Queen Victoria ocean liner visits Stornoway
30 May 2023
One of Cunard Queens is spending the day in Stornoway.
MS Queen Victoria anchored off Sandwick - across from Arnish lighthouse - this morning with hundreds of passengers ferried ashore by her tenders for sightseeing bus tours around Lewis and Harris.
Others are enjoying walks around the Lews Castle Grounds and sampling shopping and culinary delights in the town.
The ship is on a 12 day trip around Britain, having departed Southampton on Saturday with visits to Leith and Orkney on her anti-clockwise voyage around Scotland.
MS Queen Victoria was christened by the Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla, in December 2007, the first non-monarch to christen a Cunard queen in nearly 75 years.
The company’s unmistakable red and black funnels - originally envisioned by Robert Napier, the shipyard proprietor responsible for constructing some of Cunard’s earliest vessels - have remained a timeless symbol of the shipping line’s distinguished maritime legacy over the many decades the firm has been in business.
Yesterday was also a busy day for cruise liners in Stornoway with three passengers vessels calling in.
At 58,250 tonnes, MS Spirit of Adventure was the largest though MS Artania can carry a couple of hundred more guests with maximum capacity of 1,200 passengers.
Both stayed in the outer anchorage, south of Arnish lighthouse while the much smaller MS Le Bellot with around 200 passengers berthed at the pierside.
The port hosted six cruise ships visits last week and seven vessels the previous week.