UK & Northern French Coast Highlights

Your 11-day Anglo-French cruise begins in the UK’s only island city and the world’s oldest dry dock. With easy access by rail and road from airports in London and Southampton, Portsmouth has a long and proud naval heritage. Boarding your boutique ship, you’ll be following in the footsteps of the likes of Admiral Nelson and Henry VIII as you settle in for your voyage. If time permits, the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is definitely worth a visit. The attraction is home to a wonderful collection of famous historical ships including Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory, Queen Victoria’s HMS Warrior and the only surviving ship from the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign, the HMS M.33. A very fitting way to begin your sea faring adventure.

Your port of call today is Honfleur, Normandy’s most charming port town. If it looks familiar, that’s because Honfleur was a favourite subject of Monet and many other artists too, including Boudin, Corot, Courbet, Dubourg, Sisley, Bazille and Daubigny. Thanks to landscapes by these masters, the town’s timber-framed houses and the appealing Vieux Bassin (Old Harbour) are part of our collective consciousness. Before the city became a refuge for 19th-century artists escaping Paris, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Honfleur was one of France’s most important ports. It was from here that, in 1608, Samuel de Champlain set sail to found Québec. Some of the city’s unmissable attractions include Les Maisons Satie Musée d’Ethnographie et d’Art Populaire Normand, Musée de la Marine and Musée Eugène Boudin. The Eglise Ste-Catherine is an extraordinary wooden church. Constructed in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, it contains maritime motifs.

The adage of good things coming in small packages is particularly appropriate when it comes to St Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey, the second-largest of the Channel Islands. It bills itself as being “tiny in size but huge in charm”, and you’ll soon agree. Home to some 18,000 islanders and known colloquially as ‘town’, St Peter Port possesses a distinctly Mediterranean feel with a maze of venelles (narrow passageways) leading from the port, and cobbled streets snaking their way up the steep hillside. Castle Cornet has protected the town since King John lost Normandy to France, and the nearby French coast became suddenly unfriendly. It’s one of the most intriguing fortresses that you could hope to visit. Literary (and musical theatre) fans will enjoy seeing Hauteville House, Victor Hugo – the famed 19th-century French writer – lived and wrote part of Les Misérables here from 1856 to 1870.

Returning back across the channel, you’ll arrive in the picturesque Cornish town of Fowey. With strong ties to its Celtic roots, this beautiful historical town has a wonderful selection of shops and eateries to explore. Nearby you’ll find the world-famous Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The port here is deep but small, so with your boutique cruise ship as the star attraction, you can be guaranteed a warm, friendly Cornish welcome.

Reach one of Britain’s most peaceful and beautiful places today. The Isles of Scilly are a low-lying archipelago that lies 45 kilometres off Cornwall. Made up of around 140 rocky islets and five inhabited islands, St Mary’s is the largest, followed by Tresco, Bryher, St Martin’s and St Agnes. Bryher is the last inhabited place before America. On these islands, it seems like another, gentler world: uncrowded, unspoilt, with little or no car traffic. The Gulf Stream provides a mild climate in which flowers and other flora thrive and the Isles’ white-sand beaches and lapping translucent green sea could easily be mistaken for the Caribbean. From the world-famous Tresco Abbey Garden with its 20,000 species from all over the globe and Elizabethan castles to fortresses to Bronze age sites and illuminating lighthouses, the Isles of Scilly boasts several outstanding attractions to be enjoyed.

Marvel at the untamed beauty of Wales’ Cardigan Bay and its gorse-clad southwestern jutty, Pembrokeshire, en route to your destination today, Pembroke. It’s reputedly some of the most breath-taking coastline in all Britain – comprised of rugged purple cliffs lashed by the sometimes riotous Irish Sea, golden coves and sheltered beaches. Disembark to explore the medieval town of Pembroke. It was the birthplace of Henry Tudor (VII) and is one of the oldest boroughs in Wales. The city is dominated by its magnificent castle that was founded in 1093 by Arnulf de Montgomery. Pembroke grew prosperous through its sea trade – and though its fortunes have ebbed and flowed, in the 18th century, it was described by Daniel Defoe as “the largest, richest, and at this time the most flourishing town in all of South Wales”.

Located on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, the international port town of Holyhead is steeped in ancient history. The town itself is built around Saint Cybi’s Church, which dates back to 550 AD. Take a walk along the intact Roman-era fort walls, or travel even further back in time and visit the Neolithic burial chamber located just outside the town. Holyhead's dramatic and diverse coastline lends itself well to an exciting menu of outdoor activities. Holyhead Breakwater Park is a great spot for sampling the Anglesey countryside, capturing the scenic beauty, history and natural landscape of the island all on one site.

No matter your belief system, spending time on Iona is good for the soul. This isle, located in the Inner Hebrides which hug close to the western coast of Scotland, has more than a millennium of spiritual connections. Barely 100 people reside in the spot where St Columba brought Christianity to Scotland, so it’s mostly untouched and untamed. Iona is famed for its abbey, which was founded by Columba and his Irish followers in 563 CE. It was in these contemplative cloisters that the sacred treasure, the Book of Kells, was created. The illuminated manuscript was taken to Ireland in 807 CE in an attempt to keep it safe from marauding Vikings. Very little of the gorgeous granite sacred structure you see dates from these times, a Benedictine building was built on the original site in around 1200. Just north of Iona, is uninhabited Lunga, the largest of the Treshnish Isles. Enjoy visiting to see its colonies of playful puffins, guillemots and seals.

Sail into Mull’s capital Tobermory and admire the striking colours of the harbourside village. The town was built in the 1780s, is based on a design by Thomas Telford, and is home to a distillery, art gallery and a Marine Visitor Centre. Sample the fresh seafood and visit the local shops and boutique, before venturing out of town to explore the Inner Hebridean island further. Head north to see Glengorm Castle, which is dramatically sited on the high ground at the northernmost tip of Mull, overlooking the isle’s Sound. Or to one of the island’s sandy beaches which face scattered rocky outcrops and small islands. Mull’s highest peak Ben More overlooks sea lochs where Britain’s largest birds of prey, white-tailed eagles (often called sea eagles), can be seen. Birders take note, the UK’s second-largest bird, the golden eagle, can also be spotted soaring over Mull’s glens. There’s a reason Mull’s other name is Eagle Island.

Disembark in the small Northern Ireland town of Portrush (Port Rois), which is located in County Antrim. It’s one of the island of Ireland’s most popular staycation destinations – indeed, generations have happy memories of visiting this peninsula, with its family-friendly amusements, attractions and beaches. It is also the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast. Flanked by the Atlantic and towering cliffs, the Giant’s Causeway is Northern Ireland’s number-one attraction. Visit and decide for yourself if the basalt formations are the handiwork of prehistoric volcanic activity – or two legendary Celtic giants.

Your 11-day cruise comes to an end today in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland’s capital. It’s at times gritty and in places, gorgeous – Georgian squares, hidden parks and tree-lined canals. It’s lively, complex, cosmopolitan and eminently walkable. So bid farewell to Vega II and start exploring, if time allows before your flight home. Come full circle and visit The Long Room in the Old Library in stately Trinity College to inspect the Book of Kells, which was produced on Iona. The Long Room itself is much lauded for its beauty – it’s a stunning, two-storey, barrel-vaulted space that houses 200,000 of Trinity’s oldest books and manuscripts. Elsewhere the new Museum of Literature Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland, Christ Church and St Patrick’s Cathedrals, the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, Glasnevin Cemetery entice visitors – just be sure to stop into a snug somewhere for a pint.