ON THE CREST OF A WAVE ....
“Around Britain Cruise” - back in 2017 Mrs Butcher and I were on a mini cruise of two of the Benelux countries and whilst aboard we were offered a deal on an around Britain cruise this year. We have just completed this cruise.
On Monday 18th June we departed Tilbury and sailed overnight to Amsterdam where we picked up some more passengers. Whilst this was a personal cruise it did have a police flavour. In Amsterdam we met up with a friend of ours, Jaap Visser a retired Hollands Midden police officer. Jaap took the time to show us around the city. After we left Amsterdam we had a day at sea and on Wednesday 21st we docked in Invergordon from where we visited Inverness. After Inverness we sailed over the top of Britain calling in at Portree on Isle of Skye from where we took a tour of the island. The next day saw us a Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. Here we drove across Mull and took a ferry to Iona. After leaving the Inner Hebrides we sailed to Northern Ireland calling in at Belfast. Here I had arranged an IPA reception and we were met by Brian Kennedy, Region 2’s publicity officer. Brian took us to the covered market for a coffee where he gave us a brief outline of the city and what to see in the short time we were there. During our conversation he pointed out in addition to the terrorist threat the police still had to deal with ODC’s which he explained means Ordinary Decent Criminals. I had to smile at that. We left Brian and took one of Belfast’s open top bus tours around this lovely city. On Brian’s recommendation we had lunch in The Crown a superb Edwardian pub. After we left Belfast we sailed south to Dublin where again we took advantage of an open top bus tour. Our next port of call was Cobh from where we visited Cork and Kinsale. The cruise then brought us back into the UK stopping at the Isles of Scilly and we were tendered to St Mary’s. Here we took a trip around the island in a mini-bus. The driver pointed out the former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson’s old house and how insignificant it is. I happened to mention that as a young Bobby I had to sit in a caravan outside his house in Buckinghamshire. To which the driver, Nigel Stevens, pointed out he too was an ex Thames Valley Police Officer during the same period. They say things come in threes; this was the third police connection with our cruise. After Scilly we sailed to Guernsey and Honfleur in France before returning to Tilbury and making our journey back home.
We had a brilliant time and fortunately brilliant weather and I thoroughly recommend it. Our ship was very disabled person friendly, there were people on board with disabilities that warranted all sorts of walking aids ranging from a single stick, through crutches to a wheeled frames. One couple even had a collapsible mobility scooter for use on shore. Obviously I can only speak of our own cabin but that too was disabled friendly, spacious, plenty of storage space and a walk in shower with grab rails. I would suspect all the other cabins were no different. The company’s attitude to dietary requirements was superb, because Mrs Butcher and I have such an issue we were invited to have a talk with the restaurant manager and the head chef. Our needs were noted and each evening we were given the next day’s menu. We would select our meal and they would ensure it was separately prepared. Nothing was too much trouble.
Bill Butcher, IPA Thames Valley Branch
