Welcome to Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, known for its rich history, vibrant culture, and diverse attractions and starting point of our expedition. Enjoy this afternoon at your leisure. This evening meet the Conservation Cruise team and your fellow passengers at the welcome dinner.

After breakfast, there will be options to either undertake a city tour or head out to the edge of the Highlands for a more wildlife-focused few hours as we visit sites around Loch Lomond.

In the afternoon, we embark Sea Spirit before enjoying welcome drinks and dinner on board as we sail this evening out of the Clyde, passing Ailsa Craig. This tiny island is a base to a 19th-century lighthouse and also the world centre of quarrying for curling stones. It is now an RSPB reserve and home to around 30,000 pairs of gannet, making for a spectacular first evening experience.

We will enjoy the spectacle from the ship as we cruise around the island, taking in the gannetry as well as other seabirds such as guillemot, razorbill, and puffin.

This morning, we land on Iona, which lies just off the coast of Mull and is steeped in history. St. Columba arrived here from Ireland in 563 AD, and Christianity spread through northern Britain from this remote island community. The island is also a stronghold for corncrakes as well as a plethora of other species. You will have time to take in the history of the island as well as head out with the naturalists in search of corncrakes.

Over lunch, we relocate to Staffa in the Tresnish Islands, home to a remarkable series of black basaltic columns and the famous Fingal’s Cave, which inspired Felix Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides overture in 1830.

Onwards to Lunga, the largest of the Treshnish Isles and home to prolific birdlife, including numerous breeding Manx shearwaters and storm petrels, and most famously its very obliging puffins. The island still shows the remains of 19th-century black houses. The waters in this area are also very rich in cetaceans, and we will be on the lookout for minke whale, common dolphin, and basking sharks.

We will start our day at the southern end of the Western Isles chain on Mingulay, the penultimate island of the Outer Hebrides. This stunning crescent island features a beautiful sandy bay that can hold a haulout of grey seals, sometimes numbering 600. An old lane takes us through the long-deserted village, where we hope to hear corncrakes calling. The steep cliffs along the west are home to golden and white-tailed eagles, as well as thousands of seabirds, and at this time of year, there may also be migrant birds in the lush valley base.

If the Atlantic is kind to us, we will spend the afternoon exploring the rarely visited Monarch Isles, a series of low-lying sandy islands off the western coast of the Uists. This area is heavily protected, and for good reason, as it is home to 10,000 grey seals and a significant population of black guillemots, as well as breeding waders on the sandy machair.

The archipelago of St Kilda is often regarded as the jewel of Britain’s Islands; a wild and uninhabited cluster of rocks in the Atlantic, dominated by the largest sea cliffs in the UK and home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds. We will explore Village Bay, the only landing location and the site of human occupation for over 2,000 years until 1936. After a morning soaking in this truly remarkable place, together with Arctic and Great Skuas, the endemic Soay Sheep, and no doubt a few migrant birds, we will explore the formidable stacks during the afternoon, circling Soay, Stac Lee, Stac an Armin, and Boreray, which all now fall under the archipelago’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Up to 60,000 pairs of Gannets breed on these stacks, making for a truly remarkable experience.

The Shiants are a small group of islands in the Hebrides, tucked at the southern end of the Minch between Lewis and Skye. They are the scene for a remarkable success story: the eradication of the invasive Black Rat and the recolonization of thousands of seabirds. These stunning islands are now home to over 60,000 pairs of Puffins, as well as nearly 20,000 pairs of Guillemots and Razorbills, European Storm-petrels, White-tailed Eagles, and Peregrines. We will take a pre-breakfast zodiac cruise to explore the isles before setting sail north.

The Minch is a very rich area for cetaceans, and we will keep our eyes peeled for White-beaked and Risso’s Dolphins and potentially even a Humpback Whale. We should also see European Storm-petrels, Manx Shearwaters, and skuas as we head north to Sula Sgeir and North Rona, Britain’s most isolated inhabited (formerly) islands. These tiny islands are the foraging grounds for the Guga Hunters, men who sail up from Lewis to harvest Gannets. They are also home to species like Leach’s Storm-petrel, and given their location, very few people ever see them. If weather and sea conditions allow, we will attempt a zodiac cruise here.

This morning we visit Foula, one of Britain’s most remote inhabited islands off the western coast of Shetland. Under 30 people live here in a fertile strip of croft land and alongside thousands of seabirds, including one of the UK’s largest populations of Great Skuas, tens of thousands of Fulmars, and almost all of the UK’s northern breeding seabird species. The cliffs are second only to St Kilda, and we will be met with a warm welcome and the opportunity to explore this superb island.

Over lunch, we will relocate to Papa Stour, where we will use the Zodiacs to navigate the stunning cliff scenery, sea stacks, arches, blowholes, and coastal caves.

We continue our exploration of Shetland around the northern isle of Unst. Here, Muckle Flugga, the northernmost land in the UK, will be the focus of a zodiac cruise, while the sheltered bay of Fiska Wick will provide a landing opportunity with a walk over Hermaness National Nature Reserve, home to Great and Arctic Skuas, Puffins, Gannets, Dunlin, and carnivorous plants.

In the afternoon, we will explore Haroldswick, the center of the highest density of rural Viking sites anywhere in the world. Here, there are several Viking exhibitions, including the Unst Heritage Centre, Unst Boat Haven, the site of a Viking Longhouse, and the Skidbladner (replica Gokstad ship) and Viking Longhouse reconstruction.

We shall start the day with a zodiac landing on Mousa, an RSPB nature reserve and home to over 10,000 European Storm-petrels, as well as the best-preserved Iron Age Broch in the world. The island is also home to breeding Red-throated Diver, Common Eider, Common Snipe, Arctic Tern, Twite, Grey and Harbour Seals, and Otter.

Over lunch, we sail the short distance to Lerwick for a free afternoon to explore this historic port. Those with an interest in history can explore the Clickimin Broch, wander through the narrow stone lanes, or visit the superb Shetland Museum. The harbour is also an excellent place for wildlife photography, with Black Guillemots, Common and Arctic Terns, and even Otters foraging close by. There will also be an option to visit Jarlshof, the best-known archaeological site in Shetland, containing remains spanning from 5500 years ago up to the 17th century.

Late afternoon, we will be joined by a representative from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, who will give a presentation on the work of the organisation in the archipelago.

We have the whole day to explore the incredible island of Fair Isle. Located midway between the Shetland and Orkney Islands, the tiny population of fifty-seven islanders always extend a warm welcome to visitors. There will be numerous options here, from enjoying a walk across the island searching out the puffin slopes, visiting the Bird Observatory (the most famous in the UK), stopping by the community hall for a cup of tea, or maybe purchasing some of the famous knitwear. In the afternoon, we hope to be able to explore the coast of the island by zodiac.

Arriving at the northern end of the Orkney Islands, we will visit the bird observatory on North Ronaldsay. At this time of year, we will likely encounter a number of migrant birds, from warblers to waders, as well as many locally breeding species. The island is also famous for its coastal sheep, which are walled off from the pasture and onto the foreshore where they graze seaweeds.

Overnight, we will have relocated down the eastern coast of Scotland to the outer Firth of Forth. Our morning will be spent exploring the delightful Isle of May, where we will be welcomed by hundreds of Arctic Terns and keep a watchful eye out for the well-camouflaged female Eiders on their nests. Thousands of Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, and gulls breed on the island, making it a true seabird spectacle. In the afternoon, we will cruise around the impressive Bass Rock, our final seabird island and home to a very impressive gannetry.

Disembark after breakfast. Transfers will be provided to Edinburgh Waverley Train Station and Edinburgh Airport at a fixed time. Let us know if you would like to stay the night in Edinburgh (at an additional cost), and we can make arrangements for you.

This itinerary is subject to change due to weather conditions or other unforeseeable circumstances.