‘I found peace and adventure cruising Scotland’s western isles on a tiny ship’

Silence, broken only by the occasional bird cry, enveloped me as I stood on deck watching the sun rise over the water until both sky and the mirrored sea were coloured first red, then gold.

For miles around, I was the only person witnessing this spectacle aside from the crew of a lone fishing boat heading out early for the day’s catch. This is the kind of experience you can have on a 12-passenger ship sailing from the Scottish port of Oban around the Western Isles.

We were anchored off Tobermory, the capital of the Isle of Mull, its colourful seafront shops and pubs still yet to wake up to the morning. At night, the engine of our boat Glen Etive was turned off, so there’s no noise apart from waves lapping at the hull.

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I have sailed on the biggest and most luxurious cruise ships in the world but I retain a special fondness for The Majestic Line, with its bath toy-like vessels, friendly crew and scenic Scottish voyages.

There are no set itineraries. Each day our captain, Colin, decided which route to take dependent on the currents and weather, stopping along the way at tiny settlements and anchoring overnight in a bay or loch. Our chef, Graeme, prepared three delicious meals plus elevenses, afternoon cakes and evening appetisers daily, with ingredients often bought fresh from the day’s ports.

Breakfast options included porridge with a dash of whisky as well as kippers and fry-ups.

After a salad lunch, the three-course dinner might be fish or lamb, with either a starter or dessert and ending with a local cheeseboard.

The other crew were steward Cameron and engineer Fergus. Between the four of them they did every job on board and all pitched in to serve meals or drinks — it’s not often on a cruise that the captain offers you toast or the head chef makes you early morning tea.

We passengers ate together around a large wooden table at the stern — with the ship slowly turning on anchor it felt like a revolving restaurant — before relaxing in the bar at the bow.

Glen Etive and its sister ship Glen Shiel — both purpose built — have five double cabins and two singles. Two other boats — converted fishing vessels Glen Tarsan and Glen Massan — carry 11 passengers.

The solo travellers in our group were two women from Australia and the United States, with four couples – including us – from England and one locally from Scotland.

My wife Mandy and I were lucky to book the one cabin on the main middle deck of Glen Etive, saving us from having to use stairs to reach the other accommodation below. The sleeping quarters are, as an estate agent might put it, compact, with only 2ft or so space around the three sides of the double bed.

There’s a small wardrobe and under-bed storage, plus every room has a shower and toilet.

The third — and top — deck has sun loungers (optimistic, it turned out, for the weather we largely experienced) and the line’s signature gold-painted funnel.

Dress code is very informal and there’s no entertainment beyond the buzz of chatter every evening after dinner. Board games, maps and books were supplied but we were too engrossed in conversation to use them.

At Tobermory, we walked along the seafront, wishing we weren’t already full so we could savour the temptations of ice cream or fish and chips.

However, I did pop into the local distillery to pick up a bottle of my favourite 12-year-old local malt, which I discovered on a previous Majestic Line sailing. The next day we headed back to the mainland, stopping at Salen in Ardnamurchan, where we were dropped off at shore by the ship’s tender boat and walked up to a small loch in the middle of some woods that looked like a fairy glade.

Our final full day was spent on a five-hour cruise in largely “dreich” weather, ending up at Duart Castle on Mull, where sunshine brightened the view.

Having feasted on scones back on board, we headed to a harbour to pick up fresh mussels for dinner, passing a pair of white-tailed eagles on the way. In the evening we raised a glass to new friendships before our final night’s sleep and a sail back to Oban in the morning.

On other journeys the fleet might visit Fingal’s Cave on Staffa or islands such as Rum, Jura, Iona, Muck or Islay. Some even head out to the remote archipelago of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides.

The Majestic Line — named after a fictional company in Scottish TV comedy series Para Handy — was set up in 2004 by two friends, Ken Grant and Andy Thoms.

This year it was sold to regional transport firm Craig of Campbeltown, allowing 80-year-old Ken to return to his main job as an epidemiologist fighting disease in developing countries.

The new owners say they have no plans to change the company’s winning formula.

In their hands, I’m sure The Majestic Line will retain its special charm, excellent service and outstanding food.

And I’ll raise a dram to that.

The Staffa dreams

From Felix Mendelssohn to Jane McDonald, Fingal’s Cave has been famed for the natural acoustics in its strange cathedral-like interior.

The natural formation on the island of Staffa, off Mull, is composed of hexagonal basalt columns, like the ones found on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. It is thought the two were once connected.

The sea cave’s odd echoes inspired Mendelssohn, after a visit in 1829, to compose The Hebrides overture. Nearly two centuries later, TV presenter Jane burst into song while visiting the landmark on a Majestic Line voyage.

When the episode of Cruising With Jane McDonald was broadcast on Channel 5 in 2017, it inspired so many viewers to try to book a cruise that it crashed the line’s website. Even now, bookings spike whenever it’s repeated.

Book the holiday

Majestic Line offers a three-night Taste Of The Hebrides cruise on Glen Etive in 2025 from £1,550pp.

More info at visitscotland.com