Wild Scotland Expedition Aboard Sea Spirit

27 May, 2026

Earlier this month, Wild Earth Travel chartered the expedition vessel Sea Spirit to venture into wild Scotland, exploring some of the country’s most remote and spectacular coastlines. Our hosts, Dan and Rachael Brown, reported back on an excellent voyage with many highlights and have shared a short recap below.

"This voyage around the Scottish coast was unlike any before it. It took in Scotland’s most wild, extreme and remote islands, showcased its incredible wildlife and bought elements of its fascinating history, culture and geology to the fore. World-class scenery was the order of each and every day as we explored no fewer than 17 islands and island groups including landing on the UNESCO World Heritage island of Hirta, St Kilda, and visiting a bustling Fair Isle where the community made us feel incredibly welcome. Other stand out experiences included the grandeur of the Shiant Islands, the Isle of May and its thousands of Puffins, zodiacing under the 600ft cliffs of Noss and exploring the fascinating island of Unst, as well as getting to the rarely visited islands of North Rona, Sula Sgeir and the Monarch islands.

The highlights came thick and fast. Exploring the deserted village of St Kilda shrouded in tragic history, a dozen White-tailed Eagles cruising above thousands of auks on the Shiant Islands, watching the Atlantic Ocean ebb and flow in to Fingal’s Cave on Staffa, enjoying point-blank views of Corncrake as it fed and ‘crexed’ away on Mingulay and tucking into freshly-made tray bakes in a recreated Viking Longhouse on Unst, Shetland, to name but a handful.

Two pods of Orca on the same day had us trawling the identification catalogues as to which individuals were involved and to our delight, we found three Humpback Whales around Shetland including a female and tiny calf. We also had the honour of naming a new Risso’s Dolphin individual spotted by the team off the coast of Lewis. All of these sightings were the result of a monumental survey effort by our onboard guest lecturer Alison Lomax (Director of The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT)) and team.

One of the biggest achievements of the voyage was also supporting three charities; The Scottish Ornithologists’ Club, The HWDT and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Shetland. We met representatives from all three and our generous guests raised over £12,000 for the organisations, all of which going towards conservation in Scotland."

Please be in touch ([email protected]) for the full voyage log, final presentation and future voyages