ON THE WATER

Easdale, once the centre of the Scottish Slate Industry, is now a conservation area and popular with visitors. Just 16 miles south of Oban the area’s history is featured in The Slate Island Heritage Centre and The Easdale Folk Museum. The old quarries particularly on car free Easdale Island are popular with wild swimmers. A post swim warm up is available at both The Oyster Bar and Restaurant and The Puffer Bar and Restaurant.

Easdale’s oldest tourist attraction is the Council run ferry which plies the 3 minute crossing between the mainland and Easdale Island. Sea kayaking and Stand Up Paddleboarding are popular with watersports enthusiasts. Easdale most popular visitor attraction is the award winning marine wildlife boat tour operator Seafari Adventures, now in its 25th season. Seafari only offer wildlife tours and operate daily. Their range of tours has something to suit all the family. Seafari have a dedicated and fully staffed ticket office at Easdale. Tours depart throughout the day and are fully guided by crew with related marine and wildlife qualifications.

Wildlife on view is seasonal and as wildlife will not stick to any script no guarantees on sightings are given. Boats are out on the water daily so skippers and crew know where to look. Dolphins, porpoise and minke whale are seen when in the area. Seals are resident on many rocks. There is a white tailed sea eagle nest and in recent years the adults have successfully raised chicks. Naturally there is a host of seabirds. There are both red and fallow deer on the islands. Otter can be viewed.

Guides also offer information on the history and geography of the area which also includes The Gulf of Corryvreckan, home of the World’s Third Largest Whirlpool. It is because of the strong tides in the area that there is such an abundance of wildlife.

The most popular Seafari tour is the 2 hour Corryvreckan Wildlife tour aboard one of Seafari’s 3 open RIBs. These specially designed powerful boats transfer passengers swiftly but safely between sights of interest. With their shallow draft these boats can get close to the action. Passengers have individual seats. Some are adapted as parent & child seats. All seats are forward facing so the best view is guaranteed. The tour is suitable for all ages. Whilst our lower age limit is 4, on calm sunny days and with agreement from the skipper Seafari will take younger children. We believe our oldest passenger to have been 94.

For those wishing a bit more excitement, when conditions and the tide is right Seafari offer Whirlpool Special tours to visit The World’s Third Largest Whirlpool in action at its finest. Dates are published www. seafari.co.uk

Iona, Staffa and The Puffins is an all day tour. Travel time to Iona aboard the Seafari cabin RIB is just

75 minutes subject to sea conditions. There is time ashore at Iona to visit the Abbey before visiting Fingal’s cave on Staffa and to watch the comical Puffins. Celebrating 25 years, Seafari have purchased a new boat for its popular 3 hour Wildlife and Whales tour. Of similar size to our previous traditional boat, Seafari recognised that travel time to whale grounds could be improved. The new boat will almost half travel time to site allowing greater time for wildlife spotting. The stability of a traditional boat when at rest watching wildlife is greatly improved with a catamaran. Our new Celtic Adventurer is a twin engine catamaran and will significantly improve our ability to offer the best customer experience.

All Seafari tours can be booked online at www.seafari. co.uk Office staff are always available to assist and answer questions either by email oban@seafari.co.uk or telephone 01852 300003.