Latest news with #Hebrides
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Five essential things to know before you board a Majestic Line cruise ship
Named after a fictional cruise company in the Scottish TV series Para Handy, The Majestic Line was set up in 2004 by friends Ken Grant and Andy Thoms. It now operates four small ships around the Inner and Outer Hebrides – two 11-passenger converted fishing boats, Glen Massan and Glen Tarsan, and two purpose-built 12-passenger vessels, Glen Etive and Glen Shiel. The line came to national attention in 2017 when TV presenter Jane McDonald burst into song in Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa while sailing on Glen Tarsan for her Channel 5 cruise series. As an epidemiologist, Dr Ken Grant worked as a public health consultant in more than 30 countries – a background that helped The Majestic Line become one of the first cruise companies to restart operations in August 2020 following the Covid pandemic. Over the years, he and Andy experimented briefly with smaller boats but returned to the four favourites, all styled like a 1930s gentleman's motor yacht with golden funnels like the ships in Para Handy. In 2024, the pair sold the company to Craig of Campbeltown Limited, which is refurbishing the fleet. As well as general cruises, the ships are also available for private charter. 1. Where does the Majestic Line cruise? The four-strong fleet based in Oban sails between April and October each year. Wood-hulled Glen Massan and Glen Tarsan offer three or six-night cruises within the waters of the Inner Hebrides, from Islay in the south to as far north as Skye. They also head inland via Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal to Inverness. The more modern steel-hulled ships, Glen Etive and Glen Shiel, are fitted with stabilisers so are able to operate three, six and 10-night cruises farther afield to the Outer Hebrides, St Kilda, the north-west mainland coast and even Orkney. Wherever it sails, The Majestic Line is unusual in not having set daily itineraries. Instead, captains assess the weather and sea conditions each morning and adjust their course accordingly. Guests' preferences for a certain port or are also taken into account and the captain will pull into a sheltered bay or harbour when it's time to eat. Highlights might include sailing past picturesque Eilean Donan Castle or visiting small islands such as Rum, Muck and Eigg. One of the closest and most popular destinations is Mull with its colourful capital Tobermory and Duart Castle on the coast. Life on board is laid-back, as are shore excursions. Passengers are dropped by tender boat at a landing or jetty, given a time to return and left to their own devices. Of course, there are plenty of walks, castles and distilleries to enjoy. Wildlife spotters may see dolphins, porpoises, seals, basking sharks, minke whales and orcas, as well as sea birds from puffins and petrels to gannets and guillemots. Passengers keen on fishing can dangle a line off the stern, help collect lobsters from creels or join the crew when they head ashore to collect mussels. 2. Who does Majestic Line appeal to? Passengers are mainly from the UK, followed by the US, Germany and Australia followed by the Canada, France and the Netherlands. This is slow travel at its best with ample time to admire the Scottish scenery. The four crew – a skipper, chef, engineer and steward – all pitch in, so it's not unusual to find the captain serving toast at breakfast. Foodies will enjoy the beautifully prepared meals, snacks and nibbles made from local produce in a small galley and served at a communal table (passenger preferences are noted beforehand). On such small boats, you're never far from your cabin or the sun deck, weather permitting, and the captain welcomes guest visits to the open bridge. With everyone eating together and sharing the small lounge and bar, there's plenty of chance to socialise and make new friends. The dress code is relaxed and there are no casinos, theatres, spas, pools or any entertainment. There's not even a TV in the snug en suite cabins. Children aged 12 and above are welcome on all cruises and youngsters of any age can sail on private charters. 3. The Majestic Line's fleet Glen Massan and Glen Tarsan (11 passengers) Glen Massan, a 1975-built trawler saved from the scrapyard, became the first Majestic Line ship in 2004 and was followed three years later by another converted fishing boat, Glen Tarsan. Both have two cabins with a small opening window on the main deck and four more rooms downstairs with fixed portholes, accommodating a maximum of 11 passengers, either as five doubles and a single or four doubles and two singles. There is a combined lounge/bar/dining room and outdoor areas include a sun deck and whale-watching spot. Books and games are available and a plasma screen in the saloon shows the ship's position or films about local wildlife. Sometimes the crew will put on an episode of Para Handy, the comedy that inspired the line. Though small, these two older wooden-hulled ships are preferred by some Majestic Line loyalists. Bookings still spike whenever Channel 5 repeats the Jane McDonald episode when she sailed on Glen Tarsan. Sails to: Inner Hebrides, Caledonian Canal Glen Etive and Glen Shiel (12 passengers) In 2016, The Majestic Line acquired its first purpose-built ship, Glen Etive, from a yard on the isle of Bute, followed three years later by Glen Shiel, another steel-hulled vessel. The sister ships have seven cabins, one on the main deck and six below, taking up to 12 passengers as five doubles and two singles, or six doubles and one empty cabin. In contrast to Glen Massan and Glen Tarsan, the dining room and lounge were separated and the ships were fitted with stabilisers for longer voyages in the open sea. Glen Etive's lower deck has more of a hotel feel, with cabins off a corridor running the length of the vessel, while Glen Shiel is more like a country house, with two stairways down to the lower cabins. The small bar offers a selection of gins, whiskies, beers and soft drinks. Both ships have outside seating, viewing areas and a sun deck. Sails to: Inner Hebrides, Outer Hebrides, St Kilda, the north-west mainland coast and Orkney scheme The Majestic Line is not currently operating a loyalty scheme. 5. Access for guests with disabilities Due to the size and nature of the four ships, accessibility is limited, especially because of narrow corridors and the stairs between decks, as well as steps down to the tender boats which are used to go ashore. People who need to walk with a stick are advised to book a main-deck cabin. Some passengers have used fold-away wheelchairs on shore.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump's mother: From a Scottish island to New York's elite
Donald Trump is a US president with a uniquely strong connection to Scotland. His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born and brought up on the Hebridean island of Lewis but emigrated to New York to live a very different life. Mary Anne was one of tens of thousands of Scots who travelled to the US and Canada in the early years of the last century looking to escape economic hardship at home. She first left Lewis for New York in 1930, at the age of 18, to seek work as a domestic servant. Six years later she was married to successful property developer Frederick Trump, the son of German migrants and one of the most eligible men in New York. The fourth of their five children, Donald John, as he is referred to on the islands, is now US president for the second time. His mother was born in 1912 in Tong, about three miles from Stornoway, the main town on the isle of Lewis. Genealogist Bill Lawson, who has traced the family tree of Mary Anne MacLeod back to the early 19th Century, says her father Malcolm ran a post office and small shop in his later years. Economically, the family would have been slightly better off than the average in the township, he says. However, life during and after World War One, in which 1,000 islanders died, was very hard and many young people were leaving the Western Isles. The Isle of Lewis had also suffered the Iolaire disaster in 1919 when 200 servicemen from the island had drowned at the mouth of Stornoway harbour, coming home for the first new year of peace. Mr Lawson says: "Mary Anne MacLeod was from a very large family, nine siblings, and the move at that time was away from the island. "The move by Viscount Leverhulme to revive the island had gone bust and there was not much prospect for young people. "What else could she do?" Mr Lawson adds: "Nowadays, you might think of going to the mainland but in those days most people went to Canada. It was far easier to make a life in America and many people had relatives there." The genealogist says President Trump's mother was slightly different in that her sister Catherine, one of eight members of the MacLeod family to have emigrated to America, had moved from Canada to New York. When Catherine returned to Lewis for a visit in 1930, her 18-year-old sister Mary Anne went with her to look for work. It appears that she found work as a nanny with a wealthy family in a big house in the suburbs of New York but lost the job as the US sank into depression after the Wall Street Crash. Mary Anne returned briefly to Scotland in 1934 but by then she had met Fred Trump and soon returned to New York for good. The couple lived in a wealthy area of Queens and Mary Anne was active with charity work. Donald Trump still has three cousins on Lewis, including two who live in the ancestral home, which has been rebuilt since Mary Anne MacLeod's time. All three cousins have consistently refused to speak to the media. Speaking to the BBC in 2017 after Donald Trump's first presidential victory, John A MacIver, a local councillor and friend of the cousins, said: "I know the family very well. "They are very nice, gentle people and I'm sure they don't want all the publicity that's around. "I quite understand that they don't want to talk about it." Mr MacIver said Mary Anne MacLeod was well-known and much respected in the community and used to attend the church on her visits home. President Trump's mother became a US citizen in 1942 and died in 2000, aged 88. But she returned to Lewis throughout her life and always spoke Gaelic, Mr MacIver says. According to genealogist Bill Lawson, surnames are a relatively recent phenomenon on the islands and official records only go back to the early decades of the 19th Century. His research took him back as far as John Roy MacLeod, which in Gaelic is Iain Ruaidh, named for a tendency to red hair. Mary Anne Trump's paternal MacLeods came from Vatisker, a few miles further north of Tong. Her great-grandfather Alexander Roy MacLeod and his son Malcolm were thought to have drowned together while fishing in the 1850s. On Mary Anne's mother's side, the Smiths were among the families cleared from South Lochs area of Lewis in 1826. The period of the Highland Clearances on the mainland had largely missed Lewis but after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 some of the better lands for sheep-grazing on the island were cleared of tenants. In most cases the displaced tenants were relocated elsewhere on Lewis rather than sent overseas. According to Mr Lawson, all four lines of Mary Anne MacLeod's maternal ancestry had been moved to Stornoway parish from elsewhere on the island as a result of the Clearances. His research also found another fishing tragedy when Donald Smith was drowned in October 1868 after his boat was upset in a squall off Vatisker Point. His widow was left with three children, of whom the youngest, Mary - Donald Trump's grandmother - was less than a year old. Mary succeeded her mother at 13 Tong, but it was the smallest of the crofts in Tong. After her marriage to Malcolm MacLeod, they were able to acquire the Smiths' original croft of 5 Tong and move there. Donald Trump's mother Mary Anne was the youngest of their 10 children. Her businessman son Donald visited the house in which his mother grew up in 2008. On that trip, he said he had been to Lewis once before as "a three or four-year-old" but could remember little about it. It is estimated he spent 97 seconds in the ancestral home during his whistle-stop tour. At the time, he said: "I have been very busy - I am building jobs all over the world - and it's very, very tough to find the time to come back. "But this just seemed an appropriate time, because I have the plane... I'm very glad I did, and I will be back again." He was accompanied by his eldest sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a US federal judge, who regularly visited her cousins on Lewis before her death in 2023. Mr Lawson says: "If you want to celebrate anyone, you should perhaps celebrate Maryanne, who has done a lot of work for the island. "Donald arrived off a plane and then disappeared again. One photoshoot, that was it. "I can't say he left much of an impression behind him." Donald Trump and the Scots: A not-so special relationship A quick guide to Donald Trump Police Federation seeks legal advice ahead of Trump visit
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump's mother: From a Scottish island to New York's elite
Donald Trump is a US president with a uniquely strong connection to Scotland. His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born and brought up on the Hebridean island of Lewis but emigrated to New York to live a very different life. Mary Anne was one of tens of thousands of Scots who travelled to the US and Canada in the early years of the last century looking to escape economic hardship at home. She first left Lewis for New York in 1930, at the age of 18, to seek work as a domestic servant. Six years later she was married to successful property developer Frederick Trump, the son of German migrants and one of the most eligible men in New York. The fourth of their five children, Donald John, as he is referred to on the islands, is now US president for the second time. His mother was born in 1912 in Tong, about three miles from Stornoway, the main town on the isle of Lewis. Genealogist Bill Lawson, who has traced the family tree of Mary Anne MacLeod back to the early 19th Century, says her father Malcolm ran a post office and small shop in his later years. Economically, the family would have been slightly better off than the average in the township, he says. However, life during and after World War One, in which 1,000 islanders died, was very hard and many young people were leaving the Western Isles. The Isle of Lewis had also suffered the Iolaire disaster in 1919 when 200 servicemen from the island had drowned at the mouth of Stornoway harbour, coming home for the first new year of peace. Mr Lawson says: "Mary Anne MacLeod was from a very large family, nine siblings, and the move at that time was away from the island. "The move by Viscount Leverhulme to revive the island had gone bust and there was not much prospect for young people. "What else could she do?" Mr Lawson adds: "Nowadays, you might think of going to the mainland but in those days most people went to Canada. It was far easier to make a life in America and many people had relatives there." The genealogist says President Trump's mother was slightly different in that her sister Catherine, one of eight members of the MacLeod family to have emigrated to America, had moved from Canada to New York. When Catherine returned to Lewis for a visit in 1930, her 18-year-old sister Mary Anne went with her to look for work. It appears that she found work as a nanny with a wealthy family in a big house in the suburbs of New York but lost the job as the US sank into depression after the Wall Street Crash. Mary Anne returned briefly to Scotland in 1934 but by then she had met Fred Trump and soon returned to New York for good. The couple lived in a wealthy area of Queens and Mary Anne was active with charity work. Donald Trump still has three cousins on Lewis, including two who live in the ancestral home, which has been rebuilt since Mary Anne MacLeod's time. All three cousins have consistently refused to speak to the media. Speaking to the BBC in 2017 after Donald Trump's first presidential victory, John A MacIver, a local councillor and friend of the cousins, said: "I know the family very well. "They are very nice, gentle people and I'm sure they don't want all the publicity that's around. "I quite understand that they don't want to talk about it." Mr MacIver said Mary Anne MacLeod was well-known and much respected in the community and used to attend the church on her visits home. President Trump's mother became a US citizen in 1942 and died in 2000, aged 88. But she returned to Lewis throughout her life and always spoke Gaelic, Mr MacIver says. According to genealogist Bill Lawson, surnames are a relatively recent phenomenon on the islands and official records only go back to the early decades of the 19th Century. His research took him back as far as John Roy MacLeod, which in Gaelic is Iain Ruaidh, named for a tendency to red hair. Mary Anne Trump's paternal MacLeods came from Vatisker, a few miles further north of Tong. Her great-grandfather Alexander Roy MacLeod and his son Malcolm were thought to have drowned together while fishing in the 1850s. On Mary Anne's mother's side, the Smiths were among the families cleared from South Lochs area of Lewis in 1826. The period of the Highland Clearances on the mainland had largely missed Lewis but after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 some of the better lands for sheep-grazing on the island were cleared of tenants. In most cases the displaced tenants were relocated elsewhere on Lewis rather than sent overseas. According to Mr Lawson, all four lines of Mary Anne MacLeod's maternal ancestry had been moved to Stornoway parish from elsewhere on the island as a result of the Clearances. His research also found another fishing tragedy when Donald Smith was drowned in October 1868 after his boat was upset in a squall off Vatisker Point. His widow was left with three children, of whom the youngest, Mary - Donald Trump's grandmother - was less than a year old. Mary succeeded her mother at 13 Tong, but it was the smallest of the crofts in Tong. After her marriage to Malcolm MacLeod, they were able to acquire the Smiths' original croft of 5 Tong and move there. Donald Trump's mother Mary Anne was the youngest of their 10 children. Her businessman son Donald visited the house in which his mother grew up in 2008. On that trip, he said he had been to Lewis once before as "a three or four-year-old" but could remember little about it. It is estimated he spent 97 seconds in the ancestral home during his whistle-stop tour. At the time, he said: "I have been very busy - I am building jobs all over the world - and it's very, very tough to find the time to come back. "But this just seemed an appropriate time, because I have the plane... I'm very glad I did, and I will be back again." He was accompanied by his eldest sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a US federal judge, who regularly visited her cousins on Lewis before her death in 2023. Mr Lawson says: "If you want to celebrate anyone, you should perhaps celebrate Maryanne, who has done a lot of work for the island. "Donald arrived off a plane and then disappeared again. One photoshoot, that was it. "I can't say he left much of an impression behind him." Donald Trump and the Scots: A not-so special relationship A quick guide to Donald Trump Police Federation seeks legal advice ahead of Trump visit
BBC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Donald Trump's mother: From a Scottish island to New York's elite
Donald Trump is a US president with a uniquely strong connection to Scotland. His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born and brought up on the Hebridean island of Lewis but emigrated to New York to live a very different Anne was one of tens of thousands of Scots who travelled to the US and Canada in the early years of the last century looking to escape economic hardship at first left Lewis for New York in 1930, at the age of 18, to seek work as a domestic years later she was married to successful property developer Frederick Trump, the son of German migrants and one of the most eligible men in New fourth of their five children, Donald John, as he is referred to on the islands, is now US president for the second mother was born in 1912 in Tong, about three miles from Stornoway, the main town on the isle of Bill Lawson, who has traced the family tree of Mary Anne MacLeod back to the early 19th Century, says her father Malcolm ran a post office and small shop in his later years. Economically, the family would have been slightly better off than the average in the township, he life during and after World War One, in which 1,000 islanders died, was very hard and many young people were leaving the Western Isle of Lewis had also suffered the Iolaire disaster in 1919 when 200 servicemen from the island had drowned at the mouth of Stornoway harbour, coming home for the first new year of Lawson says: "Mary Anne MacLeod was from a very large family, nine siblings, and the move at that time was away from the island."The move by Viscount Leverhulme to revive the island had gone bust and there was not much prospect for young people."What else could she do?" Mr Lawson adds: "Nowadays, you might think of going to the mainland but in those days most people went to Canada. It was far easier to make a life in America and many people had relatives there."The genealogist says President Trump's mother was slightly different in that her sister Catherine, one of eight members of the MacLeod family to have emigrated to America, had moved from Canada to New Catherine returned to Lewis for a visit in 1930, her 18-year-old sister Mary Anne went with her to look for appears that she found work as a nanny with a wealthy family in a big house in the suburbs of New York but lost the job as the US sank into depression after the Wall Street Anne returned briefly to Scotland in 1934 but by then she had met Fred Trump and soon returned to New York for couple lived in a wealthy area of Queens and Mary Anne was active with charity work. Donald Trump still has three cousins on Lewis, including two who live in the ancestral home, which has been rebuilt since Mary Anne MacLeod's three cousins have consistently refused to speak to the to the BBC in 2017 after Donald Trump's first presidential victory, John A MacIver, a local councillor and friend of the cousins, said: "I know the family very well."They are very nice, gentle people and I'm sure they don't want all the publicity that's around."I quite understand that they don't want to talk about it."Mr MacIver said Mary Anne MacLeod was well-known and much respected in the community and used to attend the church on her visits home. President Trump's mother became a US citizen in 1942 and died in 2000, aged she returned to Lewis throughout her life and always spoke Gaelic, Mr MacIver to genealogist Bill Lawson, surnames are a relatively recent phenomenon on the islands and official records only go back to the early decades of the 19th research took him back as far as John Roy MacLeod, which in Gaelic is Iain Ruaidh, named for a tendency to red Anne Trump's paternal MacLeods came from Vatisker, a few miles further north of great-grandfather Alexander Roy MacLeod and his son Malcolm were thought to have drowned together while fishing in the 1850s. On Mary Anne's mother's side, the Smiths were among the families cleared from South Lochs area of Lewis in period of the Highland Clearances on the mainland had largely missed Lewis but after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 some of the better lands for sheep-grazing on the island were cleared of most cases the displaced tenants were relocated elsewhere on Lewis rather than sent to Mr Lawson, all four lines of Mary Anne MacLeod's maternal ancestry had been moved to Stornoway parish from elsewhere on the island as a result of the research also found another fishing tragedy when Donald Smith was drowned in October 1868 after his boat was upset in a squall off Vatisker widow was left with three children, of whom the youngest, Mary - Donald Trump's grandmother - was less than a year old. Mary succeeded her mother at 13 Tong, but it was the smallest of the crofts in her marriage to Malcolm MacLeod, they were able to acquire the Smiths' original croft of 5 Tong and move Trump's mother Mary Anne was the youngest of their 10 businessman son Donald visited the house in which his mother grew up in that trip, he said he had been to Lewis once before as "a three or four-year-old" but could remember little about it. It is estimated he spent 97 seconds in the ancestral home during his whistle-stop the time, he said: "I have been very busy - I am building jobs all over the world - and it's very, very tough to find the time to come back."But this just seemed an appropriate time, because I have the plane... I'm very glad I did, and I will be back again."He was accompanied by his eldest sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a US federal judge, who regularly visited her cousins on Lewis before her death in Lawson says: "If you want to celebrate anyone, you should perhaps celebrate Maryanne, who has done a lot of work for the island."Donald arrived off a plane and then disappeared again. One photoshoot, that was it."I can't say he left much of an impression behind him."
Times
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Operation Save Davie is on, but one more scandal and ‘he's out'
O n Friday evening, Tim Davie was at the opening night of the BBC Proms, listening to a Mendelssohn overture that was inspired by a cave on an uninhabited Scottish island. Given the past month the BBC's director-general has had, hotfooting it from the Royal Albert Hall to that Hebridean cavern may have seemed quite appealing. Last week was the most bruising in a line of bruising weeks for Davie, who was under attack on three fronts. On Monday the BBC admitted that its documentary about children in Gaza had breached editorial guidelines; the MasterChef scandal was reignited by the release of the report into Gregg Wallace's behaviour and the subsequent sacking of his former co-host John Torode; and Davie was facing renewed scrutiny over the live streaming of antisemitic comments by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury last month.
