In Scottish mythology the Outer Hebrides, a 130-mile long archipelago along the northwest coast of Scotland, were the home of the Fomorians, once described as supernatural beings representing the wild or destructive powers of nature, darkness, death, blight and drought. It’s most likely that this early myth was born out of the fact that Vikings were ruthlessly raiding Ireland and Scotland, only adding to the turmoil of the times and hardship of living on an island chain in the Atlantic Ocean. While there are no supernatural creatures living there now (as far as we know!), the Outer Hebrides remain a stunning collection of more than 100 islands, with a population of 27,000 on the 14 inhabited ones. The islands proved to be a perfect place to explore on two wheels.
So, what was I doing out here in this forgotten part of the Atlantic Ocean “where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls, boils round the naked, melancholy isles”? Well, when your 83 years young Scottish father-in-law, who has hiked and biked hundreds of miles in his homeland over the past 50 years, offers to take you and your wife on one of his favorite credit-card bikepacking trips, to one of the more secluded and little-known places on the globe, the only answer was a resounding yes!
Where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls,
Boils round the naked, melancholy isles
Of farthest Thule; and the Atlantic surge
Pours in among the stormy Hebrides.— A poem quoted by Charlotte Brontë in her novel,
“Jane Ayre”
What was the plan? Well, we had four days of living off our rental bikes as we wound our way south to north, from Barra to Stornoway, using ferries and causeways, and more ferries, to navigate this ancient, windswept landscape. For such a small place, the Outer Hebrides have an outsize history. The region is the traditional heartland of the Gaelic language, with the Outer Hebrides often called Innse Gall, the Islands of the Strangers, a name that originated in the ninth century when the island chain was being overrun by Viking raiders. These islands are the only places in the United Kingdom where you will hear Gaelic spoken freely, which has helped shape a distinct cultural identity based around family and crofts (the Scottish word for farms), music and oral literature.
When your itinerary involves planes, trains, ferries and bikes, you might be worried about the logistics and timing, but when your guide’s nickname is “the plan man” you can rest easy that train seats have been secured and that ferry transfer times have been scrutinized down to the minute. The most impressive aspect of my father-in-law Dave’s trip-planning skills was that he did it old school with pen and paper, an intimate knowledge of the landscape, paper maps, multiple emails and copious phone calls to the hotels, inns, restaurants, ferries and trains that we would be using. When asked about his passion for this place, he said, “I first fell under the spell of the wild and lonely landscapes of the highlands and islands of Scotland in 1968 when, after a year at the University of Edinburgh, I traveled to as many remote corners of Scotland as I could manage by train, bus, ferry and hitching a ride.”
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