Into the Wild: Mull Head Nature Reserve & Deerness
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Port
Kirkwall, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Activity Level
Moderate Activity
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Excursion Type
All
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At (prices in USD)
$360
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 4¼ Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
Surrounded on three sides by the atmospheric North Sea, the outstanding beauty of the Deerness Peninsula awaits. Admire the moody views across to the uninhabited island of Copinsay, a designated Special Protection Area for breeding seabirds and home to a seal colony.
Mull Head Nature Reserve is the peninsula's vast windswept heathland and grassland with high cliffs. It is battered by storms in winter and teems with nesting birds in summer. Stop at the Visitor Center and lose yourself in the interpretative panels that explain the wildlife, landscape and history of the reserve.
Walk a short distance to The Gloup -- a dramatic, collapsed sea cave separated from the sea by a land bridge about 80 yards wide. Take some time to scan the area for birds, plant life and geology.
Back on the coach, you'll travel across farmland to the award-winning Deerness Distillery, lovingly built by Stuart and Adelle on the land next to their family home. This is the first new distillery on Orkney in more than 130 years, and their spirits are all carefully handcrafted on site from start to finish. Be as inquisitive as you like -- they love to talk about their passion.
Sample a range of spirits, including Sea Glass Gin, Scuttled Gin, Vára Pink Gin, Orcadian Moon Coffee Liqueur and Into the Wild premium classic vodka. Enjoy a snack of bannocks, Orkney cheese and shortbread with tea or coffee.
Purchase Deerness Distillery merchandise and a range of other Orkney produce if you wish before returning to the ship.