With our new cruising season starting next Thursday, many of you are joining us this year on cruises taking in the wonderful St Kilda archipelago. What better time then to re-share this little video of the pyramidal sea stack of Stac an Armin, the highest in the UK at 196 metres. This qualifies it as a 'Marilyn' in the lexicon of climbers. For wildlife lovers though it is also home to colony of gannets along with the isle of Boreray and the more rounded Stac Lee in the background. Famously it was also the last location a Great Auk was seen in the UK in June of 1840 when 3 islanders from the main island of Hirta took it and eventually killed it.
St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS #stkilda #stkildacruise Outer Hebrides Historic Environment Scotland VisitScotland #greatauk
All-inclusive cruises from Oban 🛳
One of our most favourite locations in the Outer Hebrides are the wonderful Shiant Isles. They are home in the spring and summer to large populations of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and several other species. This also attracts predators and scavengers like white-tailed eagles, peregrine falcons, and the great and Arctic skuas.
The nesting locations in the boulders that make up the scree slope on Garbh Eilean are quite an amazing spectacle as you can see here, and very different from the usual puffin burrows or cliff ledge nests of the guillemots.
Outer Hebrides, #visitouterhebrides, #shiantisles, Shiant Isles, Scottish Wildlife Trust - Living Seas, Wonder Seekers, Island Explorer Magazine, Scottish Seabird Centre, Scottish Field
🎥JEGS Media for Hebridean Adventures
Humpback Whale - The Minch near Stornoway - August 2023
You will have already seen our photos last week taken by Irene Boston aboard the Hjalmar Bjørge, of the humpback whale now known as 'Echo' seen in the Minch recently. She also captured a little bit of video which we thought you might all enjoy of it hanging out on the surface for a while before diving right at the end of the clip and showing the underside of its tail fluke. #hjalmarbjorge #humpbackwhale Wild Scotland Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Whale and Dolphin Conservation Sea Watch Foundation Outer Hebrides Stornoway Gazette
Sometimes we just have to stop and soak in the special places we get to visit with our guests each year. This was a perfect day in Shetland from just over a week ago, spending time with the puffins and enjoying the spectacular views from the clifftop. We still have some availability for late summer and autumn on board with us so treat yourself to a holiday and come cruising on the Hjalmar Bjørge!
After dropping our next group of guests off in Ullapool yesterday ready for their adventure cruise to the Shetland Isles, I drove around to the Rhue lighthouse to watch them go by on their way to Isle Martin and the Summer Isles in Loch Broom for their first evening. So lovely to see her go gliding by both great views of Ben mor Coigach.
So nice to bump into our friends from Ullapool Sea Savers and Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust at the harbour.
Wonder Seekers Wild Scotland Scotland is Now VisitScotland Green Tourism
Meal prep on the Hjalmar Bjørge
Our chefs prepare some amazing food in the small galley on-board the Hjalmar Bjørge and it is something our guests constantly comment on. We are in awe of the quality and presentation of their meals each day. It's all in the details!
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#topchef #cruisefood #hebrideanadventures #hebrideanadventure #cruiselife #smallshipcruises #hjalmarbjorge
The Hjalmar Bjørge at Sula Sgeir
Around 40 miles north of the Isle of Lewis is the little rocky island known as Sula Sgeir. This National Nature Reserve is home in particular to a gannet colony which has been made famous over the years thanks to the annual guga hunt, when men from Ness, at the northern tip of Lewis, have historically sailed to the island to harvest young gannets as part of an ancient tradition, and now with a strict limit on numbers under a special licence.
Hebridean Adventures and the Hjalmar Bjørge typically run a very special North Rona and Sula Sgeir cruise each year which is back on the calendar again for July 2024. Not many people ever get to see these islands due to their remoteness so please register your interest now in reserving a place by emailing us at [email protected] today as places are limited and sell quickly!
Outer Hebrides Wild Scotland #visitscotland #sulasgeir
Golden Eagle flying over Mull
You don't get much better views of a Golden Eagle than this, filmed by regular guest and contributor Irene Boston. Such a magnificent bird and so effortless as it soars over the hills. Join us on a cruise or a Skyefari this year and you too could also be watching eagles overhead like this.
#goldeneagle #scottishwildlife
Watch this otter munching on a crab
There's not much that beats spotting an otter along Scotland's coastline and this one on the Isle of Mull was caught crunching up a crab it had caught. We often spot otters on our cruises and while on shore excursions along the rocky shores like this one, but actually some of the best places can be the small harbours we sometimes visit like Tobermory. Here otters have learned they can often find an easy meal so add them to their patrol routes.
Check our website for our 2023 cruise itineraries and availability!
🎥 Irene Boston
#otters #ukwildlife Visit Mull and Iona This Is Scotland NatureScot Scottish Wildlife Trust - Living Seas RSPB Highlands & Islands
Dolphin watching in the Hebrides
Common dolphins like these are the most likely cetacean species to visit us on our cruises around the Outer Hebrides on the Monadhliath from Stornoway. They usually move much faster but this pod were very leisurely and going nowhere fast, just happy to drift by to check us out. Watch out for the lovely little juvenile dolphin with its mother most likely that comes really close and even leaps out for a look.
#dolphinwatching #dolphins Wonder Seekers Outer Hebrides Wild Scotland WDC Scottish Dolphin Centre Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Whale and Dolphin Conservation Sea Watch Foundation
50 seconds of dolphin magic
Common dolphins like these are the most likely cetacean species to visit us on our cruises around the Outer Hebrides on the Monadhliath from Stornoway. They usually move much faster but this pod were very leisurely and going nowhere fast, just happy to drift by to check us out. Watch out for the lovely little juvenile dolphin with its mother most likely that comes really close and even leaps out for a look.
#dolphinwatching #dolphins Wonder Seekers Outer Hebrides Wild Scotland WDC Scottish Dolphin Centre Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Whale and Dolphin Conservation Sea Watch Foundation
Goosanders, like this one filmed recently by our friend Irene Boston visiting Mull, are members of the sawbill family whose beaks are lined with razor sharp teeth for catching and holding slippery fish during their dives underwater.
What's it like on board the Monadhliath?
On our cruises that visit our favourite Shiant Isles in the Minch, we will often take you around the 3 small isands so you can see the various seabird cliffs like this one, full of kittiwakes as you will no doubt hear on the audio.
We have spaces on a few cruises this year so please do come and join us - it will be a Hebridean holiday you won't forget. Oh, and make sure you bring your camera! 🐧🦅🐬🐳
You can find all the options online at www.hebrideanadventures.co.uk
#shiantisles #kittiwakes
The view from the top!
On our cruises that visit our favourite Shiant Isles in the Minch, we will often take you around the 3 small isands so you can see the various seabird cliffs like this one, full of kittiwakes as you will no doubt hear on the audio.
We have spaces on a few cruises this year so please do come and join us - it will be a Hebridean holiday you won't forget. Oh, and make sure you bring your camera! 🐧🦅🐬🐳
You can find all the options online at www.hebrideanadventures.co.uk
#shiantisles #kittiwakes
Kittiwakes at the Shiants
We were back at the Shiants on Sunday and the time took a trip around one of the kittiwake colonies - just listen for their distinctive calls and wonder how they manage to communicate when they are all shouting at once it seems.
Thanks to our guide Julie for the video - sound on and click on HD in settings for the best experience.
#scotlandisnow
Happy Dolphin Days
Those dolphin filled days make for some happy tears and happiness <3
