Whale Watching in scotland
Have you heard about the The Hebridean Whale Trail? It’s a fantastic initiative that highlights 30 incredible places to spot whales, dolphins and porpoises from land in Western Scotland.
The trail is the first of its kind in the UK, and encourages accessible, low-impact whale-watching. An exciting, sustainable and responsible approach to whale watching in Scotland. We’re working with our charity partner Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) who created the trail to create a unique travel itinerary to highlight their fantastic work.
THE HEBRIDEAN WHALE TRAIL
HWDT has spent a year developing the trail with local communities and conservation organisations. With on-site interpretation at key locations to help explain which species of cetacean (the collective name for whales, dolphins and porpoises) can be spotted.
Marine conservation is at the heart of the trail, the aim of the project is to encourage you to get involved and support the projects. Across various sites, you will have the opportunity to meet local experts and dedicated volunteers who are all extremely passionate about protecting our seas. HWDT has even created an app called Whale Track, to encourage locals and tourists to record wildlife sightings and further help the charity’s work. Did you know that more than a quarter of the world’s whale and dolphin species have been recorded in the region!
With only a week to explore part of the trail, we started at HWDT HQ – Isle of Mull! The team kindly put together a great itinerary for us so that we could see as many of the Inner Hebrides Whale Trail spots as possible. So please enjoy our day to day diary of exploring the Inner Hebrides.
WHALE WATCHING IN SCOTLAND - TRAVELLING WHALE'S ADVENTURE
DAY ONE - OBAN
Our first stop was Oban – the hub for all the Hebridean adventures, the ferry terminal here has several connections to both the Inner and Outer Hebrides.This small seaside town has plenty of shops, museums and restaurants to explore. Keep your eyes peeled for seals, otters and jellyfish that can commonly be found in the bay.
DAY TWO - OBAN TO TOBERMORY
We caught the first ferry of the morning which took approximately 45 minutes and offered us a chance to look out for marine life. The wonderful HWDT also had a quick guide onboard of what to look out for on the ferries too which we loved.
From the ferry terminal it was a 40-45 minute drive to Tobermory (HWDT HQ). This super cute town is filled with bright colourful buildings surrounding the bay. We booked a small self-catering apartment for 3 nights to make sure we had ample time to spend with the team and learn all about HWDT’s fantastic work.
We recommend popping in to meet the staff and chat about the trail, an absolute must if visiting Tobermory. The centre showcases great information about Scottish whales, dolphins and porpoises alongside the work of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. Visitors can access 25 years of research into Scottish species, and take part in family friendly activities, talks and workshops. There is also a gift shop with lovely whale and dolphin merchandise, plus an eco-shop with ocean friendly products and a water refill station.
We met up with Jenny, Alison and Siobhan of HWDT to learn about all the different species before heading out on our first Whale watching experience at Glengorm Castle.
The views from here were spectacular and on a clear day you can see many of the islands in The Hebrides.
Keep your eyes peeled for bottlenose dolphins who can sometimes be seen swimming close by and the long dark backs of Minke Whales. During the summer months the staff at HWDT join the Glenform Wildlife Project ranger every Thursday morning where you can learn top tips for spotting Scottish marine specials and birds in their natural environment.
DAY THREE - ARDNAMURCHAN LIGHTHOUSE AND SANNA BAY
We took the ferry over to mainland Scotland and headed to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse (the most westerly point in the UK)
The Ardnamurchan lighthouse is locally owned with a cute coffee shop where you can support the local community by purchasing a cake or coffee. We headed out from here to the tip of the lighthouse to Whale watch. As you can imagine it gets pretty windy so make sure to wrap up warm. There is also a sheltered look out box if the wind gets all too much – again lots of great useful information about whales and dolphins situated here provided by HWDT.
This stunning viewpoint looks out towards the islands of Mull, Coll and the Small Isles, with hazy outlines of Skye and the Outer Hebrides visible on clear days.
Here is a great place to spot Minke Whales and on some days they can even be spotted feeding just offshore by the lighthouse. Seals can be seen basking on the rocks in the bay to the north, but they often pop up just below the lighthouse, playing in the waves.
You might still be on the mainland here but you feel a million miles from anywhere, the remote and untouched beauty of this spot is captivating.
Before heading back to Mull, we took a trip to Sanna bay for a quick and albeit fresh dip in the sea – we were only brave enough to dip our toes in. Highland cows can often be spotted sunbathing on the beach too which was quite a sight and one that made the trip even more magical. To make sure we got the ferry back in time we headed back to the terminal with plenty of time to do some more spotting! With some luck we managed to spot some porpoises which was an amazing way to end the day and a great opportunity for the girls to show us how the Whale Track App works.
DAY FOUR - WHISKEY TREK
The HWDT recommended that we have a day of exploring the Northern Mull area on our own and recommended the Whiskey Trek just passed Calgary Bay.
This superb circular walk takes in an interesting section of coastline on the Treshnish peninsula. It includes cliff scenery, a chance to see wildlife, evocative abandoned villages and the legendary whisky cave – where the finest moonshine on Mull was produced.
With binoculars, snacks and plenty of water in hand we hiked across the coastline with the hope of spotting Whales or Dolphins. No luck for us this time around although we did manage to spot a solo seal that seemed to follow us along the coastline.
DAY FIVE - TOBERMORY TO IONA
We waved goodbye to the team in Tobermory and headed South towards the Isle of Iona. The scenery along the roads was breathtaking drastic mountainous backdrops, small windy roads and wildlife in abundance. The drive in total with multiple stops for photos took around 2 hours. We stopped off at Fidden beach for a picnic lunch before heading over on the Ferry to Iona. Non-resident cars aren’t allowed on the island so you have to pack just what you need for the days that you are there. It was a short 15 minute ferry and a 20 minute walk before settling into our cute pod accommodation.
The island is only 3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide making it easy to see most of the island- typically people come for just the day to explore.
The afternoon was spent exploring the small white sandy beaches, if not for the cold temperatures of the year you might think you’d stepped onto a carribean beach.
DAY SIX - STAFFA TOUR
Early that morning we headed to Staffa Island, which gave us another opportunity to spot Whales and Dolphins en-route. The staff were fantastic and were on hand to talk about the wildlife using guides provided by HWDT Bottlenose dolphins were spotted in the distance by one of the crew which are regularly found in these waters.
Due to the calm waters and wind that day the boat was able to get right into the cave on Staffa Island which only happens around 20 times a year. The boat then dropped us off to explore the Island on our own for an hour. We walked around into the cave for a more up close experience before heading to one of the pebble beaches where we had the opportunity to witness lots of baby seals – October is the only month you can see these cute mammals, so we felt pretty lucky. In spring and early summer you can spot hundreds of puffins on Staffa Island – a must for bird lovers!
Returning back to Iona we wandered around the quaint craft shops, pristine shorelines and the beautiful abbey on the island before settling in for the last night on our trip.
DAY SEVEN - IONA TO LOCH LOMOND
This was sadly our last day and time to head back homeIt was a magnificent trip that left us wanting to learn more about The Whale Trail and where we can explore next summer (prime whale watching season).
