Guest bloggers: Australians John and Carole Dunphy on their cruise with The Majestic Line

Scotland’s Majestic Line – ‘Around Mull: Inlets and Islands’

Glen Massan anchored in Tobermory Harbour, Isle of Mull  

Image: John Dunphy

Last month, Sydneysiders John Dunphy and wife Carole decided to spend some quiet time on their own during a family visit to Scotland, and booked a six night cruise on Glen Massan.

“Our chosen cruise,“Around Mull: Inlets and Islands”, was a circumnavigation of Mull and its surrounding smaller islands. The prelude to our cruise was a wonderful three hour train trip from Glasgow to Oban on the famous West Highland Train Line, and soon after leaving the suburbs of Glasgow we were enjoying the beautiful scenery of Loch Lomond and then into the highlands, to the lovely port town of Oban, to join our cruise.

http://www.travelmonitor.com.au/review-scotland-majestic-line-cruise-glen-ma

 

Day 1

Passengers met at a local waterfront restaurant to be briefed, and introduced to the crew and our fellow passengers. Very soon we were on board Glen Massan, which was moored in Oban Bay. The crew gave us a safety briefing before showing us to our double, en-suite cabin, one of six on board. There was a comfortable double bed, cosy en-suite with shower, heating and enough storage for our needs. All Majestic crews stay together for the season and each has a special name. Our crew is called the Puffin Crew. There were four crew including Skipper, First Mate, Purser and Chef.

Main Saloon table set up for lunch Image: John Dunphy

Soon we were heading South down the Sound of Kerrera to the first night’s anchorage in the beautifully named inlet called Pool of the Otter on Seil Island. Passengers assembled in the main saloon for appetisers, drinks and the first of our sumptuous three course dinners, whilst getting to know our fellow passengers and crew. This cruise had nine passengers -couples from the US, England and Australia, plus a Dutch schoolteacher travelling on her own.

Amazingly, The Majestic Line keeps two cabins for single guests on every cruise, with no surcharge!
Wine with dinner and three substantial meals a day are included in the tariff. All meals are taken in the main saloon, which also has a small library, charts and maps of the area and a big TV with our navigation chart displayed. Chef puts out a menu board every day and manages to come up with some lovely treats between meals (not that we needed to eat more!)

Day 2

The second day saw us sailing across the rugged Southern coastline of Mull enjoying lunch on the way to our next stop on the island of Iona. We entered the Sound of Iona in glorious sunshine, deep blue seas and clear blue sky, before anchoring and going ashore.

Iona Abbey with Glen Massan anchored in the Sound of Iona and Mull in the background Image: John Dunphy

Everyone was looking forward to seeing the island with its famous and magnificently restored Abbey and the ruined Nunnery, and we walked through the lovely village, enjoying seeing its excellent craft/gift shop, whitewashed houses and newborn lambs in the fields. The abbey is magnificent and is still in use today for services, accommodation and meetings. It was hard to imagine what Iona would have been like when St Columba arrived here from Ireland in the 6th century to found his original abbey.
Back on board we sailed around the Ross of Mull to the second night’s anchorage off the little village of Bunessan.

Day 3

Day three dawned clear and fine, which pleased everyone, for we were scheduled to land on Staffa to visit Fingal’s Cave and this anchorage is very weather dependent. The cave was magnificent and we had 360 degree views of the surrounding islands from the cliff tops on Staffa. Glen Massan then sailed around the uninhabited Treshnish Islands searching for wildlife, particularly puffins, as these islands are their nesting grounds.
We saw lots of the little sea birds before heading for another wildlife and lunch stop between the islands of Gometra and Ulva. Passengers are free to visit the bridge and use the forward top decks for better viewing, and to see how the boat navigates. That night saw the boat tucked in to the North of Ulva near the small settlement on the island. We learnt that first governor of NSW, Lachlan Macquarie was born on Ulva and his family were the Lairds of the Island. First Mate ensured that all passengers got another good night sleep by turning off the generator, once everyone had retired for the night. It was not turned again until 7.30am the following morning, which acted as an unofficial alarm clock for the morning cup of tea and breakfast.

Day 4

Day four saw us cruising around the North of Mull with a lunch stop on the way to the prettiest of our anchorages in the appropriately named Loch Drumbuie. After dinner we enjoyed drinks on deck watching a magnificent sunset and enjoying the long northern twilight. The small bar on Glen Massan has an excellent selection of local malt whisky and we did enjoy sampling a number of them.

Sunset over Loch Drumbuie, Isle of Oronsay Image: John Dunphy

The Glen Massan headed for the “big smoke” of Tobermory the lovely capital of Mull, on day five. We had many hours on shore, walking along the waterside tracks, seeing the local shops and cafes, and enjoying a drink in the famous Mishnish Hotel, know to locals as “the Mish”. The skipper met us in the Mish at 5.30pm and, after a few drinks, we headed back to the boat for the night on the Tobermory harbour anchorage.

Tobermory waterfront with famous Mishnish Hotel in the centre  

Image: John Dunphy

Day 5

On our final full day, we sailed down the Sound of Mull with our usual luncheon stop before the boat dropped those passengers who wanted some exercise, at the village of Craignure. From there we walked the three miles or so to Duart Castle, home of Clan Maclean. The castle is open to the public during the summer months and we were fortunate to be some of the first visitors for the year. Glen Massan had sailed around to the bay behind the castle to pick up the walkers, and we then sailed the short distance to our last night anchorage in the sheltered Loch Spelve, that has substantial mussel faming activity – so our chef had ordered fresh mussels for dinner on our last night together!

Day 6

After breakfast on our last day, we retraced our steps up the Sound of Kerrera and back to Oban, where we bade a sad farewell to the lovely crew of Glen Massan and our fellow passengers.

Sea Kayakers off Easdale Island Image: John Dunphy


This review was first published in "travelmonitor.com.au"