A true pleasure cruise

The itinerary for the Britain in Bloom cruise, circumnavigating Scotland, reads like an epic seafaring adventure.

Perhaps not in the footsteps of Shackleton to the South Pole, but an exciting journey nonetheless. The raw, rugged coastline and wild, unspoilt islands of the west coast are best explored by sea. This island hopping cruise from Edinburgh visits Orkney, the Summer Isles, Skye, Staffa, Iona, Islay and Gigha on board the MS Andrea, a small Arctic Expedition ship, which, like a private yacht, can navigate narrow inlets and shallow hidden bays.

Our first port of call is Kirkwall, Orkney, the archipelago of distinctive Norse-Scottish culture and archaeological treasures. On a coach tour we visit Skara Brae, the prehistoric village dating back to 2,700 BC, the Pier Arts Centre of world class contemporary art in Stromness, and the ancient stone circle, the Ring of Brodgar. The Orcadian wilderness is stunning – such pure beauty in the painterly seashores and changing light of the sky.

These cruises particularly attract birdwatchers, naturalists and photographers who scan the horizon with their binoculars and cameras ready to spot geese, skuas, dippers, terns, kittiwakes, perhaps a sea eagle, seals, dolphins and minke whales.

There are inspiring briefings each evening from Stefan Kindberg, expedition leader, about the next day's shore excursions and illustrated lectures on the Hebrides, Scotland's own Galapagos islands.

We take a Zodiac dinghy ride to Tanera Mor in t...

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• By : Vivien Devlin
• In : Best of Scotland
• Issue : 44
• Page : 41
• Words : 656