We’re now three months into our 2025 cruising season and therefore nearly halfway through. Doesn’t time fly! As we head off on our second cruise from Oban we’re reflecting on the season so far. From around mid-April onwards we had some truly amazing weather. Brilliant sunshine, warmth in the air and favourable winds led to really successful and enjoyable trips in the gorgeous Firth of Clyde — although of course even when the weather isn’t quite showing up, it’s still glorious here. Let’s admit it, no one really comes to the west coast of Scotland for the sunshine — but it is an added bonus! We completed ten Clyde cruises — four Kyles and the Isles, two Arran and Ailsa Craig Wildlife Explorer cruises, one Villages and Gardens of South Argyll cruise, one Inlets and Islands of Wild Argyll cruise and two private charters, visiting the Kyles of Bute, Campbeltown, Loch Fyne, Loch Long, the Isles of Arran, Bute, Gigha, Sanda and Cumbrae, to name a few of our cruising stopovers. We had quite a number of returning guests, which we love. It’s such a compliment for us to know people trust us with their holidays. We’ve also welcomed plenty of new friends, including a crew from France TV, who did a feature on us and cruising in the Firth of Clyde on one of their evening programmes. You can see a clip of this over on our social media pages.
We’ve been lucky enough these last few months to see a lot of our wonderful Scottish wildlife. The Clyde pod of bottlenose dolphins has shown up quite a number of times, surfing Splendour’s bow and putting on quite the performance for our guests. The local minke whales have been out and about, as have the puffins, guillemots, razorbills, sea eagles and even otters, a personal favourite.
While cruising we realised that Splendour reached an amazing milestone as she completed the equivalent of two circuits of the earth. In nautical miles the circumference of the earth is approximately 21,600. Previous skipper, Iain, reset the trip computer for the first voyage of Argyll Cruising and this year we we have rounded the world for the second time since then — and all in the bonnie waters of Scotland. So we thought Prosecco and homemade scones were in order to mark the occasion.
In early June we set off on the thirteen night Hebridean Odyssey cruise. We always make it an aim to visit as many Scottish islands during this cruise as we can. This year we managed sixteen, including Bute, Arran, Gigha, Colonsay, Oronsay, Skye, the Shiants, Jura and Islay. Phew! We even managed to round the Mull of Kintyre on a day with winds blowing in the right direction — very important, according to Skipper Ted. We made it to Oban last week, which signals the mid-point for us in our cruising season. This year, due to circumstances out of our control, we’re trying out a new location from which to start and end our cruises. We’re using the pontoon at SAMS, the Scottish Association for Marine Science. It’s still in Oban but outside the centre and therefore a bit quieter. It’s just beautiful there with views out to Eilean Mòr and Dunstaffnage Castle just next door.
We’ve now got eight cruises to go from SAMS where we’ll visit everywhere from the legendary Corryvreckan Whirpool to the picturesque village of Tobermory on Mull, the wonder that is Fingal’s Cave, the teeming puffin colony of Lunga, the spectacular Cuillins on the Isle of Skye and so much more. After that we’ll head back to the Firth of Clyde on the Southern Hebrides and Mull of Kintyre cruise. We have some spaces remaining on this cruise due to cancellations, so get in touch if a blend of history, wildlife and scenery, all in the beautiful waters of Scotland, sounds like your idea of a perfect holiday. We’ll then be based back in the Firth of Clyde until mid-October. We do have space on a few of our other remaining cruises for this year, so have a look at our cruising calendar to book for this year and beyond. We’d love to see you.
“One of my very favourite adventures.” Ron Domin
Private charter | May 2023
“Lovely trip with perfect weather and great company. Thanks to Ted and Iggy.” Gail and Paul
Arran and Ailsa Craig Wildlife Explorer | April 2022
“A fabulous trip and something we will long-remember . . . Would highly recommend this trip for adventurous people of all ages.”
Private charter | July 2023
“A gem of a holiday. We think we’ll definitely be back in the future to enjoy another trip with Ted and his top team.”
Skye and the Small Isles | July 2023
“Everything was as splendid as the ship’s name.” Geoff and Sue Crowley
Kyles and the Isles | 2022