This Sessions and Sail voyage will be the first of a planned series of what we will label our Celtic Fringe voyages, celebrating the unique wild extremities of Europe and the cultural and maritime connections they share.

We'll head North from Barra aboard the Lady of Avenel, a 31-metre, two-masted brigantine tall ship, for a voyage that will cruise up the chain of the Hebrides of Scotland, before cutting across towards Cape Wrath, the north Sutherland Coast and the Orkney archipelago.

The Celtic Fringe series of voyages will involve a degree of passage making, and we may occasionally factor in a night passage. But the music will still be the focus of the trip, with tunes and workshops as we go, and fascinating glimpses of local culture from the tutors and musicians we'll meet along the way.

The North of Scotland is stunning in May - following where Vikings, Birlinns, Gaels, Irish monks and generations of fishermen have gone before, we'll sail up the Hebrides and across to Orkney, making stops at such gems as the Shiant Islands and the Outer Hebrides,  setting out on a 100 mile passage across the top of Scotland, headed for Scapa Flow and Stromness - arriving in time to catch the epic Orkney Folk Festival.

Throughout the voyage, you’ll participate in music sessions, workshops, and sailing activities. Whether on board in the ship’s bright saloon, in pubs, village halls or other venues onshore, there will be plenty of opportunities to immerse yourself in the musical traditions of the region. You’ll be guided by two talented sail-with tutors, dedicated to helping you learn new techniques, songs, or tunes. These musicians will keep the sessions flowing and offer individual support when needed.

Onboard meals will be locally sourced and prepared by our chef. Enjoy the serene beauty of June in the far north of Scotland, where the sun sets only to rise again a few hours later with nothing but twilight in between. 

This Celtic Fringe voyage is about exploration, music, and enjoying the atmospheric magic of the solstice on the wild coasts of the Hebrides and Orkney.

You  will be allocated a berth aboard the brigantine 'Lady of Avenel',  in one of our six double cabins. For solo  travellers, cabins will be allocated on a same-sex basis; if two people  travelling together wish to share a cabin, we recommend booking early to  ensure availability.

There are two showers and three toilets in the accommodation; these are shared.

Meals#are prepared in the modern upper deck galley; these are of a high standard and prepared by our own chef.


The upper deck saloon provides an ideal place to socialise and, with the tables cleared away, is the perfect session space for the evenings we spend aboard. When the weather is fair, we can play sessions on deck.

Barra

Barra is well connected to the mainland, with a daily 5-hour ferry connection from Oban https://www.calmac.co.uk/⁠ and regular flights to Glasgow and the other Outer Hebrides. www.loganair.co.uk

Oban is connected by bus from Inverness/Fort William and Glasgow – see Citylink for more information. http://www.citylink.co.uk 

There are trains  daily from Glasgow www.thetrainline.com/www.scotrail.co.uk 

Orkney

Orkney can be reached by aeroplane, with flights from Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Shetland – see www.loganair.co.uk 

Northlink Ferries have sailings up to three times a day from Scrabster to Stromness, evening sailings four times a week from Aberdeen to Kirkwall, and evening sailings three times a week from Lerwick. See www.northlinkferries.com 

Pentland Ferries have sailings three times a day from Gill’s Bay to St Margaret’s Hope, see www.pentlandferries.co.uk 

The nearest train connections to either Gill’s Bay or Scrabster is Thurso; for train services to Thurso see https://www.scotrail.co.uk/ 

Bus connections between Thurso and the ferry terminals in Scrabster and Gill’s Bay can be limited and have been restricted recently; Northlink advise train passengers to prebook Scrabster taxi travel for ferry connections. 

Stagecoach Buses run one daily connection from Inverness to Scrabster and Gills Bay. See https://www.stagecoachbus.com/ for more information. 

Bus travel within Orkney, and from the airport and ferry terminals is frequent; timetables are available at https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/B/Bus-Services.htm

We recommend confirming flights and travel arrangements as early as possible to avoid price rises and availability problems.

  We recommend you bring the following:

• Warm jumper/fleece
• Waterproof jacket and trousers
• Long trousers
• Boots/waterproof footwear
• Sunglasses
• A soft bag (no suitcases please!)
• Thermal layers 
• A waterproof cover/case for your instrument
• Thick socks
• Sufficient cash to last the week 

You may also be glad to have:

• Binoculars 
• Midgie repellent (we like Smidge) 
• Sun Cream
• A RYA logbook if you have one.

Please note that the Lady of Avenel is a ship built in the 1960s - getting around the ship and above and below decks requires a degree of mobility and ability to negotiate stairs. 

If you have mobility issues it is best to check your suitability for this voyage - please send us a message and we'll be happy to advise.

 The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Nisbet Marine Services/Sessions and Sail, Member Number 5533, and in the event of their insolvency,  protection is provided for:

 -  Non-flight packages

ABTOT  cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Nisbet Marine Services/Sessions and Sail.

In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here

You can find out more about ABTOT here

This itinerary is a suggestion of how the trip may take form; all destinations and routes are subject to change, are weather dependant, and are at the discretion of the Captain.  

You meet the ‘Lady of Avenel’ alongside the pontoons in Castlebay, where the crew welcome you aboard; you find your cabin, are  given a tour of the ship and a safety briefing from the Captain. 

By 3pm we're ready to depart; we're keen to get a few miles to the North today to begin our passage towards Orkney!

We sail to the East of Barra, then up the coast, following the line of the Hebrides; you may take a turn at steering the Lady of Avenel; look across the Minch to the mountains of Skye and Rum, and, if we are fortunate enough to have a sailing breeze, help the crew set the Lady’s sails. Some tunes may be in order as we sail along.

By 6pm we reach the Oitir Mhor, between Barra and Eriskay, dropping an anchor in time for drinks before dinner.

After dinner we get to know each other over a few tunes around the session table, under the guidance of our sail-along tutors.

We're off for a longer sail today - 65 miles to the magical Shiant Islands!

One of our favourite places on the Scottish coast, the Shiants are alive with puffins, guillemots, eagles, bonxies and razorbills. The waters are full of seals, and we regularly see dolphins, porpoises and whales in this part of the Minch.

We'll get the Lady of Avenel underway - sailing if possible - and head north-east, past the hills of Uist, Benbecula and the Sound of Harris.

By evening, with hours of daylight still ahead, we arrive at the Shiants in time for dinner and tunes.

We have the morning at the Shiants, to explore, climb, watch the birds head out to the fishing - and if the weather is still, we may have the chance for a swim or a paddleboard around this magical lagoon.

Then, after lunch, we pick up anchor and continue North - headed for Stornoway.

We arrive at our berth in Stornoway Harbour in time to head ashore for a session ashore with some local musicians.

Today is the big one! We're setting out to round Cape Wrath, named by the Viking 'Cap Hvarf', meaning 'Turning point', it marks the crossroads between the British Isles and the North Atlantic trade routes that stretched from Norway in the East via Orkney and Shetland through Faroe, Iceland and Greenland.

After a morning looking round 'lovely Stornoway', we're back aboard for lunch before leaving our berth. We set watches, and settle into the ship's  routine.

Sailing into the night, (or what passes for night this far North in late May - expect only two or three hours darkness!) we'll cover over 100 nautical miles, with Orkney our destination.

We sail on, as the sun rises ahead of us in the early hours - and by breakfast there's full daylight, and we're looking out for our landfall and the hills of Orkney.

By late morning we're passing the cliffs and the famous Old Man of Hoy. We may play him some tunes on deck as we sail past! We sail in through Hoy Mouth and towards Scapa Flow, dropping an anchor by earlf afternoon - we've reached Orkney!

Tunes, workshops from our tutors, or a snooze to recover from your night watch; by evening, we're fed ad watered and gathering round the Lady of Avenel's saloon table for our first Orcadian session.

From our anchorage, there's a chance to go ashore this morning for a hike; back aboard the Lady, we can go sailing in 'The Flow', the enormous natural harbour that ws used by the British fleet in the 1st and 2nd world war, and still harbours many maritime war graves from both sides of those confilcts.

In the afternoon we head for Stromness - this is likely to be Orkney Folk Festival weekend, so by evening we'll berth the Lady of Avenel in the heart of Stromness and enjoy some of the sessions going on in the town.

We have a last breakfast - and maybe a last tune - together aboard the Lady of Avenel; then having said our goodbyes, we head off to the next adventure - which, with the Orkney Folk Festival in full swing, may not be that far away!