Scotland and Faroes Isles and Wonders on Ocean Victory

Your Adventure Begins

Your Scotland and Faroe Islands Small Ship Expedition begins!

Granite spires and silver-grey buildings shimmer under the northern light in Aberdeen, where mica-rich stone catches even the softest sun. Once a modest fishing village and now a hub of North Sea activity, the city’s maritime roots remain visible in its working harbour, winding streets, and long relationship with the sea.

Offshore platforms on the horizon hint at Aberdeen’s role in the North Sea oil era—modern industry layered over centuries of seafaring and trade. Before boarding your small expedition vessel, take time to explore the city’s parks, gardens, and waterfront paths.

By late afternoon, you’ll step aboard and settle in as the ship prepares to sail. Ahead lie Scotland’s storied waters and the remote isles that will shape the days to come.

Included Meals

Dinner on-board 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Stories Etched in Stone

Step ashore in Kirkwall, the heart of Orkney and a place where history feels close enough to touch. Here, the Heart of Neolithic Orkney—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—reveals ceremonial landscapes that have stood for more than four millennia. Walk among the stones of the Ring of Brodgar, their silhouettes marking thousands of years of human presence and sky-watching tradition.

In town, the red sandstone walls of St. Magnus Cathedral rise in quiet grandeur, while the nearby Hall of Clestrain connects Orkney’s past to polar exploration and global storylines.

Cafés, craft shops, and small galleries reflect Orkney’s living culture—warm, creative, and deeply tied to land and sea. It’s a day where deep time and daily life meet, each illuminating the other.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Meadow, Sea, and Sky

Set between Orkney and Shetland, Fair Isle greets you with green meadows, high cliffs, and a sense of calm that comes from life lived close to sea and sky. Once a Viking harbour and now a haven for artists, knitters, and naturalists, the island is home to remarkable colonies of seabirds.

Watch puffins, great skuas, and fulmars wheel overhead while wildflowers brighten the slopes beneath them. Along the paths and low stone walls, Fair Isle’s distinctive rhythm becomes clear—steady, self-sufficient, and shaped by craft and community.

A visit with island residents offers a glimpse into daily life here, where creativity and tradition continue to thrive at the meeting point of the North Atlantic currents.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Life on the Edge of the Sea

Today brings us to two of Scotland’s most remote islands. On Foula, meet residents who continue the tradition of crofting beneath some of the highest sea cliffs in Britain. Daily life moves at its own thoughtful pace here, shaped by weather, land, and long-standing community ties.

From there, board a Zodiac to explore Papa Stour’s network of sea caves, blowholes, and sculpted rock arches—formed over centuries by wind, tide, and relentless North Atlantic swell.

As we move through this coastline, each turn reveals something new: shifting light on stone, the echo of waves inside hidden chambers, and colours that change with every passing cloud. It’s a day that showcases the artistry of nature and the resilience of island life.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Cliffs, Culture, and Coastal Light

We arrive in the Faroe Islands, where steep mountains rise straight from the sea and winding tunnels link one dramatic landscape to the next. In Tórshavn, one of the world’s smallest—and most welcoming—capitals, colourful turf-roofed buildings line narrow lanes filled with music, craft, and easy conversation. Wander the harbourfront, where fishing boats rest beside modern cafés, and feel the blend of tradition and contemporary Faroese culture move with the same natural rhythm as the tides.

Beyond the city, the islands open into a mosaic of tumbling waterfalls, deep green valleys, and mist-draped cliffs alive with seabirds. Small villages appear almost woven into the hillsides, their grass roofs blending seamlessly into the landscape—sometimes with goats grazing contentedly above.

Every bend in the road or curve of a tunnel reveals something new: a fjord glowing in soft light, a sea stack rising from blue water, or a community that feels both timeless and deeply alive. Here, solitude and connection sit side by side, shaped by the meeting of land, water, and wind that defines life across the Faroes.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Isle of Lewis

Sail to the Isle of Lewis, the largest of the Outer Hebrides and a proud centre of Gaelic culture. In Stornoway, explore a town shaped by craftsmanship, coastal heritage, and island character before travelling across open moorland toward one of Scotland’s most remarkable ancient sites.

At the Calanais Standing Stones, older than Stonehenge, weathered monoliths rise from the earth in a cross-shaped pattern that has stirred imagination for millennia. Light and shadow shift across the stones as the wind moves over the moor, revealing new angles and quiet details with every moment.

Here, you’re invited to step close—touch the stones, lean gently against them, and feel the depth of time beneath your hands. It’s a rare and tangible connection to the people who shaped this sacred landscape thousands of years ago, and a reminder of how story and place endure across generations.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Echoes of a Remote World

Today we journey to St. Kilda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most remote of the Outer Hebrides. Once home to a resilient, self-sufficient island community, the archipelago now stands uninhabited—a sanctuary where seabirds and stories endure in equal measure.

Walk among the stone houses and storage cleits left behind in 1930, when the final residents chose to leave the island they had called home for generations. Their presence lingers in the layout of the village, the dry-stone walls, and the quiet rhythm of the land.

Above you, gannets, puffins, and fulmars sweep across some of the tallest sea cliffs in Britain, moving with an ease shaped by wind and open water. The sense of isolation here is profound—an experience that stays with you long after the island slips from view.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Where Mountains Meet the Sea

Arrive on the Isle of Skye, where sculpted ridges, quiet glens, and sweeping coastlines create one of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes. Here, mountains rise directly from the sea, and the interplay of light and weather shifts the island’s mood from moment to moment.

Choose to hike or photograph the Cuillin Hills, explore the shoreline where oystercatchers call over rolling surf, or simply pause to take in the wide expanse of sky and stone.

Skye’s beauty invites a slower pace—a chance to reflect, breathe, and feel the meeting point between wild grandeur and the deep human stories that shape this island.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Sacred Ground and Basalt Song

On Iona, walk the sacred ground where St. Columba founded his monastery more than a thousand years ago. Kings are said to rest here, and the island’s carved crosses and quiet abbey walls stand as enduring markers of faith, craft, and time. The atmosphere is gentle and reflective—an invitation to slow your pace and take in the island’s deep spiritual heritage.

From Iona, continue to nearby Staffa, home to the legendary Fingal’s Cave. Approaching by Zodiac, the island’s basalt columns rise like a natural cathedral, each hexagonal pillar shaped by ancient volcanic forces. Inside the cave, the sea’s rhythm becomes music—echoing and resonant, the same sound that once inspired Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture.

Here, wind, wave, and stone come together in a rare harmony—a fitting close to a day steeped in history, creativity, and the wild beauty of the Hebrides.

Included Meals

All on-board meals 

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

History in the Heart of the Hebrides

Arrive on Islay, the “Queen of the Hebrides,” known for its rolling pastures, coastal light, and deep sense of heritage. Travel inland to Loch Finlaggan, once the seat of Clan Donald and the powerful Lords of the Isles.

Among the weathered ruins, the past feels close—stories of leadership, alliance, and medieval poetry carried quietly in the still air. As you wander the site, the landscape offers its own kind of reflection, linking Scotland’s history to the islands’ enduring beauty.

Included Meals

All on-board meals

Accommodations

Your cabin on the Ocean Victory

Journey’s End

Your Scotland and Faroe Islands Small Ship Expedition has come to an end! Disembark in Troon, a harbour town edged by soft light and sea breeze. Take a moment to wander its long sandy beaches, framed by views of Arran across the firth, and feel the familiar rhythm of a place shaped by tides, sailing traditions, and easy coastal pace. The harbour remains an active link between Scotland’s maritime past and present, welcoming fishing boats, leisure craft, and travellers beginning—or completing—their journey.

From here, travel to Glasgow, a city alive with energy, art, and conversation. Victorian architecture meets modern creativity at every turn, offering a vibrant contrast to the wild coasts and quiet islands of the days before.

It’s a fitting finale: a return from remote shores to a city warmed by music, culture, and human connection—carrying the memory of wind, water, and wonder long after the voyage ends.

Included Meals

Breakfast on-board