Harris Distillery & The Shiant Isles Puffin Tour
Go to St Kilda & SeaSkye Marine are delighted to be working alongside Harris Distillery to offer a full day island hopping adventure.
Departing from Stein Jetty at 9am, we sail directly over to Tarbet for the 11am distillery tour. With possibilities on our crossing of seeing a variety of marine and bird life such as dolphins, puffins, gannets and minke whales, the adventure begins right away! The dramatic scenery of a lesser seen part of Skye’s coastline and the approaching landscape of Harris is always changing and never disappoints even on the grayest of days.
Harris Distillery
Harris Distillery has become a gin sensation, winning the Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year award in 2018. Their reputation exceeds the delicate balance of sugar kelp and copper leaf in the gin to the ocean inspired bottle design. The bottle was modelled to capture the ripples of the seas from the picture-perfect Harris beach, Luskentyre. Since opening in October 2015, the distillery has maintained its community- oriented approach which is reflected in the staff and tours spirit. True highland hospitality.
After the tour, you will have time for a browse in the distillery shop, quick bite to eat and a wee visit to the Harris Tweed shop before departing at 1.30pm.
The Shiant Isles
Our journey to The Shiants begins with a sailing underneath the 300m long bridge that connects Harris with the small island of Scalpay. The Shiants are a small group of islands between the Isle of Lewis and Skye. Shiants, translated from Gaelic means holy, charmed or enchanted isles and from the scenery offered the name fits perfectly. Our journey time will be roughly an hour.
These lesser known islands are truly spectacular with their slopping steep cliffs and abundance of bird life. The islands are home to thousands of puffins, manx shearwaters, razorbills and storm petrels in the summer months. With the availability of the viewing decking on board the boat, we are fully immersed in the wildness of the island. Being one of the most important homes for seabird breeding in Scotland, The Shiant Isles accounts for about 10% of the breeding puffin population, therefore presenting us with plenty of great photo opportunities.
At around 3pm we will stop for a wee tea/coffee and cake, picking a great viewing point for bird watching and a to finish off the day. Once we have had our fill of Puffins we will aim to depart at around 3.30pm we will begin our steam back to Stein Jetty, arriving around 5pm.
Timings
Please refer to our booking calendar for scheduled trips, if the date you would like is not available then please get in contact and we could possibly organise a trip for you.
Additional Information
We do require guests come prepared with warm waterproof clothing and sturdy footwear. A camera, packed lunch/snacks and water for the day is recommended. Whilst the weather will be monitored and we will only run the trip if the skipper deems the conditions safe, we are in the Atlantic Ocean, we may encounter some bumps along the way, guests that may suffer from seasickness should come prepared. Timings are not exact and may vary slightly.
