Scottish Highlands Cruise

We travelled up to Glasgow by train for eight hours but it seemed a much easier and more leisurely start to our break. On arrival in Glasgow we were staying for one night in the Park Inn, a very old building with lots of character. The location was perfect, just a short walk to all the main attractions and restaurants. We had a long wander around taking in all the sights and the atmosphere - I must point out we arrived on a sunny summers day and I would love to return for a long weekend and see it properly! The next day we took the short train journey to Greenock to board our Fred Olsen Boudicca cruise ship. It is the first time either of us had be on a cruise and we were amazed by the size of the ship - and this is one of the 'small' ones! After a pretty straight-forward check in we were on-board and waiting for our ship to set sail. You can use all the facilities too and it seemed very civilized to enjoy a glass of cool rose in the sunshine! As we left the port we were bagpiped out along with an extra-large Scottish dancer! The cabins were as expected - you are never going to have a massive room unless you are in a suite but they are well equipped. We had dinner in the dining room and here we met our dinner friends for the first time (you are put on a pre-assigned table) We got to know them quite well. After watching the evening’s entertainment, we had an early night ready for our first stop in the morning. Our first stop was Fort William and from here we chose to do the 'high in the Nevis Range' excursion. We were met by a local guide and taken by coach to Ben Nevis - she was very knowledgeable and told us all about the local area. On arrival at Ben Nevis we took the gondola to Aonach Mor (655 metres up!) Here we walked the local trials and descended at our leisure. If you get the chance at the bottom there is a rope jungle at Tree Adventure - it is definitely worth a visit. The guide, Jorgen, is brilliant - we were looking at the practice course but we were quite short on time and so he talked us into jumping off a high platform with just a harness - I can honestly say it was exhilarating and certainly not what I expected to be doing! We were transferred back to the ship and where we had some time at leisure as we set sail for Ullapool. Ullapool is an old fishing village - we had chosen to do the Gruinard Bay & Measach Falls tour. We had a really passionate guide, Donald, for this one! We trekked through some dramatic landscape and across a gorge - complete with a bridge that only 7 people could be on at one time! Here we had spectacular views of the Measach falls - the whole time Donald was telling us about the flora and fauna as well as the local folklore and the history of how the gorge was formed during the ice-age. After this we headed to Gruinard Bay and onto the beach. I had to have a paddle but safe to say it was not tropical! We then went to a local hotel for tea, homemade shortbread and the most divine fudge! The coach then dropped us back at Ullapool and we were free to browse the town - we saw a procession with a full Scottish band complete with bagpipers! It is a very quaint little town and I am glad we had the opportunity to see it. The tenders to the ship were frequent so when we were ready we returned to the Boudicca but not before marvelling at the sight of it out in the harbour. Our third stop was Invergordon for Loch Ness. Obviously you are not going to go all that way and miss the opportunity to see Nessie so we took the Loch Ness cruise. The scenery here is stunning and varied and you see a vast array of colours as you slowly meander down the Loch, whilst being entertained by your host who recalls all the times he saw Nessie! Needless to say, she didn't make an appearance today! We stopped at post card perfect Urqhuart Castle ruins - this is definitely worth getting off and walking round - the views are outstanding! We were then back on our coach to travel to Beauly a very old and small town where you can buy tweed and local crafts. We then headed back to the ship to prepare for our formal night on board. This was great fun and it was nice to see everyone dressed up in their finery! The next day was spent at sea. There was entertainment and games laid on so you were not bored - I even had a go at carpet bowls. Who knew people took it so seriously - it didn't go down well when I got my team disqualified as my bowl left the carpet! It's fair to say we were among the <1% of the cruise that was not retired but it was really good fun and everyone was very friendly. I think they enjoyed telling us 'young ones' all about their youth and I, for one, was very happy to listen! The cruise was a fantastic way to see a bit of Scotland in a such a short time and I would definitely recommend it. There was good entertainment, swimming pools, a gym, bars, restaurants, you could have afternoon tea and there was a midnight supper club but we never made it to that! On our last day as dis-embarkation was so quick and seamless and it wasn't long before we were back on the train homeward bound recalling the trip the whole way!