastries he’d stolen, they were that bad. It was bikes out the cellar a quick hug all round and away they rode to the ferry in the dark. I’m now on my own for the next 4 days as I’ll make my way back to Oban and Jean.

So jerseys then! Well it’s not much of a summary as Kieran comprehensively trashed us all. Winning most of the climbs, he takes the polka dot jersey, the green jersey for most consistent finisher and the yellow jersey for the overall with 3 stage wins! Massacre! Chapeau Kieran! The fact that his new job is much closer to home and he plans to commute by bike means we may as well give up next year! He is also the funniest bloke I know, him putting Dec through his stretching regime on the second night in the grass shack was the funniest thing I’ve seen for quite some time…however don’t 1) let him go hungry or 2) tell him you’ve added a bit to the route when he thinks it’s done. You have been warned!

To Declan then. No jerseys, but he didn’t do the trip on his Brompton just to humiliate me (I believe it was a close second in the consideration mind!) he did it to raise money in memory of his good mate Jeremy Baggot who died from a rare form of cancer in 2020. It’s normally me deciding what charity we’re going to support, but this year it’s Dec’s turn. If you enjoyed (probably a bit strong but you know…) the blog and the photos and if you can spare a few quid, Jeremy’s wife Kerry has set up a just giving page to help fund research into the condition. You can see the effect Dec’s efforts have been having over the past week! Link is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kerry-baggott2 

We all know the joshing between me and Dec is all for show (!) and he can be an insufferable bellend sometimes (as can I…) but he can be lovely when he wants to be. He said some lovely things to me yesterday morning that really meant a lot. He also was and remains an elite endurance athlete and he handed me my arse on a plate good and proper. He did ask me about doing it on the Brompton before he pulled the trigger and I said he’d be fine, and for once, I wanted to be proved wrong! Chapeau Dec, you mad bugger! I’m now in training as I’ve said I’ll do the London to Brighton cycle ride next year on my clown bike with him. There will be no place to hide…

Last and be no means least we come to Frankie. He definitely shouldn’t have come. With work being so busy for him this year he’s hardly had a chance to get out on his bike. He’s effectively had 3 hip replacements in the last 4 years ( the same one!) and desperately needs the other one doing. The only way he can get on and off his bike is by lying it on the ground stepping over the cross bar and pulling it up. I can’t watch him do it anymore it looks so painful. Not a peep out of him over the course of the 5 days, just stoically got on with it, helping out when he can. If it wasn’t for his big heart 33 years ago just about to the day, when he helped me back from the pub with my broken leg on our first night at University, I wouldn’t know any of the other idiots that do this mad thing we do. Frankie, thank you.

Just a quick mention for an absentee. Conleth couldn’t come as he’s got a lot on at the moment, and we really missed him, both his physical presence, where he can sit on the front for hour after hour in a massive headwind and also his wit, wisdom and general weirdness. We missed you brother, next year!

Right, I didn’t think I’d have much to talk about with me being on my own, but i’ve waffled on lots already! After waving them off, I of course went back to the breakfast buffet where they had now started serving hot food! A full “Scottish” with potato scone the works and I was putting the bags on and was ready for 8. I wanted a quick look round the shops that were open in Stornoway so had an hour to kill so set off North to the memorial for the HM yacht Iolaire which sank just yards from the harbour on New Year’s Day 1919 bringing men back from the Great War, losing 205 men on board. It was a very well done memorial and again as I was so early had it all to myself. One thing I’ve learned from cycling through all the islands is that life is a struggle here. From the land grab, to potato famine, to the disproportionate amount of men they lost in both wars, to the de-population of the islands in the present day, it’s tough and I think it takes a certain type of quiet dignity and stoicism to be a Hebridean.

With the sun coming out and a cruise ship pulling into the port, it was back the few miles to Stornoway and a quick look round the shops. Or it would have been if they would open at 9am not 10! Sorry Andrea! I had to catch the 4.20 ferry from Tarbert and knowing what I’m like without adult supervision I thought I’d better crack on! On that point, I didn’t know but I’d left one or 2 things behind in the hotel…

Just as I was pulling out of Stornoway, the other 3 were arriving in Ullapool and starting the very long climb out of Ullapool. Update from KC was that it was OK, update from Frankie was it was horrific and up to 12% ! When they were over the top it was a gently downward gradient to the train at Garve but into another brutal headwind. It was quickly agreed to just make a train and get there without messing about, and soon they were pulling into the train station at Garve. I, on the other hand was going in the other direction and I had the wind mainly behind me, which was great! Making good time, I stopped for a bite to eat from the food I had brought with me at the Cairn for the Deer protestors of the late 19th century. It was a beautiful spot to much on some malt loaf and with only time to lose the headphone adapter for my iphone, it was back in the road to Tarbert.

With just the big A859 climb to get over in the other direction from which we came on Wednesday, I stuck some music on (Proclaimers natch) to get me over the brutal climb and then bumped into the 2 ladies we’d met in the first night in Castlebay who were camping their way along the Hebridean Way with the heaviest  bikes you’d ever seen! How had they got up that climb?! Unbelievable! Wishing them well, it was a fast descent into Tarbert in the beautiful sunshine, Sunshine on Leith blaring out my jersey pocket! I was 3 hours early! I had time to look round the little town we didn’t get a chance to in Wednesday as then the midges were out. As it was blowing a good 15mph wind, no midges today! I had a bit of lunch, an ice cream, had a look round the Isle of Harris distillery and took the opportunity to use the bike as a clothes horse and dry last nights washed bike kit! 

4.20 soon came and all to soon I was leaving. It’s been bloody brilliant. I love these islands, and I’ll definitely be back! Whether I’ll be as lucky with the weather next time remains to be seen! The beautiful still crossing in the sunshine made me nod off and Skye and Uig soon were in view. The only other cyclists were 2 retired ladies from Cumbria who had just done the Hebridean Way on their bikes they’d had for over 30 years. They used to go cycle touring in their youth but hadn’t done it for decades as the roads were too busy. It seems to be a theme. I’ve seen more ladies cycling here than men, and one of the main reasons they’ve chosen here is that there is very little traffic. If you build the infrastructure people will use it, it’s not the other way around.

Bidding them farewell it was only a mile to the air B&B I was staying at. I should have paid more attention to the name “Harbour View” it has a view as it was up a 33% track! Panting and cursing I finally made it where the host George was there to meet me and show me around. I’ll say the view was worth it…again however I thought that Uig would be bigger than it is. It’s actually smaller than Castlebay, and I had one option to eat, at the harbour view pub. Let’s just say £15 for fish and chips out of a polystyrene carton with plastic cutlery was not what I was envisioning…

Anyway, back up the massive hill to the accommodation to find out that Frankie and Kieran had decided to have a spin round Inverness which included a trip up the cycle path to Loch Ness while Dec made use of his time arguing with the sleeper staff at the station…there was just time for a quick face time call with them showing me round the sleeper berths ( it looks great, I’m a bit jealous…) as they were having a (more than) few drinks and to bed. By the the time I set off tomorrow they’ll be nearly home and I’m properly on my own! 60 miles from Uig to the Armadale for the ferry to Mallaig at 4.30. Lots more climbing and more of a headwind tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to cycling through Skye! I’ll try not to lose anything else…