Check in to the Hilton London Paddington Hotel, with the rest of the day at leisure to explore the city on your own. Gather at the hotel this evening for a welcome reception and dinner.       

After breakfast, depart via train for Portsmouth. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before a tour of this famous port city. This afternoon board the Ocean Adventurer.   

This morning take a stroll through Trebah Garden, a beautiful subtropical garden with a stunning coastal backdrop. After lunch on board, take a tour of the Eden Project in Penzance. This innovative complex of domes houses plants from around the world, with each emulating a natural biome. Or, take a walk through the expansive Trelissick Garden, noted for its impressive collection of camellias, rhododendrons, and azaleas. The garden also offers glorious views of the Fal River and distant rolling hills. 

Warmed by the North Atlantic Drift, the Isles of Scilly have given their fortunate inhabitants the luxury of turning a passion for growing flowers into a major industry. This morning board local boats and cruise to Tresco to visit the ruins and exquisite subtropical gardens at the medieval Tresco Abbey.

The wonderfully remote Skellig Islands are one of Europe’s most impressive seabird citadels; Little Skellig is home to the second-largest colony of gannets in the world. Other seabirds found here include kittiwakes, razorbills, Manx shearwaters, and nesting puffins. Dependent on weather and permission to access, visit nearby Skellig Michael—the site of an important 6th-century Anchorite monastery and now a World Heritage Site.

From the port city of Dunmore East, drive through scenic countryside to Waterford. Options today include a visit to the renowned Waterford Crystal glassworks to watch master craftsmen at work, or enjoy a tour of Mount Congreve, a magnificent estate with exquisite gardens. Return to the ship for lunch as you cruise toward the privately-owned Saltee Islands. These islands attract a variety of birds to their craggy masses; on Great Saltee Island search for puffins, murres, razorbills, gannets, and more of the 47 bird species recorded here.

Enjoy a leisurely morning on board as the ship cruises to Port St. Mary on the Isle of Man. Board the Isle of Man Steam Railway, the single remnant from the extensive Victorian system that served the main centers on the island. Ride through quaint and picturesque villages to the southern resort of Port Erin.   

Disembark at Portrush and travel overland to the World Heritage Site of Giant’s Causeway. This three-mile section of coastline is a geological masterpiece—some 40,000 closely-packed hexagonal columns of varying heights line the coast and descend like a staircase into the sea. In the afternoon visit the rugged cliffs of Rathlin Island, where you are greeted by colonies of guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills, and puffins. After lunch, go ashore on the Isle of Islay for a tour of the world-famous Lagavulin Distillery.     

Weather permitting, spend the morning exploring the uninhabited island of Staffa by Zodiac and its most famous feature, Fingal’s Cave. The cave’s peculiar rock formations and unusual coloring are a delight to behold, and the wonderful echo of the sea from within served as the inspiration for Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture. In 563 AD the Christian missionary St. Columba built a monastery on Iona and spread Christianity throughout Scotland. Though it suffered repeated attacks by Vikings over the centuries and the original was destroyed, the monastery was rebuilt each time, and some of these later buildings still stand. Visit the monastery site, the nearby cemetery of St. Oran, where numerous Scottish kings are buried, and the 12th-century Iona Abbey. 

Spend the morning at St. Kilda, once home to a small community, evidenced by abandoned houses and cleits, beehive-shaped cells where goods were stored. Cruising among the Flannan Islands this afternoon, puffins, fulmars, murres, and kittiwakes should be plentiful. Of special interest to birders is the Leach’s petrel colony on the grassy slopes of Eilean Mor beneath the lighthouse.

Arrive in the capital city of Kirkwall on Mainland Island in the Orkneys today for visits to the magnificent St. Magnus Cathedral and some of the island’s major archaeological sites. Maes Howe, a chambered tomb dating from 3500 BC, is known for its runic hieroglyphs left by visiting 12th-century Vikings. Then visit the enigmatic Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, and Skara Brae, a remarkably well-preserved Stone Age village buried in sand some 4,500 years ago. Return to Kirkwall for an afternoon walking tour of this charming city.

This morning enjoy a guided walking tour of Lerwick, capital of the Shetland Islands, which are steeped in Norse heritage. After the tour there is free time to stroll the narrow streets and browse the many shops, or raise a pint at the local pub. After lunch on board, cruise by Zodiac to the Isle of Noss, where spectacular cliffs support a large and diverse seabird colony, home to 80,000 seabirds—guillemots, razorbills, gannets, shags, and more. This evening go ashore at Mousa to view one of Britain’s finest Iron Age ruins, an unusually well-preserved 40-foot broch, a dry stone structure, dating from about 200 AD.

One of the most isolated settlements in the British Isles, this island is renowned for the quality and intricacy of its handmade sweaters using local wool. It is also famous as a haven for seabirds including gannets, murres, black-legged kittiwakes, numerous gull species, and a large colony of puffins. After a short walk, join some of the 70 islanders at their community center for tea and cakes, and a visit to the local museum. 

Disembark in Aberdeen this morning, and enjoy a scenic train ride to Edinburgh. Check in to the Balmoral Hotel for a special farewell dinner and overnight.  

Transfer to the airport for your independent homeward flight.