Wild Scottish Isles
by Claudia Hudson
July 2016
Claudia and Roger have been hosting a group of our clients on Captains Choice Wild Scottish Isles, a cruise to the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and as far North as Denmark’s Faroe Islands. Here’s some of their highlights:
“Our time in Scotland is drawing to a close and we have now said goodbye to our group and the Hebridean Sky. We have picked up a hire car and driven a couple of hours north east from Edinburgh to the lovely landscapes of Perthshire where we have made the welcoming Kinloch House (R&C) our home for two nights. Yesterday we had our first full day of sunshine for the entire trip! It’s now Sunday and we are having a day off from touring and just enjoying our lovely room overlooking the fields and trees and the crazy cows with the big horns which the Scots call Highland Coos.
The Captain’s Choice trip has been a great success. There were lots of interesting people on the Captain’s Choice group with whom we spent some memorable meals and adventures. Hebridean Sky is a lovely little ship taking up to 110 pax but less than 80 on this particular trip.
The expedition crew were good with a lot of varied experience in birds, rocks, plants, photography etc. Wild Scottish Isles was a very apt name for this trip. All the Scots that we’ve talked are amazed that we could have been to the Isle of Skye, the Western Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, the Orkneys and the Faroes (Denmark) all in one trip. Landings were mostly by zodiac and there was ample opportunity to do optional long walking excursions across fields, up windswept hills and leaning over giant cliffs of nesting birds.
We also did quite a lot of coach touring around the various islands and we’ve had some excellent guides. I must admit that I’ve come to admire the Scots enormously considering their turbulent history and aggressive neighbours over the centuries.
Our farewell dinner on Friday night was held in Edinburgh Castle with great pomp. (I love Edinburgh). Roger and a few of the other men went to the trouble of hiring a kilt and boy did they look impressive.
We drive back to Edinburgh in the morning and get on board the Royal Scotsman train to the Highlands where we will enjoy more whisky tastings and stately homes and hopefully end up with a very comprehensive understanding of what this part of Europe is all about.
Onwards!
