DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY CRUISE

Greenock to Greenock

Tuesday 12th to Tuesday 19th March 2024

7 nights including 2 Gala Dinners

Loch Long Loch Goil

Holy Loch Benmore Botanic Garden

Tighnabruaich

Portavadie

Kilbrannan Sound

Campeltown Springbank Distillery SANDA

BUTE

GREENOCK

Rothesay Mount Stuart House

LITTLE CUMBRAE

On the 12th March 1964, MV Columba was launched at the Hall and Russell yard in Aberdeen, by Lady Craigton, and was relaunched as Hebridean Princess in 1989. Join her Diamond Anniversary celebrations as she explores the lochs and isles of the Firth of Clyde and the highlights of the Kintyre peninsula.

Steaming to the Victorian town of Rothesay, we tour the flamboyant Neo-Gothic Mount Stuart House, testament to the 3rd Marquess of Bute. Known locally as 'wee Cumbrae', Little Cumbrae plays host to tranquil walks ashore. Rough and rocky, Little Cumbrae bears more of a resemblance to a Hebridean island than to some of its neighbours in the Clyde.

South to Troon where coastal Culzean Castle Estate awaits; grandiosely transformed in the 1770’s by the great Robert Adam and restored by the National Trust for Scotland. Visit the humble cottage where Robert Burns was born and spent the first years of his life and explore the museum which houses more than 5,000 Burns artefacts including his handwritten manuscripts – a celebration of the enduring legacy of Scotland’s national poet.

After a circumnavigation of the granite islet of Ailsa Craig, we land on Sanda, a picturesque, privately owned island of 400 acres, rich in history. Venturing ashore on the Kintyre Peninsula, Campbeltown has been home to Springbank Distillery since 1828. Here, we discover each step of the whisky making process and taste a wee dram before sailing the Kilbrannan Sound.

On opposite sides of the Cowal Peninsula, Portavadie and Tighnabruaich offer stunning vistas and a chance to stretch your legs ahead of our visit to Benmore Botanic Garden in its magnificent mountainside setting. We reflect on our adventures as we enjoy a scenic sail of Loch Long and Loch Goil.

T ravel Plan – 7 nights

Tuesday 12th March

Greenock - Embarkation.

Wednesday 13th March

Rothseay, Bute - Mount Stuart House.

Little Cumbrae - Walks ashore.

Thursday 14th March

Troon - Culzean Castle Estate.

Troon - Robert Burns Birth Place Museum.

Friday 15th March

Circumnavigate Ailsa Craig.

Sanda Island - Walks ashore.

Saturday 16th March

Campbeltown - Springbank Distillery. Cruise Kilbrannan Sound.

Sunday 17th March

Portavadie - walks ashore.

Tighnabruaich - View point.

Monday 18th March

Holy Loch -Benmore Botanic Garden. Cruise Loch Long and Loch Goil.

Tuesday 19th March

Greenock - Disembarkation.

Hebridean Highlights

• Little Cumbrae

• Culzean Castle

• Robert Burns Birthplace Museum

• Springbank Distillery

• Benmore Botanic Garden