Sailing & Walking
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Sailing & Walking View Trip Dates Knoydart, Skye & The Small Isles Book Now Trip Grade: Blue 5 Knoydart Skye & The Small Isles Sailing on a 75-year-old traditional yacht, you will explore the islands and sea lochs which make the west coast of Scotland so dramatic, going ashore in the company of an expert guide to enjoy some excellent remote hiking. This itinerary is flexible and you may visit the remote peninsula of Knoydart, often referred to as Scotland’s last wilderness, as well as the Isles of Skye and Rum with their rocky ridges and Eigg with its distinctive mountain ‘An Sgurr’. You will hike to rarely visited vantage points, beautiful white sandy beaches and wild and remote glens, using the yacht to access these remote locations. In coastal waters renowned for their diversity of marine and bird life, you have every chance of seeing whales, dolphins as well as a plethora of birdlife such as golden eagles and sea eagles. Set against the backdrop of the islands’ fascinating history and culture, this maritime adventure makes for a truly unique and memorable holiday. Highlights • Enjoy a combined sailing and walking holiday, exploring the Hebrides on a traditional yacht. • Experience the extraordinary wildlife of Scotland in its most unspoiled wild locations. • Discover some of Scotland’s finest walking, accessing rarely-trodden routes from the yacht. Book with confidence • We guarantee this trip will run as soon as 2 people have booked • Maximum of 8 places available per departure PLEASE NOTE – The itinerary is not set, this is an example itinerary only Planned Itinerary Day 1 | An Evening Sail Day 2 | Sail to the Isle of Rum Day 3 | Rum Cuillin & Canna Island Day 4 | Canna & Loch Scavaig - Skye Day 5 | Walk in the Skye Cuillin Day 6 | Loch Hourn to Loch Nevis Day 7 | Short Passage to Mallaig & Return Home Arrival Info • You will be met by your Wilderness Guide on the main platform at Mallaig Railway Station 1:40pm on Day 1 of your trip Departure Info • You will be returned to Mallaig Railway Station 10:00am on the final day of your trip PLEASE NOTE – The itinerary is not set, this is an example itinerary only Day 1 | An Evening Sail On arrival in the small fishing village of Mallaig, you will be warmly welcomed aboard the yacht. Following a trip briefing and afternoon tea you will set sail to either the Point of Sleat on Skye or to an alternative anchorage, perhaps Eilean Shona in Loch Moidart. (D) Day 2 | Sail to the Isle of Rum Following a relaxing breakfast you’ll set sail for the mysterious and fascinating Isle of Rum. This stretch of water is excellent for whale spotting and we are likely to see porpoises and dolphins as we sail. After lunch in Loch Scresort, we head ashore to explore Rum and its famous Kinloch Castle. (B, L, D) Walk details: easy walk – 8km, approx. 3 hours Day 3 | Rum Cuillin & Canna Island You’ll head into the hills to explore the majestic Rum Cuillin. One possible ascent might be Hallival, populated by Europe’s largest colony of Manx Shearwater which nest in burrows high up on the mountain. Returning to the yacht amidst incredible views of Eigg and Skye, we set sail for Canna. (B, L, D) Walk details: moderate walk – 12km, approx. 6 hours Day 4 | Canna & Loch Scavaig, Skye You can spend the morning ashore on the stunning Island of Canna, enjoying the short walk to the summit of Compass Hill with its fantastic panoramic viewpoint. From here we can see the route to our evening’s destination, Loch Scavaig, spectacularly situated at the foot of the Cuillin Mountains on Skye. (B, L, D) Walk details: easy walk – 5km, approx. 2 hours Day 5 | Walk in the Skye Cuillin Loch Scavaig, in any weather, must be among the most dramatic anchorages in the world. Following breakfast, you’ll head ashore to enjoy a walk round the hauntingly beautiful Loch Coruisk. Returning to the boat for lunch, you then sail to the fjord-like Loch Hourn on the mainland peninsula of Kynoydart. (B, L, D) Walk details: moderate walk - 8km, approx. 4 hours Day 6 | Loch Hourn to Loch Nevis Following an ancient deer stalker’s path, you will cross the Mam Barrisdale pass, traversing the pristine wilderness country of the Knoydart Peninsula. Reaching the village of Inverie on the shores of Loch Nevis you can visit the most remote pub in Britain, before a celebratory final dinner aboard the boat. (B, L, D) Walk details: moderate walk - 14km, approx. 6 hours Day 7 | Short Passage to Mallaig & Return Home Following breakfast, you’ll make the short trip back to Mallaig to connect with the morning train south. (B) Trip Grading | Blue 5 | Our Blue graded Sailing and Walking trip is suitable for people with no previous sailing experience, however a good level of fitness and hiking experience is needed. We are based aboard Eda Frandsen - a beautiful 70 year old traditional yacht. Sailing aboard Eda is a hands-on experience as there are no winches on board to help raise sail, so everyone is needed to help out on deck. You will be asked to help hoist sails and help sail the yacht, which is fun but can be challenging. The areas below deck for sleeping/eating etc are compact but functional so you should also be comfortable with the idea of having limited personal space for the duration of the trip, as expected when living on a boat! When hiking we walk at a good pace and you can expect to be out for 3-6 hours at a time. You will not always be on a path and the terrain underfoot can be rough and boggy, including boulder fields and mountain tops. Some of the daily walks will involve a mountain ascent of over 2000ft / 600m high. The weather in Scotland can be unpredictable and at times can make activities more challenging. Please do bear this in mind when thinking about what trip to join. If our guides feel that you are not able to complete a scheduled hike they may ask you not to join in that day. If you have any questions about the grading, then please do give our Adventure Consultants a call to chat through your experience and suitability for this trip. It is your responsibility to ensure you are appropriately fit and capable of doing the described hikes in the expected times. Please refer to the grading section on our website for more details. If you are unsure we encourage you to speak to us first. Accommodation and Meals Eda Frandsen is a beautifully restored 75-year old Gaff Cutter. She is extremely graceful and her rails and spars gleam with varnish. The rig is entirely traditional showing incredible workmanship. Down below, she is comfortable and well equipped, but please understand that personal space is still limited. There is a comfortable saloon and 4 ‘cabins’ with twin sleeping berths in a bunk arrangement. The cabins are separated from the saloon by privacy curtains. Each berth has its own locker storage. Please ensure that you bring your personal belongings in a soft holdall that can be compressed to fit into the locker. There are 2 “heads” or bathrooms including one with shower facility. The layout of the boat can be seen on the plan below. Although we may be at sea, the food is a real highlight and we can expect creative and wholesome meals often prepared with fresh local produce, such as seafood or venison. Special Dietary Requirements Due to the small size of the galley and being at sea, we are not able to accommodate as wide a range of diets on this trip. If you have any dietary requirements please discuss this with us before you book so we can check with the skipper to see if this can be accommodated. If we are not aware of your dietary needs at the time of booking we cannot guarantee we will be able to cater for them. Please note - Unfortunately we're not able to accommodate people with nut allergies on any of our sailing trips. All Inclusive Inclusions This trip includes the following: • 6 nights accommodation on the traditional sailing yacht ‘Eda Frandsen’ • All meals during the trip (Meals included indicated as B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) • All transport throughout the trip starting and finishing in Mallaig • All specialist group sailing equipment • The services of a highly experienced skipper and walking guide Our All Inclusive trips include all accommodation, meals, guiding and travel during the trip. We do not include drinks or any gratuities you may choose to leave. Our holidays reviewed in your words… One of the highlights was the day we sailed to Skye and hiked for a few hours. As we ascended the hill, we noticed that a wedding, complete with a piper, “ was taking place in the distance across from us! We stopped to take it in and when the ceremony was finished we continued our climb accompanied by the wonderful sound of the bagpipe echoing over the hills. The rest of the day was equally magical. We had a great wind for the afternoon sail and enjoyed full sun on a very warm day (shorts, T-shirts and sandals were all that we needed). We ate an amazing dinner on deck in full sunshine, then visited with the boat that had moored beside us, taking in traditional Scottish songs played on the fiddle, guitar and flute.