5 July 2021
The cruise was excellent. St Kilda is breath taking for its geology, bird life and mysterious historic buildings. Gill and I quite spontaneously both compared its haunting atmosphere with Machu Picchu. Rob the captain took us as close as possible to some wonderful bird covered cliffs, stacks and caves and homed in on bird flocks, seals, minke whales, dolphins, otters and other wildlife sights whenever he glimpsed them. We enjoyed walking on Hirta and the other islands where we saw so many wildflowers. We were lucky to see the St Kilda mouse and wren although TV enthusiasts might consider the Balamory cat more important. I was surprised to learn that the crew of four had not all worked together many times as they formed such a well co-ordinated team. All the passengers got along well. Rob the captain seemed to know the islands in detail and is obviously a man of many accomplishments but still seemed happy to help serve meals. Sian, the lady chef, produced very fine meals and evening dinners were a culinary and social joy. Craig seemed to be everywhere helping and Zoe the naturalist never stopped looking for wildlife and pointing it out from the boat and when she guided us on the islands. We are both somewhat stiff jointed but with a little help we had no trouble with beach landings. We slept in one of the two smaller cabins. There was no space to spare but we quickly made ourselves at home and were very comfortable. The little wet room worked well. We can happily recommend Hebrides Cruises to anybody. Thanks to all you all.
Gill & Paul Gillians
This cruise is the shortest one they do but we still managed to get in a lot of walking in some beautiful locations. It was the rutting season so it was magical to stand out on deck listening to the bellowing stags in the hills surrounding the Loch. We also had some good sightings of them. We were privileged to have two very close sightings of wild otters on land eating their catch! The crew were as helpful and attentive as ever. I think the fact that out of the four cabins on the Elizabeth G, three were people who were returning to the ship, including myself, which proves what a wonderful experience it is. It was also nice to have a couple on board who hadn't sailed with Hebrides before as they were so enthusiastic. A friendly group, lovely locations and brilliant crew - what more could you ask for!
Melanie Rogers: 1 October 2022Inner Hebrides Big 5 Autumn Wildlife Cruise