Active Travel

The Outer Hebrides’ unique landscape and vivid history is one to be cherished and explored.  Long distances between settlements often mean that the private car is how most people choose to travel, yet 23% of households in the Outer Hebrides do not have a car available at home; for those living in social housing this figure rises to as high as 49% (Census, 2011). A higher proportion of these households may be located in the Islands’ main settlements, where walking and cycling are feasible choices.

Active travel is transport by physical activity using our own body energy, such as walking or cycling, and mainly for everyday functional reasons such as going to work or school, or to the shops. This can be for all or part of the journey, for example walking or cycling to a bus stop.