Prince Charles’ shooting jacket spotted

TravelMole associate editor Diane Evans reports on Day 3 of her CMV cruise aboard the Marco Polo.

The Outer Hebrides were my highlight – offering breathtaking scenery as well as being steeped in history and crofting culture. In contrast to the Faroes, the backdrop is not nearly as severe, with low lying hills and fresh water lochs.

We were welcomed in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis with open arms – not least because we’d brought the summer, a stunning day of sunshine and deep blue sky.

With a bit of planning customers could go it alone – booking car hire and heading off with a map. The language is Gaelic but English is widely spoken, especially in the tourist areas. But the tours are well planned and informative.

Our tour took us to the Harris Tweed mill at Shawbost where we saw first-hand what goes into making one of Scotland’s most famous products.

The weaving itself is still farmed out to the homes of the 130-odd weavers scattered across the island as dictated by the Harris Tweed Authority who are in charge of protecting the brand.

Clients include Vic Reeves, Alexander McQueen, Barack Obama and there was even a shooting jacket hanging up addressed to Prince Charles.

Again, the Outer Hebrides like the Faroe Islands has few trees due to the severe weather with wind speeds of more than 50 miles per hour at least 100 days of the year. Traditionally the locals relied on drift wood and whale bones to construct houses – The Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, being testament to this. The collection of restored thatched cottages have been turned into holiday lets, a museum and a shop following the last residents leaving in 1974 but illustrate the harsh living conditions of years gone by.

Nearby are the intriguing Callanish Stones loosely shaped in a celtic cross which several scenes in the 2012 Pixar film Brave were set around.

The centrepiece of the site is a remarkable circle of 13 large standing stones around a tall (4.75m) central monolith although experts are still unsure what the stones were for or how they were transported.

Not sailing until 7.30pm, we managed to enjoy a leisurely if not surprising evening on deck in the sun before leaving for the last stop, the Orkney Islands.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) operates the adult-only Marco Polo specialising in smaller ex-UK cruises including the British Isles, Scandinavia and the Fjords, the Baltic and the Amazon and West Indies.