Celtic Voyage: the Hebrides and the Irish Sea – With Smithsonian Journeys on the Le Bellot

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Ponant

Mark Stratton

Scotland Shetland Cormorant ©Studioponant Soalesport

Duration

9 DAYS

Class of Ship

Large Expedition Ship

Sustainability

Ship to Shore Power, Green Marine Certified

Berths

184

Ice Class Rating

Duration

9 DAYS

Class of Ship

Large Expedition Ship

Sustainability

Ship to Shore Power, Green Marine Certified

Berths

184

Ice Class Rating

Expedition overview and highlights

Hike among the dramatic lochs and granite hills of the Hebrides, spotting seals, red deer and rare seabirds along the way
Explore Osborne House, Queen Victoria's favourite residence, designed by Prince Albert
Visit the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and explore the basalt wonderland shaped by ancient volcanic forces
Wander through award-winning Tresco Gardens at the height of the spring bloom

Join a 9-day cruise aboard Le Bellot exploring the rich history and culture that thrives on either side of the Irish Sea. Begin with a night aboard ship docked near London Bridge, then set sail in the early morning down the Thames to discover historic Dover Castle, perched high on the emblematic White Cliffs, and perhaps visit the nearby UNESCO Heritage site of Canterbury Cathedral. Enjoy a morning on the Isle of Wight visiting Osborne House, Queen Victoria's favourite residence, before a relaxing afternoon cruising along the shores of the English Channel. Arrive the following day some 30 miles off the southwest coast of Cornwall in the Isles of Scilly, where you visit the world-famous Tresco Gardens.

Crossing the Irish Sea, you call in Kinsale, Ireland, your gateway to proudly Irish Cork and its iconic Jameson Distillery. A stop in Douglas, Isle of Man, allows for a visit to Chapel Hill, the site of an excavated Viking ship dating to between 850 and 950 AD. Or choose to ride the Manx Electric Railway, in service for more than 130 years, for a breathtaking trip through green glens and hollows, with excellent views of the coastline. Belfast, Northern Ireland's dynamic capital, is home to Titanic Belfast, a state-of-the-art museum on the site of the yard where the ill-fated ship was built. It is also your opportunity to experience the spectacular unspoiled scenery of the Antrim Coast and the famed Giant’s Causeway of over 40,000 interlocking, hexagonal columns, formed by the cooling of molten lava some six million years ago. Your final full day is spent exploring the fabled Hebrides, beginning in the charming fishing port of Tobermory, whose distillery produces a renowned single malt scotch whisky, before proceeding to Duart Castle, ancestral home of Clan Maclean on the Isle of Mull, and ending with the mystical abbey of the Isle of Iona, home to the first Christian settlement in Scotland. Your voyage comes to an end in Greenock, gateway to Glasgow, Scotland's modern cultural capital.