Hopscotch Island Hopping in Western Scotland

Thanks for adding the map Ron... and the index!

One thing I had intended pointing out is how easy it would be to make a complete journey of these islands with very few visits to the mainland! Starting at Ullapool, sail to Lewis and then drive onto Harris. Then take the ferry to Skye, visit Rasaay and then from Skye sail to North Uist. Follow the road to South Uist and then sail to Barra and then over to Coll and Tiree!

From this point the only way seems to be to head to Oban - the first stop on the mainland since leaving Ullapool! Then its the Wednesday ferry to Colonsay and on to Islay. After a trip over to Jura, return to Islay and then on to the second return to the Mainland Island, Kintyre!

After a quick visit to Gigha, sail over to Arran then the mainland once more in Ayrshire. Drive north then sail to Bute followed by a quick visit to Cowal and either back to Kintyre or Gourock via Dunoon!

I have no idea how much it would work out to do this, but it's gotta be possible!

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I've just started reading the latest issue of the Historic Scotland magazine and there just happens to be an article called Island Hopping inside... what are the chances of that happening?

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The ultimate HopScotch if you ask me. I wonder how much time you would need to do it the way you said. Dont tell Calmac or they will steel your idea. But honestly, it would be absolutely fantastic to see the Scottish isles that way, providing you have the time. What would you guess Bruce, could it be done in 4 to 6 weeks?

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www.scotlandview.co.uk

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I would say at least 6 weeks if you wanted to do the islands listed any justice - as for cost, who knows, but I may just check it out and see... 1 car and 2 adults seems like a good starting point!

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For those that have read the Island Hopping topics so far and wondered how much it would cost, I have actually sat down and worked it out... starting in Ullapool and following the journey below would cost £1001.75 for one vehicle and two adults!

Ullapool-Lewis
Harris-Skye
Skye-Rasaay
Skye-N.Uist
Eriskay-Barra
Barra-Oban
Oban-Coll (ret)
Oban-Mull (ret)
Mull-Iona
Oban-Colonsay
Colonsay-Islay
Islay-Jura (ret)
Islay-Kintyre
Kintyre-Arran
Arran-Ayr
Ayr-G.Cumbrae (ret)
Ayr-Bute
Bute-Cowal
Cowal-Kintyre

That price does not take into consideration any savings that would be made using CalMac's Hopscotch tickets or other expenses such as petrol, accommodation, etc... it also would take quite a few weeks depending on how long you would want to spend on each island! It may be that for the journey to be feasible you would want to split it into smaller sections, but I'll leave you all to work that out for yourself!

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I should have stated in the above comment (with the price for the ultimate island hop!) that leaving the car behind would cost under £300 for the ferries - saving over £700, which when you take petrol prices into consideration, would mean that even having to rely on public transport would be considerably cheaper... making it all even more worth consideration!

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