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The Hebridean PrincessAn Elegant Scottish Country Inn ... on the Water!By Jamie RossOutside, horizontal rain pellets buffeted the large picture windows of the Tiree Lounge. Inside, I was sitting comfortably in a plush, leather club chair pulled-up in front of a sprawling beam and brick-work, electric fireplace, a dram of single malt in hand. As we headed down the Sound of Kerrera, a distant bagpipe echoed over the water, dying in the wind and rain of a Scottish squall. Oysters, smoked salmon, and other savoury hors d’oeuvres were being served by a waitress in flowing tartan, while Captain Gunn, decked out in his finest, raised a glass to the fifty Princess guests gathered for the Official Welcome. While the atmosphere may have suggested an elegant, Scottish country inn, the slowly changing views outside reminded us that we were on a voyage, marshalled out of the port in Oban by the solitary piper, rounding the Islands of Luing and Scarba towards our anchorage for the night in the delightful, sheltered waters of Loch Melfort.
Now, I am far from a horticultural expert, but this cruise was much more than that. On the third day we drifted past Iona, the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, and Staffa, whose incredible rock formations include the unique Fingal’s Cave. The ten person landing craft spirits us first to the small, barren, grass-covered island of Iona, where we stroll meditatively along an asphalt lane through sheep pasture, to the beautiful, earthy Iona Abbey. Some of us also choose to visit the Isle of Staffa, to clamour over the slippery volcanic, basalt columns for a peak into the huge black abyss that is Fingal’s Cave. Both the abbey and the cave are overwhelming. Iona for its incredible religious history and Fingals Cave for its sheer grandeur and solemnity. The sounds of the sea echoing through its depths once inspired the young German composer, Felix Mendelssohn, to write “Fingal’s Cave Overture” after a visit.
With a shallow draught of only ten feet, the Hebridean Princess is built to serve the remote west coast of Scotland, and allows access to the distant firths and sounds and less-explored sea lochs and fjords, once ploughed by the war-galleys of the ancient Celts. Guests can discover inaccessible islands, unexplored coastlines, and unspoilt harbours, far from the tourist machine of the commercial ports.
“Nearly half of our clientele have been on one of our cruises or will have been recommended to us,” boasted Carroll. “They request their usual stateroom or cabin, viewing it as their own.” On this trip there were nine returnees. The Tiree Lounge, with its intimate bar, is the ship’s social point, but there are many quiet corners where a peaceful moment can be enjoyed; the well-stocked library with its leather armchairs and sofa, holds a fine selection of books and popular videos, the Look-out Lounge is a room designated as a ‘smoking permissible’ area, with comfortable seating and large picture windows giving views to the starboard, while the Conservatory allows unrivalled, sheltered views to port. The beautifully appointed cabins and staterooms are named after Scotland’s romantic western isles or castles, some have private balconies.
The ship was ideally suited to her role as a floating country house hotel. The peace and tranquillity of its overnight anchorages all but defied description. The scenic backdrops ranged from soaring cliffs to gently rolling hills, and the romance of a fiery Hebridean sunset or mist and rain of a Highland gale, were part of the mystical experience. If You Go ... Contact Hebridean Island Cruises Ltd., Griffin House, Broughton Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 3AN: Toll Free: 1-800-659-2648 or E-mail reservations@hebridean.co.uk. Cruise lengths are between 6 and 15 nights, running from early March to late October. Depending on tour, cabin, and season, prices range from $2,000 to $20,000 U.S. Eleven of the staterooms are designed for the single traveller. Images Courtesy of the Hebridean Princess |
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Our seven day cruise, ‘Scotland in
Colour,’ would take us without haste, to the Isles of Gigha, Cull, Rum,
Skye and Mull, and to the beautiful formal gardens, Arduaine, Inverewe,
Achamore, and Crarae. It is a cruise of contrasts; from the coastal storm
that saw us off in Oban, to the brilliant sunny afternoons that spoiled us
for the rest of our journey; from the rugged mountainous terrain cloaked
in its subtle Autumn colours, to the hue and fragrance of Scotland’s most
spectacular gardens. Being pampered by the warming effects of the Gulf
Stream, these botanic wonders, complete with semi-tropical plants and palm
trees, are in brilliant, September bloom, despite being on a parallel with
Siberia and Hudson’s Bay.
There were many exhilarating
sights over the course of the cruise. One early evening we viewed puffins
and seals off the Treshnish Islands. The trip allowed a visit to the
modern, red sandstone Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum, as well as Duart
and Torosay Castles on the Isle of Mull. On day six, after a trip in local
boats to a seal colony on the Isle of Skye, we visited Dunvegan Castle,
one of the most romantic and celebrated of Scottish castles, and ancestral
seat of the Macleods since the 13th century.
The Hebridean Princess is unique
amongst the world’s fleet of luxury cruise ships in that she carries a
maximum of just 50 guests pampered by a crew of 37. At the first-night
social, the ship’s jovial purser, Charles Carroll, introduced me to the
loquacious Ms. Adele Harris, a stooping, elderly guest from Cumberly who
is on her third voyage of the summer aboard the Hebridean Princess. Ms.
Harris makes it her duty to become my own personal guide. Many guests try
to complete all of the varying thematic voyages, touching the Inner and
Outer Hebrides, Scotland’s rugged western coast, Northern Ireland, and
even Norway. 
Scottish cuisine was served in the
intimate Columba Restaurant, where each guest had their own table.
Lunches, barbecues and afternoon tea were served in the sheltered ambience
of the airy Skye Deck. I loved to settle into the teak steamer chair on
the sun deck to watch the rugged, Highland scenery slip gently by. I
dreamt of my boyhood favourite, Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Kidnapped,” and
the ill-fated voyage of the Brig Covenant, that shipwrecked in these
waters off the coast of Mull. When I enjoyed brief spurts of energy, there
were deck games, clay pigeon shooting and a well-fitted gym to assist in
honing my appetite. A 40-knot speedboat and ship’s bicycles were available
for shore visits.