I Took a Safari to a Tiny Scottish Island—and Found a Wilder World Than I Imagined

Working in travel can make it easy to get swept up in the thrill of jetting off across the globe in search of pastures new. This summer, however, I’ve been on a personal mission to explore more of my own “pasture” here in the UK. I've realized just how little of my home soil I’ve actually explored. So, when I heard about Glenapp Castle’s ocean safari on the tiny Scottish island of Ailsa Craig, I leapt at the opportunity to venture north to South Ayrshire. Granted, when I excitedly rang my partner to ask, “Would you come on safari with me?” he may have envisaged a far-flung adventure somewhere in Kenya, rather than a 90-minute flight from London to Glasgow, followed by a drive through the Scottish countryside. Nonetheless, bags were packed and off we went in search of a different kind of travel adventure, one much closer to home than your average safari, but promising to be equally as wild. Writer Lucy Bruton keeping an eye out for local wildlife on the sea safari From our crack-of-dawn arrival in Glasgow, we collapsed into a transfer and promptly dozed off for much of the next leg of our journey. As if by magic, my heavy eyelids closed on a gray, industrial cityscape

Aug 24, 2026 → Aug 24, 2026