News

Elizabeth G feels like our home from home - this year is my tenth year holidaying on the boat.  Well we don’t see it as a holiday - more of a yearly adventure!  Rob the skipper and the rest of the crew greeted us in Oban;  we were determined to make the best of things after a forecast warning of high winds, however we left Oban under leaden skies and cruised to Loch Sunart where we spent the first night at anchor. 

Our first cruise of the season exploring the Islands of Mull, Coll and Iona was amazing with almost perfect weather and a fantastic array of rare species.  Having a dedicated Wildlife Guide on board our cruises is what makes our cruises a true wildlife experience.  Nigel Spencer was our Wildlife Guide on board and provided lots of information, spotted lots of species and took some amazing photos as well as providing a detailed report of the cruise.

Hebrides Cruises is a proper family business.  Rob Barlow is Owner and Skipper; daughter Emma is Sales, Marketing and Shore Manager, her husband Peter works on the cruises in a variety of roles, including Skipper and Engineer. Not to be forgotten is Granny Mary, a vital person in the business, providing the scones for the guests arriving on the boat for their cruise which are always much appreciated!  Here is the recipe - with a few extra tips.

We are delighted to announce that Hebrides Cruises owner, Rob Barlow, was awarded the Gold WiSe Standard at the WiSe ‘Masters’ Course last week in Fort William.  Rob is also Skipper on our cruises during the season and is very aware of the necessity of protecting and not disturbing the wildlife we take our guests to see. 

Conservation charity the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust said that from its research yacht Silurian, which was used in the BBC TV programme Blue Planet, volunteers and scientists spotted 2,303 common dolphins, 42 bottlenose dolphins and 94 Risso’s dolphins in its 2016 expeditions. Trust director Alison Lomax said: “The impressive range of species documented in

Our new vessel has been refitted to provide the perfect combination of luxury and adventure for the once-in-a-lifetime trip to St Kilda. All five cabins on board are double or twin ensuite; our cabin suite is especially suited for guests who require more space. Our four crew are dedicated to ensuring our 10

An amazing find - a 250-year-old census showing the earliest recorded population of the Island of St Kilda has been discovered thanks to work by the National Records of Scotland.

If you are a Maclachlan, MacQueen, Ferguson, Gillies, MacDonald or MacKinnon, the list of people on the census might have been your ancestors.

Our Mull, Iona and Coll cruise is an exceptional island hopping itinerary with so much variety and beauty in the landscape and environment. A 6-night cruise is not long enough to explore the whole area but, just to give you a flavour of the choice on offer, here is a list of some of the Skippers most favourite anchorages. The weather and wind direction will play a large part in choosing which part of Mull any cruise will explore, but as you can see, wherever you land, it’s going to be stunning! Needless to say, the best way to experience the magic of Mull is from the sea.

Robin came on board our Caledonian Canal Explorer 6-night cruise in October 2016 – here is the direct link to his blog article on Welcome to Scotland.

Skye and Small Isles 6-night cruise: 17th – 23 September. Our first steam provided great scenery, especially in the spectacular late summer light. One very distant eagle was spotted soaring over the Morvern hills and we had guillemots, razorbills and gulls galore, but no gannets this time. We anchored in Loch na Droma Buidhe and sat down for our first meal: apricot and mozzarella salad; salmon ballotine; and spiced apple crumble.

We were treated to a surfeit of cetaceans on this cruise! Minke whales, bottlenose and common dolphins and an extremely rare sighting of a pod of at least 40 porpoises. There were also front seat views of an otter and white-tailed eagles amongst other wildlife delights. And of course, the scenery, the sunsets and the

Weather-wise the cruise was typical Outer Hebrides with a total contrast from very wet and windy to soaking up the hot sun on the top deck or taking a plunge in Loch Nevis! The guests decided against going to St Kilda due to the stormy weather early in the week, enticed by the many other

Saturday This week’s private charter had a fantastic itinerary that everyone, the guests and the crew alike, were very excited about; Jura, Islay, Colonsay, Staffa, Lunga and Mull were on the list. As we set out from Oban after having enjoyed sparkling wine, scones and canapés we were all holding our fingers firmly

Day1: With our guests onboard and the safety briefing done we left Oban’s North Pier in sunshine and headed west, passing the Isle of Lismore into the Sound of Mull. Straight away it could be seen that we had some enthusiastic birdwatchers and photographers onboard as everyone was up forward looking for birds and taking photos. We were accompanied of course by our onboard guide and professional wildlife photographer Chris Gomersall.

 We were delighted to welcome back Chris Jackson as the Skipper aboard our annual photography cruise with Chris Gomersall - here is his report.  Karen Aspen was Chef and Chris Gomersall took some photos of her delicious food.