Ancient Isles: England, Ireland & Scotland
Explore the British and Irish Isles during this 16-day Ancient Isles: England, Ireland & Scotland cruise. Meander through English gardens; steep in Irish maritime history and folklore; and visit sacred islands, ancient abbeys and UNESCO World Heritage sites in Scotland. From London, cruise to Portsmouth, where King Henry VIII’s Tudor warship Mary Rose is on display, then to Fowey for a walk through the Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan. The Isles of Scilly are known for the Tresco Abbey Garden, filled with historic ruins and subtropical plants. In Ireland, explore the maritime history of Cobh; sail by Skellig Michael, a Celtic Christian hermitage where beehive huts and remains of a 7th-century monastery still stand (and the site of Luke Skywalker’s secret hideaway planet); purchase a woolly sweater on the Aran Islands; and visit Dun Aengus, a Celtic stone fort perched on the cliff’s edge.
Scotland offers the sacred island of Iona and its 12th-century abbey, the incredible seabird colonies on Outer Hebrides,the Stone Age megaliths of the Ring of Brodgar and the 5,000-year-old stone-slab village of Skara Brae. Step into medieval St. Magnus Cathedral, possibly land on the uninhabited island of St. Kilda and Zodiac to the music-inspiring geometric basalt columns of Fingal’s Cave off Staffa Island. The Shetland Islands are the perfect finale to this 16-day British and Irish Isles cruise, with Shetland ponies, dramatic landscapes and 4,000 years of history and culture to discover. Disembark in Bergen, Norway, with two weeks of unforgettable experiences locked in your memory bank.
In addition to the main itinerary, which focuses on England, Ireland and Scotland, an alternative 11-day North Sea itinerary delves deep into the rich history of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. An alternative 10-day Atlantic Coast itinerary explores mostly France with various daily options for activities like sampling cognac, hiking along the coast and visiting oyster farms, a lighthouse, botanical gardens and various historical sites. And an alternative 10-day Scotland’s Wild Isles itinerary ventures along nearly the entire coastline and offshore islands, with a focus on Scotland’s flora, fauna (including incredible birdlife), history and tastes.
Departures are aboard either the 148-guest National Geographic Explorer or 126-guest National Geographic Resolution. Both ships offer a home base that is perfect for exploring the best of the region, including well-known visitor spots and rarely visited, hard-to-reach gems. Equipped with National Geographic guides, historians, photographers and expert leaders, and built as polar expedition vessels, the Nat Geo Explorer and Resolution slice through the North Sea waters with speed, stability and grace, navigating easily to small, ancient islands as well as larger city ports.
Read on for details about this trip, or learn more about AdventureSmith’s Northern Europe cruises and Northern Europe trips.