One week sailing cruise from Scrabster to Lerwick

Sailing cruise from Scrabster to Lerwick

Get on board Wylde Swan and enjoy one week of sailing and visiting beautiful islands, together with our crew and other guests.

This voyage starts in Scrabster, the most Northern port on the Scottish mainland.

Join our professional crew in sailing the ship; help in setting and trimming the sails, steering, learnig about navigation. Join the watchsystem on board; the night watches are very special. Experience the life of a sailor.

This voyage is for those who want a sailing cruise in combination with visiting beautiful islands.

Orkney

We head in the direction of Orkney; an archipelago of about 70 islands. The first island that rises from the water is Hoy, the second largest island of Orkney. The coastline is jagged with many cliffs. The island rises from the sea with Ward Hill as the highest point of 479 meters of elevation. The 'Old man of Hoy' is a 137 metre sea stack formed from old red sandstone, loved by mountaineers.

The phenomenal cliffs that makes you feel at the end of the world are home to a hugely diverse bird colony. Tens of thousands of sea birds nest on the cliffs. Puffins, gulls, ravens. Maybe you spot gray seals on deserted beaches and dolphins in the sea.

The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. The Neolithic heart of Orkney, consisting of Skara Brae, the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar, form part of the Unesco World Heritage Site.

During the 8th and 9th centuries Vikings made the islands the headquarters of their pirate expeditions.

In the late Middle Ages Orkney was given to Scotland as dowry.

We can choose to anchor in a bay and go ashore by dinghy for a hike or a visit to a whisky distillery.

Scapa Flow is a very sheltered bay. The Vikings already used this inland sea for their war ships. In 1904 it became home to the British 'Grand Fleet'. The base played a role during the first and second World War.

Fair Isle

We set sail to Fair Isle, UK's most remote inhabited island. It is nice to be on open sea again and it takes for sure a whole day to sail to Fair Isle; enough time for sailtraining again. Most of the 60 inhabitants live in the crofts on the southern half of the island.

Maybe we can have day at the quay and explore a bit of the island.

Shetland

From Fair Isle we sail to the Shetland archipelago.

Shetland is a subarctic archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland. They form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The city of Lerwick is the capital of Shetland and has 6958 inhabitants.

The archipelago has an oceanic climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low, rolling hills.

Humans have lived in Shetland since the Mesolithic period. The early historic period was dominated by Scandinavian influences, especially Vikings from Norway.

This one week sailing cruise ends in Lerwick, from where you can fly home from Sumburgh Lerwick/Tingwall airport.

Including full board (all meals and bedding).