P.orpoise everywhere at the first light. Porpoise at the bow and stern. Porpoise off the coast of Raasay and the Whaleback Crowlin Islands. Porpoise hidden from passengers cruising across the Skye Bridge but clearly visible from our ship’s protective deck as we slide north towards Loch Torridon. After a short time, a pod surrounds the boat, the sickle fins shine white in the winter sun. A little further on, near the Applecross coast, two cormorants dance across the freezing sea.
The cormorants are suitable. I’m on board the sturdy Nova Spero, a blue-green eco-friendly ship operated by the new adventure cruise company Skarv Lines – Skarv is Gaelic and Old Norse for those black seabirds. But unlike cormorants, known for their throaty grunts, the eco-friendly boat can run almost silently, powered by a battery to reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution on lake lakes and canals.
Cruise on the Nova Spero. Photo: Robin Mckelvie / Alamy
The Nova Spero’s voyages, which started in summer 2020, explore the roughest sections of the Atlantic and North Sea coasts of the Highlands. The boat is even bolder in winter. We are also planning trips to Newcastle, Northumberland and Norway, but today we are mapping an untested route from Corpach near Fort William through the Inner Hebrides via Mull to Torridon and Raasay. On the peaks of Ben Nevis and Càrn Mòr Dearg we have already seen dolphins, porpoises and seals as well as crisp snowfall. It’s hauntingly beautiful.
But this is not a cruise in the traditional sense of the word. The boat, now a converted excursion boat for sardine-comfortable passengers, was originally a wooden hulled fishing trawler that searched for tuna from Newlyn in Cornwall to the Bay of Biscay. The seven heated cabins with space for 14 guests are located in the hold where around 50 tons of fish were once stored on ice. The storm hatches, ship’s bell and landing winch remain true to the original, as well as the searchlight and the blackened towing portal for the trawl net. In bad weather, guests are given oilskins and are invited to help out on deck or just hold on and enjoy the snowball-fresh sea air. Best of all, the berths can be tailored to suit guests’ needs, creating a bespoke adventure of sea kayaking, hiking, bird watching, or a tour of the distillery.
Gray seal. Photo: Westend61 GmbH / Alamy
A Gaelic proverb applies to the first day of sailing from Corpach to Tobermory: If you stay at the ferry for a long time, you will eventually get over it. That means: “Anyone who waits a long time for the ferry will come by at some point.”
From time to time we circle a gnarled headland in the hope of seeing a bird of prey or a dorsal fin in the sea channels. Soon, near the cool foothills of Loch Aline, we will be frozen in place by wobbly whales, sea eagles and glorious snow-capped peaks. There is no trace of the yachts and other ships arriving in summer, only the view of lonely lighthouses with chess pieces and blindingly empty beaches.
When it comes to finding the most pristine spots, it helps that the crew is so connected to the sea. The owner of the boat, John MacInnes, is an Eriskay captain; One of his last jobs was transporting colossal anchor workers from Aberdeen to oil rigs along the Brazilian coast. In the sunken wheelhouse sits skipper Bill Summers, a scallop fisherman from Skye who retired but missed the sea too much.
Loch Slapin and the Isle of Skye. Photo: Westend61 / Getty Images
“If you can endure the unpredictable winter weather, you can see some really breathtaking places,” says John as we steer a choppy swell around the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan, one of the most westerly points on the British mainland. “We also have the Highland Coast all to ourselves at this time of year. Almost.”
As if to underline his words, we pass a favorite area of a killer whale community on the west coast, but only see waves. The abundant marine life – orcas, minke whales, short-billed dolphins, round-headed dolphins, porpoises – is the same year round, but the cooler weather and changing winds make the seas eerily calm and the only traffic is scallop and lobster boats.
If you can endure the unpredictable winter weather, you can see some truly breathtaking places by John MacInnes, Master Mariner
That is why the fishing code helps. Locals recognize the trawler’s telltale signs – the flag of Saint Piran and the blue-pea-green cross of South Uist on this voyage – and hard-earned shellfish catches are brought to the wharf at a discounted rate. When we moor in Kyle of Lochalsh on the second night, we have hot-smoked salmon and hand-dipped scallops from Sconser on Skye for dinner in front of the wood-burning stove. Whiskey, formerly bought at the Tobermory distillery, follows on deck under a star-lit sky.
The next morning we slide past salmon farms and fishing grounds into a calm sea rolling towards Skye, just as Bonnie Prince Charlie did when he fled for his life in 1746. The ghosts of history are always present along this coast. A particularly tragic story tells of the loss of 201 Lewis men who perished when HMY Iolaire met the infamous Beasts of Holm rocks off Stornoway at 2am on New Year’s Day 1919. They returned home poignantly at the end of the First World War. A plaque honoring her marks the entrance to the Kyle Line Railway Museum.
White-tailed eagles are often seen over the Inner Hebrides. Photo: Russell Millner / Alamy
Later in the afternoon we will sail down the sky-mirrored Loch Torridon, where the tilting light on the water is so clear it feels like we are stepping through the mirror into a new realm. Snow blows the peaks of Beinn Alligin and Beinn Eighe, and we take Nova Speros Rib (rigid inflatable boat) for a magical land trip to the village of Torridon. It’s quiet and empty, which makes the mountains even more intimate.
Our final destination is Raasay, a highlight for Samuel Johnson and James Boswell on their tour of the Hebrews in 1773. Today it boasts a trend-setting, if incongruously stylish, whiskey and gin distillery. The island’s shores plunge into the UK’s deepest seas, and we spot red deer in heat roaming the northern moors. Spectacular sea-to-summit views of Skye are a given on the way back south.
Beinn Alligin, Beinn Dearg and Liathach above Loch Torridon. Torridon. Photo: Martin Birchall / Alamy
The rugged coast of the Hebrides is no longer as far away and inaccessible as it used to be, but it still feels far away from home – and has a special, lonely charm in winter. That’s their appeal: the fantastic sea creatures, the unheard-of lake lakes, the Narnia peaks. We drink everything up. And Nova Spero? It means “new hope”. What we all need more than ever in times like these.
The trip was made available by Cormorant lines, which offers multi-day cruises all year round. The four-night winter Loch Linnhe, Oban & Mull cruise costs from £ 880 pp all inclusive
Three more British winter adventures
Somerset
Murmuration of starlings near Glastonbury Tor on the Somerset Levels. Photo: Ben Birchall / PA
Mike Dilger of The One Show leads a four-day trip to the Avalon Marshes in the Somerset Levels, the winter home of thousands of waterfowl, as well as birds of prey and otters. Highlights can be enormous murmurs of starlings and a herd of rare cranes.
£ 625 pp half board, next trip January 9, 2022, Wildlifeworldwide.com
Norfolk
Cley beside the Sea Windmill and Marshes, North Norfolk. Photo: Rod Edwards / Alamy
The wetlands, forests and dunes of North Norfolk are perfect for a long bird watching weekend. In addition to geese, ducks and waders, there are seasonal visitors such as the buzzards, snow bunting, bank lark and waxwings. We spend an evening looking for owls.
£ 395 pp half board, next trip December 10th, naturetrek.de
Cairngorms and Central Highlands
Squirrel, Cairngorms. Photo: Rick Wood
This five-day tour takes you into habitats ranging from rivers and lagoons to pine forests and mountains to maximize wildlife encounters. Red deer, squirrels, pine marten, mountain hare, capercaillie, snow bunting and ptarmigan keep their fingers crossed.
£ 795 with accommodation and most meals, next trip February 24, 2022, wildniscotland.com
