Postscript........

8 July - The met office map above shows how dry the north and west of Scotland was during the spring, and how we avoided the soggy south of England when we headed north!

Home....... An amazing 18 days........

22 June - 4.5h on the M6/ M5 and we're home...... In time for the vote, and my niece's wedding, with a good weather forecast....... A momentous day, in my case for 2 reasons.

Heading home

21 June - A 6 hr drive as far as the Lakes today, arriving in time for a cycle on the east shore of Ullswater - a few midges in evidence tonight on the shores of the Lake..... heading home tomorrow :-/

Lewis, and farewell to the Hebrides

19-20 June- A proper dreich day on 19th, heavy rain in the afternoon and evening. Hushinish beach not quite so magical as sometimes according to the photos, but still worth braving the wind and blowing sand for the crashing waves. Evening camp by a small loch halfway from Tarbert to Stornoway ensured that we were able to get to Callanish stone circle in good time on 20th

........blue skies for the amazing stones that you can walk up to and touch! More by accident than design, as 2016 is a leap year, today was the longest day, but not many New Agers to be seen compared with Stonehenge.......

Then to Stornoway, a shock after 2 weeks with its roundabouts and superstores......and the ferry to the mainland and Ullapool. Showery bright weather for the crossing of the Minch. A superb beachside spot at Ardmair for our last campsite on Scotland, with an atmospheric sunset over the sea, and the sound of the waves at night after the longest day of the year.

What a great Hebridean experience we've had, so many highlights.....

Incredible Harris.......

17-18 June - Ferry from N Uist to Harris on 17th........ Amazing scenery and blue skies on Harris...... White beaches and turquoise blue sea with the mountain backdrop......rugged indented coastline and dramatic twisty road to Flodabay farm for our stopping point

.....complete with panorama to Skye and the mainland. Harris is the most scenic and rugged of the islands so far, much more the feel of the west Highlands but still with the sense of island isolation, and without the vibrancy of all the wading birds on the machair of the Uists. An amazing cycle on the 18th on the undulating switchback of the "Gold Road" with seascapes around every corner, and art galleries a plenty doing justice to the mountain/sea combination. Rather laid back, sheep and all.....

Oh, and a close White-tailed Eagle and a distant Golden Eagle today, flyover Black-throated Diver, and a Greenshank at Leverburgh.

South Uist re-cycled.......

16 June - We decided to revisit South Uist, as we only had one day there, a scenic 20 miles or so in itself, across the causeway to Benbecula en route with big skies and wild coast. Our 2 hr cycle on the machair visited a superb white Hebridean beach en route (local beachwear required due to wind chill !) and we just beat the rain.

An evening return to Balranald and wild seas on the coastal rocks at the nature reserve, with Arctic Terns struggling into the wind to bring fish for their young. Dramatic silvery evening light.

Off to Harris tomorrow morning. Mull seems ages ago !

Breezy Uist

15 June - A very strong NE wind today, so cycling deferred in favour of walking at Loch Langass and the stone age burial chamber at Barpa Langass. A panoramic view of the myriad lochs on the landscape, with a pair of Hen Harriers as a bonus. A fairly early campsite arrival (Moorcroft, stunning beachside location) and some downtime, after all it's supposed to be a holiday!

Stunning North Uist

14 June - A stunning cycle ride around the north coast today, beautiful bays, blue sea, fields of flowers, hardly any traffic, and a white beach with turquoise water for our lunch stop at Vallay. Not bad for birds either...... Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owl...

Also Merlin, Golden Plover, Curlew. And the coastal Balranald nature reserve here is full of birds - waders and feisty Arctic Terns that buzz you near their nests. And other friendly locals ........

The views today were all that the Hebrides are supposed to be - such big skies and space - no wonder the locals are always smiling........a stunning pink sunset over the sea at 10.30pm.

Benbecula and South Uist........

11-13 June- rain on 11th but not too problematic as a travel day....... Ferry from Barra to Eriskay, then drive the length of South Uist to Benbecula - a dreich journey in rain and mist. Fortunately the 12/13th bright with some sun. Amazing big skies and Hebridean white beaches, single track roads fairly flat and ideal for cycling....... Very scenic bays, here is Shell Bay on Benbecula, looking to South Uist

.....beaches and crofts scattered over the landscape. Amazing for wildlife - a carpet of noisy breeding waders with their chicks at this time of year. Good photo opportunities......also dramatic mountains on The east coast of South Uist, highlands in miniature with heather clad slopes and numerous lochs.

A beautiful place, totally away from the rat race. Now arrived on scenic North Uist, accessed by a causeway across the bay, more white sand, fresh air, quiet, and birds!

Travel here is slow on the winding roads, and it's over a hundred miles from north to south on the Western Isles as a whole.

To Barra.........

9-10 June -

Another stunning day for our crossing to Barra, at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides, via Oban. A 4 1/2 hour crossing up the Sound of Mull, past Ardnamurchan and Coll, then across glassy seas to the Outer Hebrides, and Borve campsite overlooking the Atlantic rollers on Barra's west coast. A quick evening cycle on arrival was accompanied by at least 3 rasping Corncrakes in the iris beds around the crofts, and another dramatic sunset.

We woke on the 10th to cloudier skies and occasional spots of rain, though still calm and warm. A cycle around the circular island main road took around 5 hours including stops

- surprisingly rocky but with beautiful white beaches on the Atlantic side. The airport is on the beach and we saw the daily Glasgow service throwing up spray on its arrival and departure. A good day for down time, catching up and looking at maps for next week. I actually thought all day that it was Saturday not Friday, so I must be on holiday, though the pace of life here is so slow that it almost stops......

Stunning Mull

7-8 June - slowing down to the Island pace of life - it's a surprise to meet any other traffic! Superb day for wildlife yesterday, a White-tailed Eagle flew over our coffee stop and perched in a pine, our cycle ride was interrupted for 20 mins watching an Otter on the rocks then feeding offshore - then late afternoon we stopped by a Golden Eagle eyrie and the adult bird immediately flew round as if showing off! A superb sunset over Loch an Keal from our camping spot on the lochside, with only the lapping waves and nesting birds for company......

8th, sea most in the morning gradually burned off, an afternoon boat trip to the Island of Staffa - Fingal's cave, and amazing close views of Puffins at their burrows. Incredible.

Another stunning sunset, this time at Craignure ready for the ferry back to Oban tomorrow morning. Oh, nearly forgot to mention, 1 Golden Eagle and 1 Otter on the rocks today :)

Crannich and Ben More

5-6 June - Amazing weather - (too) hot, sunny, ideal for swarms of midges, but good for everything else - Mull is very quiet, single-track roads, wildlife much in evidence - so far we've cycled across the island (seeing 2 White-tailed Eagles) and today I climbed Ben More, the only Munro on Mull, amazing views but strenuous on the heat. My 179th Munro, 966m.

Julie very sensibly stayed by the beach with her bike.....we've discovered there are fewer midges on the beach. Sunset not til 10pm so light til 11. Learning the orderliness is all-important in the caravan......such a slower pace of life here, courteous drivers, smiling people.....just like Swindon really!

To Oban...........

4 June - An early start and a 10h drive to Oban, increasingly sunny as we headed north......lunch by Loch Lomond and we parked for the night by a beach S of Oban.......very quiet, and a nice sunset.........a novel experience sleeping by the water!

We have a van!............

3 June - Our small motorhome / large campervan duly collected and run in on the M5 on the way home.....it's brand new! A small fortune to fill it with diesel.... loaded, too much luggage and not enough space..... but all in, bikes attached, and ready to roll early tomorrow.

Tomorrow! ..........

2 June - I found this photo on Twitter today, hoping to see something like this Otter on Mull, and maybe get a pic? Still good weather up there..........daren't check next week!

Eilean Siar here we come !.........well, on 3 June......

30 May - Making lists, packing and sorting to try to fit everything that Julie and I need into a fairly small motorhome, for nearly 3 weeks in the Hebrides.....fine weather continues up there at the moment, so too nervous to check the long range forecast. I'm not sure there will be any room for clothes or food after I've packed my camera, telescope, binoculars and books ;-/ Oh, and we'll escape the referendum countdown......