Isles in springtime, isles from ancient times.
The ship waits for us to board,
in the river at Dartmouth, and we get our first
taste of adventure on the zodiac ride to the ship. This cruise takes us to
wonderfully remote islands and coastlines - the subtropical gardens of the
Scilly Isles, the nesting cliffs for gannets and puffins on the Skelligs, and
Dun Aengus - an ancient fort, set on the edge of a cliff, on Inishmore Island.
We visit Westport in Ireland, and
Tory Island to meet the King.
The Hebrides
are wonderfully diverse:
Islay - home to single malt whiskies, we visit a distillery for a wee dram
Gigha - bluebells in a lime green forest and a Scottish afternoon tea
Iona - a powerfully spiritual Abbey, turquoise sea and white beaches
Staffa - we zodiac inside a basalt cave of extraordinary proportions
St Kilda - deserted stone houses, cleits and Soay sheep.
Boreray - home to thousands of nesting gannets and fulmars
The Scottish Isles draw
us back to the most ancient times:
- the Stones of Callanaish set amidst buttercups on a hilltop of Lewis
- Mousa Broch and Jarlshoff village (4200 years old) in the Shetlands
The Standing Stones of Stennes and the Ring of Brodgar are awesome
places in the Orkneys where it is easy to feel part of the past.
Click here for stories and pictures
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