Whales & Dolphins of the Outer Hebrides

The Minch is perhaps one of the finest places in the United Kingdom for whale and dolphin watching. It's also home to huge populations of seabirds and some of our largest raptors.

The UK has some of the best marine wildlife in the world, and nowhere is it more spectacular and more prolific than the west coast of Scotland. There’s rarely a dull moment as you cruise the Minch – the narrow strait separating the Outer Hebrides from the mainland – in the converted fishing vessel, MV Monadhliath.

Minke whales are Britain’s most common large cetacean, and we’ll most likely find them by spotting a feeding frenzy of plunge-diving gannets and other seabirds. Here we may find the minkes lunge-feeding, a spectacular sight as they accelerate to the surface of the sea with their cavernous mouths wide open to engulf and consume a baitball of fish.

Humpbacks and fin whales are also possible sightings, along with four dolphin species, including the world’s largest –the orca or killer whale – and the blunt-headed, grey-blue Risso’s dolphin, cetaceans more commonly found in deeper sea areas but which seem to love the squid-rich waters of the Minch.

One very special destination for our trip is the Shiant Isles, a small archipelago off the east coast of Harris and renowned for its seabirds, notably puffins, whose summer population numbers over 100,000 birds.

This is one of the UK’s most vibrant ‘seabird cities’, a place of constant activity where there's always something of interest to photograph.

The geometric, lichenclad dolerite is very similar in appearance to the rock formations of Staffa and the Giant’s Causeway, and it makes ideal nesting sites for guillemots and razorbills, while waters rich with sand eels surrounding the islands make for good foraging for all the seabirds.

While the Minch is the main focus of our adventure, with basking sharks – planktoneating sharks that grow to 8 metres long and more – also on our target list, a couple of land-based trips will present opportunities for spotting whitetailed and golden eagles, and watching otters fishing in the rising tide of an estuary.

Day 1: Ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway, then board MV Monadhliath.

Day 2: Shiant Isles.

Day 3: Whale watching in Broad Bay, North Lewis.

Day 4: Cross the Minch to the mainland looking out for minke whales.

Day 5: Explore the West Coast, looking for orcas & possible eagle sightings.

Day 6: Return to Ullapool for the last chance for whale & dolphin sightings.

6 days, from £2,295 (voyage only)

Departure dates: 14 Aug 2023 & 12 Aug 2024

Embark/Disembark: Stornoway/Stornoway

Vessel: MV Monadhliath, a converted fishing boat accommodating 9 guests

Tour leader: Alexa Kershaw

To experience the best place in the UK for whale watching as well as the spectacular seabird city of the Shiant Isles.

ཀྵ Wildlife cruise closer to home

ཀྵ Bow-riding dolphins

ཀྵ Dramatic seascapes

ཀྵ Minke whales

ཀྵ Bottlenose & common dolphins

ཀྵ Puffins & other seabirds

ཀྵ Basking sharks

ཀྵ White-tailed eagles

Whale & dolphin watching, island visits, birdwatching

August is a wonderful time to explore the rich waters of the Outer Hebrides. Days scanning the sea for cetaceans and visiting the isles, nights at anchor in sheltered sea lochs, accompanied by eagles and otters – magical!

Alexa Kershaw, Tour Leader