We’re excited to announce the return of our Songwriting voyage, following a successful inaugural event in May 2024! In 2025, we are partnering again with Shetland Songwriting Festival to bring you this unique experience aboard the Lady of Avenel, a two-masted brigantine. Joining us are acclaimed Scottish songwriters Jenny Sturgeon and Adam Ross,  who will lead workshops throughout the trip.

This week-long, retreat-style voyage offers a balance of songwriting workshops and sailing along Scotland's stunning coastline. As you sail from Oban and explore anchorages and harbours, you will draw inspiration from the breathtaking landscapes, seascapes, and wildlife.

Throughout the trip, expect a welcoming and encouraging environment where you can improve your songwriting skills, collaborate with fellow participants, or simply enjoy the beauty of the voyage. The trip is open to everyone, whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced songwriter, and no prior sailing experience is required.

The sessions will differ from our ordinary trips: on this retreat-style voyage, workshop sessions wil be more focussed, with tasks being set by our tutors every day. This will be tailored to draw the best of your skills out, and to teach you new songwriting techniques. Evening sessions may begin with a recap of what we have learned/written, although there will still be plenty opportunities to swap tunes and songs and to put new arrangements together with your shipmates.

You can participate in two songwriting workshop sessions each day, focusing on essential songwriting tools such as song structure, lyrics, melody, meter, storytelling, and more. In between workshops, you’ll sail along the coast, and you can choose to either engage with the crew – setting sails, steering, or discussing navigation with the skipper – or simply relax and take in the scenery.

Keep an eye out for whales, dolphins, eagles, and other wildlife from the foredeck. Your floating home will offer comfortable twin-share cabins, and the crew will ensure an enjoyable and safe journey. Join us for an unforgettable voyage of exploration, creativity, and music!

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. Meals, tea and coffee are   included in the price of the trip. 

The upper deck saloon provides an ideal place to socialise and, with the tables cleared away, will be the perfect session space for the evenings  we  spend aboard. Should the weather be fair enough, we may be able to play music on deck.

 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 

If you choose to drive, parking in Oban may need to be organised in advance.

 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!) 
• Passport
• 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.

If you'd like more info on what to bring, there's a handy guide from our regular tutor Tim MacDonald here.

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

In Oban, we find the Lady of Avenel berthed at the North Pier pontoons. We find our cabins, stow gear then meet our shipmates over lunch. At 2pm we are welcomed aboard and given our safety briefing by  the Captain and crew.

Leaving Oban Bay through Kerrera  Sound, we head south - towards the Garvellach Islands, if weather conditions are ideal. These uninhabited islands boast a small  fair-weather anchorage just large enough to allow the Lady to swing around an anchor, with a great view of the beehive-style monastic  structures built here in the 7th century AD.

After dinner is cleared away, we gather in the Lady of Avenel’s upper saloon and songs and ideas, getting to know better our group, crew and tutors. 

 After breakfast - and a swim, if brave enough - we raise anchor and continue our voyage west, along the south coast of Mull.

If  we have a fair wind, you can help the crew set sail; then Jenny and Louis will gather the group in the Lady's bright saloon for the first workshop task.

In the early afternoon, we drop anchor  at Erraid Island, the spot where Robert Louis Stevenson’s fictional hero David Balfour was shipwrecked in ‘Kidnapped’. Here, we enjoy the beach  and a second workshop. 

After dinner we share and chat about some of our musical ideas over a few songs. 

Over in Iona, we have the chance to go ashore and ponder this  morning’s writing task. The inspiring surroundings will no doubt bear an  impact on your creativity, whether it’s the beaches, the wild  hillsides, the small-village charm or the history of this place that  grabs your attention.

Underway once more, we take the  chance to learn some more about the sails and operation of the ship from  the crew of the Lady of Avenel; then, take the opportunity to consider our songwriting projects under the guidance of Jenny and Louis. 

Arriving  at the Treshnish Islands in the late afternoon, you take the opportunity for an evening stroll ashore and a look at the puffins, seals and wildlife that inhabit this remote set of islands.

Today we head in towards Ulva and the wild West parts of Mull. We like to make sure we can sail  the Lady whenever possible so we will choose a route that makes best  use of the wind.

More collaboration, writing and  creative tasks will be set by Jenny and Louis; by evening, after a good day of sailing and writing, we are ready to enjoy a peaceful anchorage  and share some of our projects with the group.

We set off early to beat the tourist boats that head to Staffa; if we get this right we will have Fingal’s Cave all to ourselves. If the sea is suitably flat, we may be able to land on Staffa. The  cave resonates on B flat or B, depending on the state of the tide…  perhaps something you have written may sound good sung in this  environment?

We sail on by lunch time, heading South  now – back through the Sound of Iona, and towards Jura; we are headed to  the Great Race of Corryvreckan, with its famous whirlpool. 

As  we sail along we are set a further writing task by Jenny and Louis;  contemplate this as you watch the mountains of Jura approach. We arrive  in the evening, just as the tide is slackening, and are able to pull in  to Baigh nam Glean nam Muc, just off the stream.

It's time to start considering our final evening - tonight we plan to  hold a last-night event where we may perform a couple of songs for each  other. Our tutors and sailing crew may be persuaded to give us a  performance as well! 

We depart the Corryvreckan early  afternoon, when the tide allows us; we sail north, to Ardencaple Bay, a  beautiful anchorage amid a jumble of islands.

I'm the evening we enjoy our last dinner together, then clear away and prepare for the performance in the Lady's cosy saloon.

It’s the last morning - we enjoy a breakfast aboard as the Lady of Avenel heads back towards Oban. 

Once  tied up, we say our goodbyes and head off in our various directions - with instruments in hand, a wad of new songs, and a wealth of experiences, memories and new friends made.