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Last week, I enjoyed listening to both of Alan Cumming’s memoirs.

Facebook reminds me that ten years ago, at this time, I was planning a trip to England. We went in September 2014.

One regret that I had after that trip was that I did not experience Great Britain as an island. The closest we got to the sea was Bristol. I loved learning about the engineering of the floating harbor and the origin of the phrase “ship-shape and Bristol fashion.” But the experience felt more like standing next to a river than the ocean.

I loved the multicolored houses on the hillside in Bristol

That wasn’t a bad thing. Rivers feel like home to me. But I never got the sense that I was near the sea.

The Champ Clark Bridge for Highway 54 — the only Mississippi River Bridge between Hannibal and St. Louis is at Louisiana, Missouri

Recently, I had the idea that if I really wanted to experience Great Britain as an island, the thing to do is sail around it. It turns out that there are quite a few cruise lines that do exactly that.

For my fantasy, I will sail around the island with Fred Olsen Cruises. They specialize in small ships with prices that are somewhat less than astronomical. They provide a very British experience and serve mostly British passengers. There are several itineraries, but I settled on Scenic Scottish Isles and the West Country.

We’ll leave from Rosyth (the port near Edinburgh) on June 7, 2025, just about a year from now. Those of us who are fans of Shetland will enjoy our day in Lerwick to see the stunning coast in person. We’ll spend another day on St. Mary’s, the largest of the Isles of Scilly. We’ll have a day each to explore the famous maritime towns on the southern coast of England — Falmouth, Dartmouth, and Portsmouth. Our cruise will take us all the way around Great Britain with lots of things to see from the ship that aren’t as easily visible from shore.

We’ll sail on a small ship christened Balmoral, named after the royal family’s Scottish residence. For a tour of the ship, check out this video from August 2023:

This trip is just before the Summer Solstice when days get very long in Great Britain. I’ll plan to book an interior cabin. Not only will it be a cost savings, but a completely dark room will help me sleep.

I expect to develop a better understanding of the Shipping Forecast. I like to listen to the Shipping Forecast on BBC Sounds just before bed because it’s calming. A cruise around Great Britain will give me locational awareness of the Lundy region and the part of the coast that is covered by Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point.

What do you think? Does the Scenic Scottish Isles and the West Country cruise sound like a great way to spend 10 days of a vacation to Great Britain?