DID you know Scotland boasts over 800 islands?
I’ve been travelling the globe for over two decades and hand on tartan heart, Scotland remains my favourite country and its islands unbeatable.
6
6
I love Skye. The problem is so does everyone else.
Skye gets ridiculously busy with campervans clogging narrow roads and hordes fighting to the bar in Portree’s pubs.
The good news is that there are other Scottish isles just as beautiful.
I’ve explored over 100 of them and found many rival Skye – I reckon some isles are even more rewarding for a holiday.
Read More on Scottish Islands
Here are five crackers so that you too can dodge the Skye-bound hordes.
Arran – ‘Scotland in Miniature’
Scotland’s seventh largest island reclines a stone’s throw from Glasgow.
The journey is a joy on the swanky new Glen Sannox ferry. Arran is a stunner – mountains soar in the north, rolling hills and sandy beaches charm in the south.
A literal Stonesthrow is the new sauna. I’ve just returned to Arran and it’s brilliant fun steaming away with sea views, then plunging into the water.
I also went out with the lovely Zoe from Wild Food Arran, who showed me a forest can be a wild supermarket with free food. The food was great at the Drift Inn, with epic views of Holy Isle.
Superb too at the Corrie Hotel, a trendy boutique bolthole run by a couple who swapped Manhattan for Arran.
6
6
After a few days on Arran – the only isle with all of Scotland’s ‘Big Five’ wildlife – you’ll see why they chose Arran.
Islay – Whisky Galore
Skye is a whisky amateur compared to gorgeous Islay, slated to soon celebrate its 14th distillery.
My favourites – Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig (try spelling those after dramming) – are connected by a walking trail along the rugged wildlife-rich southern coast.
Splash out on more expensive tours to discover drams you won’t find in the supermarket.
They all have lovely bars too. Islay trumps Skye on beaches. Of the necklace of epic sands Machir Bay is my tip for a life-affirming stroll savouring big skies and huge Atlantic breakers.
There is of course, a distillery – Kilchoman.
E-bikes are a great way to get around and explore Islay’s wee whitewashed villages.
You’ll see why she is hailed the ‘Queen of Hebrides’.
Eigg – A community-owned oasis
Skye’s wee southern sister shows what happens when you entrust islanders to run their own affairs.
The opposite of Lord of the Flies, the community buy-out in 1997 on Eigg has been a roaring success, bucking the Hebridean trend by significantly growing the population and attracting young families.
This real life Treasure Island sports a brewery and a record label.
They even became the world’s first island to generate all their own energy from green sources.
Even the bikes rented out by Eigg Adventures are run on green electricity.
As do the spotless (contactless) showers, part of the impressive new An Laimhrig community centre, which houses a shop selling local venison and a cafe alive with local produce.
Eigg is jaw-dropping with volcanoes, craggy coast and sweeping beaches (one even ‘sings’).
Eigg also cannily steals Skye’s most impressive mountains as a dramatic backdrop.
My kids love Eigg and I love the different ways of living that it readily shares with them.
6
Barra – the Outer Hebrides in Miniature
My favourite archipelago on the planet, a 130-mile chain of spirit-soaring isles that ensures you won’t miss Skye just across the Minch.
If you only have time for one make it Barra, an Outer Hebridean greatest hits.
It’s all here, from chunky hills and the sort of beaches you thought only existed in brochures, through to a castle on its own islet (Kisimul) and world-class wildlife.
Barra charms with the brilliant Bùth Bharraigh , a community info hub that surges to the heart of Barra and waits for you if the last ferry is late.
Come by plane to thrill at the world’s only scheduled beach landing.
Don’t miss the Vatersay Boys – if you’re lucky they’ll be careering through a chaotic session at the Castlebay – and Café Kisimul’s delicious local king scallop pakoras.
Sanday – Bountiful beaches and welcoming islanders
I could give you a dozen Northern Isles to rival Skye, but we’ve only space for one.
The name gives Orkney’s Sanday away, with swathes of cotton white sand beaches Skye can only dream of. You’ll find an old German warship (B98) wreck at low tide wedged at Lopness.
Sanday’s community could scarcely be more welcoming. Meet them at the community craft hub and buy art from local creatives.
Or maybe meet over a delicious pizza at the UK’s most northerly wood-fired pizzeria .
Sanday also offers a mysterious broch (an ancient Scottish fortified tower) and prehistoric sites.
Hiring a bike is a great way to explore. Kids love poodling around choosing which paradise beach to stop off at next to swim with the seals.
6