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Jura Inner Hebrides


Crowned by the landmark Paps, Jura is a place of wild beauty offering a haven to a wide range of wildlife, including some 6,500 red deer. Glaciated raised beaches are a marked feature of its western shores, with the treacherous Corryvreckan Whirlpool to the north. Jura has one tiny village of 200 residents, Craighouse, where the small Jura Distillery has produced a unique single malt since 1810.


Please see pages 32, 52, 66, 68, 76 and 82. Kerrera Inner Hebrides


Tiny Kerrera tranquilly guards the entrance to Oban from its two sheltered harbours at Ardentrive Bay and Horse Shoe Bay. Historically a stepping-stone for cattle drovers between Mull and the mainland, this fertile and hilly isle is crowned by the Renaissance MacDougall stronghold of Gylen Castle.


Please see pages 68 and 76. Lewis Outer Hebrides


Lewis is the largest and most northerly of the Hebrides, forming one island with Harris. Most of its wild landscape, rising to 1,800 feet (549 m) in the south, is cloaked in peat bog – hence its Gaelic name ‘Leodhas’, meaning ‘marshy’. The Callanish Standing Stones and well-preserved Carloway Broch stand testament to its occupation since prehistoric times. The port of Stornoway is the only town.


Please see pages 40, 42, 48, 50, 54, 60 and 72. Muck Ponies


Muck, Small Isles Inner Hebrides


Puffins, Lunga


Lunga, Treshnish Isles Inner Hebrides


Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Lunga is rich in plant life with many rare and endangered species native to the island. Described as a ‘green jewel in a peacock sea’ Lunga was inhabited until 1857 and the remains of the ruined village and its blackhouses can still be seen today.


Please see page 44.


Mainland, Orkney Northern Isles


Home to the burgh of Kirkwall, the Orcadian capital, and more recent Stromness, dating from the 16th century, Mainland is the most densley populated of the Orcadian isles. Its fertile soil attracted settlers from prehisoric times, as witnessed by the UNESCO World Heritage Neolithic Heart of Orkney, and later Pictish remains. As with the whole of the archipelago, the influence of the Norsemen was strong.


Please see pages 54, 56, 58 and 60.


The flat and fertile Isle of Muck, scattered with wild flowers and rimmed by silver shell-sand beaches, is a peaceful haven for puffin, kittiwake, fulmar, shearwater, sea- eagle and the porpoises that swim off its shores. Port Mòr is the only village, where the tearoom and craft shop serves delicious home baking.


Please see pages 26, 32, 70, 72 and 80. Mull Inner Hebrides


Fringed by an indented 300 miles (480 km) coastline, Mull is an island of sweeping moors broken occasionally by picturesque clearings. Colourful Georgian-fronted Tobermory is the capital and Craignure the main port, south-east of which lies the ancient Duart Castle, seat of the Macleans.


Please see pages 28, 30, 32, 38, 44, 46, 48, 52, 60, 62 and 74.


Sanda Sanda Firth of Clyde Islands


Sanda, ‘Sandaigh’ in Gaelic, is a small, privately-owned island off the southern tip of the Kintyre Peninsula. An important bird migration and breeding point, it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), housing the first bird observatory on the west coast of Scotland. Although the island is treeless today, north-western Wood Hill indicates that this was not always so.


Please see pages 20, 24 and 86.


Sanday, Orkney Northern Isles


One of the most northerly and third largest of the Orkney isles, fertile Sanday, named after its sandy shores, has been settled for some 5,000 years, as its prehistoric brochs and cairns attest. North Loch is home to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the habitat of rare orchids, and the island’s birdlife is prolific. The main settlements are Lady Village and Kettletoft.


Please see pages 54 and 56. 16 Please refer to the 2019 Cruise Diary and Tariff for prices • Hebridean Island Cruises 01756 704704 • www.hebridean.co.uk


Mainland, Shetland Northern Isles


Home to Shetland’s only burgh of Lerwick, Mainland is the third-largest of the Scottish Islands. The long peninsula of South Mainland, south of Lerwick, consists mainly of mixed farmland and moorland with many important archaeological sites, including Sumburgh and Scalloway. Blessed with varied scenery ranging from the charming to the wildly dramatic, the island is a paradise for birds and wildlife from otters to orcas.


Please see pages 56 and 58.


Mingulay, Berneray and Pabbay Bishop’s Isles, Outer Hebrides


At the south tip of the Hebrides, these three uninhabited Bishop’s Isles, swathed in white sandy beaches and flower-scattered machair, are awe-inspiring from the sea. Around Berneray 600 feet (183 m) cliffs, nested by thousands of seabirds, tower up dramatically from the sea. In the north, the Lewisian gneiss ‘Hermit Island’ of Pabbay, settled by an early Christian community, as its Old Norse name implies, is an ideal spot on which to land.


Please see pages 40 and 66.


Raasay Inner Hebrides


Located between Skye and the mainland, Raasay, ‘Isle of the Roe Deer’, is relatively low-lying in the north and mountainous in the south, rising to 1,453 feet (443 m) on central Dun Caan. Visited by Boswell and Johnson in 1773, the island is most famous as the birthplace of Scottish Renaissance poet Sorley Maclean. The main village is Inverarish.


Please see pages 38 and 60.


Tanera Mòr, Summer Isles Highland Isles


Village Bay, St Kilda St Kilda


Outer Hebrides


The last 36 Gaelic-speaking residents of St Kilda evacuated the main island of Hirta at their own request in 1930, thereby ending some 5,000 years of continuous settlement. Behind them they left a deserted village that survives today as an outdoor museum, roamed by Soay sheep. Renowned for its awe-inspiring bird cliffs and stacs, St Kilda’s remote and exposed Atlantic location makes visits weather-dependent. The archipelago is now a double UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Rum


Rum, Small Isles Inner Hebrides


Capped by Askival (2,664 ft/ 812 m) in the rocky Cuillin, the wildlife haven of Rum is a National Nature Reserve and research centre. Owned by Scottish Natural Heritage since 1957, it was bought by the Lancashire industrialist John Bullough in 1879. At the turn of the 20th century, his playboy son, Sir George built the folly of Kinloch Castle, which remains a time- capsule of those headier Edwardian days.


Please see pages 26, 28, 34, 50, 62, 64, 74 and 80. Please see pages 42, 44 and 50.


Shiant Isles Outer Hebrides


Privately owned by the Nicolson family since 1937, the Shiant Isles are geologically outliers of Skye, ringed by basalt rocks, reminiscent of Staffa and the Giant’s Causeway, that teem with thousands of seabirds. Mythically haunted by kelpies, the isles are a renowned wildlife haven for common seals, basking sharks, puffin, herring gull, oyster catcher, eider, shag and many more.


Please see pages 40, 42, 44 and 48. Skye Inner Hebrides


The largest of the Inner Hebrides, Skye was connected to mainland Scotland by the Skye Bridge in 1996. Created volcanically some 60 million years ago, its awe-inspiring landscapes are a paradise for walkers and climbers. Bizarre rock formations punctuate The Quiraing, with the Old Man of Storr, Trotternish to the north-east and Vaternish to the north-west.


Please see pages 26, 28, 32, 34, 38, 40, 42, 50, 60, 62, 70, 74 and 80.


Staffa Inner Hebrides


Staffa, named ‘Stave’ or ‘Pillar Island’ by the Vikings, lying 6 miles (10 km) west of Mull, was formed volcanically at the same time as the Giant’s Causeway, cooling into mainly hexagonal black basalt columns. Cliffs rising to 131 feet (40 m) are riddled with caves, the most famous of which is Fingal’s Cave at Staffa’s southern tip, named after legendary Irish hero, Finn MacCool.


Please see pages 30, 38 and 52.


Stronsay, Orkney Northern Isles


This fertile and flat island of rich farmland supports an array of rare plant species, including the blue-flowered oyster plant. The Vat of Kirbister is a spectacular feature of a varied coastline with pristine beaches. The population of 380 is mainly based in the northern village of Whitehall.


Please see pages 54 and 56.


Tanera Mòr is the largest of the Summer Isles, a cluster of scenic islets located off the coast of Ullapool. Atop a lush, grassy hill, the flat summit of Meall Mor commands panoramic views over the surrounding area. The unique private post office issues its own stamps, and opens out of hours especially for our visits.


Please see page 48.


Unst, Shetland Northern Isles


Britain’s most northerly island has a landscape more varied than most in Shetland due to its unusual geology. This stunningly beautiful and varied landscape supports a rich variety of wildlife, as well as purebred Shetland sheep and ponies which roam the common grazing land. Large colonies of breeding seabirds inhabit the impressive cliffs at Hermaness National Nature Reserve. The Unst Boat Haven is dedicated to the history of the islands' distinctive wooden boats.


Please see page 58.


Sandaig Museum, Tiree Tiree


Inner Hebrides


Enjoying long hours of sunshine, mild, fertile Tiree is the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides. This wild flower and birdlife haven, with shell-sand blown machair and surf-washed beaches, is much favoured by artists for its natural beauty and colour. Duns and brochs bear witness to its ancient history, while the white Thatched House Museum in Sandaig reveals its more recent crofting past.


Please see pages 30, 50 and 66.


The Uists Outer Hebrides


A paradise for walkers, the tranquil Uists abound in geological and historical contrasts. The low-lying bird-haven of North Uist, scattered with green-blue lochans, is Norse and Protestant by tradition, and a world apart from the Catholic and Gaelic stronghold of South Uist. The second-largest of the Outer Isles, South Uist’s softer, undulating landscape is carpeted in flower-decked machair and fringed by dunes.


Please see pages 34, 40, 44, 54, 62, 64, 66 and 72. Vatersay Vatersay Outer Hebrides


The most southerly of the inhabited Outer Isles, Vatersay is sliced in two by a narrow bar of sand and machair. With dramatic beaches, spectacular wildlife and a history dating from the Bronze Age, this beautiful isle has much to offer. The population of just over 70 residents is centred mainly around Vatersay town in the south.


Please see page 40.


Westray and Papa Westray, Orkney Northern Isles


Westray, affectionately known as the 'Queen o' the Isles', is a thriving community of 600 islanders. The island’s rich archaeological heritage is etched across its landscape. The high sea cliffs at the RSPB reserve at Noup Head identify one of the most important seabird sites in the UK. At Papa Westray step back in time and encounter the oldest house in Northern Europe, The Knap of Howar, a Neolithic farmstead which predates the Pyramids by over 1,200 years.


Please see pages 54, 56 and 58.


Yell, Shetland Northern Isles


Sheila’s Cottage, Ulva Ulva Inner Hebrides


Situated off Mull, the tiny isle of Ulva is a traffic-free haven covering barely 2 square miles (5 km2) and home to only 16 permanent residents. One of the most ancient settlements in the Western Isles and erstwhile seat of Clan MacQuarrie, the island is now privately owned by the Howard family. Ulva’s past is well documented at Sheila’s Cottage Museum on the west coast.


Please see pages 30 and 34.


Yell is the largest of the Northern Isles after Mainland Shetland and hold great appeal for geologists, botanists and birdwatchers, claiming to be the ‘Otter Captital’ of Britain. During the summer the coastline of Yell is also alive with breeding birds such as whimbrel and golden plover. The landscape inland is one of blanket peat bog dotted with crofting settlements. Yell has been inhabited since the Neolithic times, and a dozen broch sites have been identified from the pre-Norse period. Notable buildings on the island include the 17th century Old Haa of Brough in Burravoe, a merchant's house now converted to a museum and visitor centre.


Please see page 56. Please refer to the 2019 Cruise Diary and Tariff for prices • Hebridean Island Cruises 01756 704704 • www.hebridean.co.uk 17


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