About

In July 2011 Cape Farewell embarked on a month-long expedition by boat across the Scottish Islands, bringing the notion and experience of expedition home to the UK, with an exploration of island ecologies and cultures, and of the strategies for sustainable and resilient futures being implemented across the Scottish Isles. More ›

The Crew

The expedition crew of 40 includes island artists, storytellers, film makers, playwrights, architects, designers, musicians, community leaders, social scientists, ecologists, marine biologists, oceanographers, poets, acclaimed Gaelic singers and a chef.
Meet the crew ›

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Exploring

Video


Video highlights

Watch video highlights from the expedition ›

Rock, wind, sand, peat, water

Sailing to Lochmaddy
Lochboisdale, South Uist. Met with Joanne Ferguson of Scottish Natural Heritage, David Muir from Coast Adapt, and Huw Francis from Storas Uibhist (community landowners of the South Uist Estate, the largest community buyout in Scotland). Small crofting communities, separated by mountains, boggy peat lands and lochs, are scattered along the broken coastlines east and west,... Read more ›

Virtual St Kilda

Village Bay
Although it took me three attempts, I have been lucky enough to visit St Kilda before. This archipelago, the remotest part of the British Isles lying 41 miles west of Benbecula, has been in the news again recently. Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a permanent settlement on Boreray, which could date back to the... Read more ›

Corncrakes

Field
One of the simple pleasures of living in North Uist is to stand in my garden just after midnight and listen to the loud rasping ‘crex, crex’ song, recalling a grated comb, of around 10 corncrakes that inhabit the crofts surrounding the loch where my house is situated. After long-term declines dating back to the... Read more ›

Output 1

Output 1

Puzzlement

Antoine Assal in the crows' nest
I’ve been re-reading my earlier blog posts and realise there’s an air of puzzlement about them, and wonder why.  Looking back, I think perhaps that my unsettled and questioning tone is the right one for a journey which is all about research and finding answers. Even the question of stewardship – who is the steward,... Read more ›

Provisional itinerary

An Sgurr, Eigg
Over the course of a month we will explore the Outer and Inner Hebrides in a series of four voyages. Our itinerary is subject to change, as wind and weather will influence which islands and harbours we can sail to. We set sail from Oban, stopping at the Isles of Mull, Rum and Eigg before... Read more ›

Launch event

Please join us at The Science Museum’s Dana Centre on Wednesday 6 July as we launch the 2011 expedition, celebrate our last 10 years and invite you to explore our new home at the Dana Centre. For 10 years Cape Farewell has worked to instigate a cultural shift in our thinking in a rapidly changing... Read more ›

Meet the crew

Vicky Long
4 weeks, 32 artists, 8 scientists, 1 boat. The expedition crew of 40 will rotate in four week-long voyages, and include island artists, storytellers, film makers, playwrights, architects, designers, musicians, community leaders, social scientists, ecologists, marine biologists, oceanographers, poets, acclaimed Gaelic singers and a chef. The crew features award-winning novelist/filmmaker Xiaolu Guo, sailor Jo Royle... Read more ›

Beginnings

Towards An Sgurr, Eigg
This July Cape Farewell embarks on its biggest project yet, in partnership with Cove Park: a month-long expedition by boat across the Scottish islands from Oban across the Western Isles of Scotland to Lewis. After eight journeys to the High Arctic and one to the Peruvian Amazon, we are bringing the notion and experience of... Read more ›