Scotland’s 10 greatest islands
Scotland’s treasure trove of more than 800 islands – just under 100 inhabited – make up over 10 per cent of Europe’s coastline. There are hundreds of isles in the Hebrides – both Inner and Outer – as well as the Firth of Clyde and that is not even mentioning the 100 or so Shetland Islands, nor the 70 or so Orkney Islands.
I’ve spent the last 20 years as a travel writer scouring the isles and I’m often asked which is best. I answer that it’s more a question of which is best for you? Are you a foodie, an ornithologist or just crave a deserted beach? Handily Scotland’s isles also share remarkable walking, scenery and eye-popping sunsets, plus that genuinely friendly welcome you feared only existed on television.
Make this the summer you hop aboard a ferry (or a flight landing on a beach) to the perfect isle to suit you.
Jump to:
Skye
Best for foodies
Yes, too many motorhomes bundle across the Skye Bridge, but you’ll forget about them tucking into Michael Smith’s Michelin-starred wonders overlooking the water at Loch Bay in sleepy Stein. Smith’s old haunt, the legendary Three Chimneys, is going great guns under head chef Scott Davies, who is busting a creative gut to get back their Michelin star in this brilliantly reborn croft.
You can stay over too. And you should, with calmy contemporary rooms with a loch view. In Skye’s south, Isabella Macdonald is continuing her mother’s remarkable legacy – as hotelier, chef and food writer – at Kinloch Lodge, with talented head chef Jordan Webb in the kitchen. Swim off their secret wee beach and go foraging for the likes of sea herbs and chanterelles with the Skye Ghillie.
Where to stay
Indulge in the old-world luxury of Kinloch Lodge, a former hunting lodge with hill and loch views; timeless, velouté-smooth service too. Doubles from £550.
Where to eat
At all of the above. If only one, it has to be the Michelin treat of Loch Bay.
Coll
Best for beaches
Coll’s west coast is basically one giant necklace of beaches. I’ve heard – and written – there are 23, but on my last visit a whisky-fuelled Collaich insisted it was more; his equally adamant friend, less. Either way there are plenty! Kick off with a beach brace – enjoy the wide sweep of Crossapol and its huge sand dunes, before easing over the wildflower-clad machair to Feall.
I’ll never forget my girls whooping with delight on spotting the perfect sands, then going off the scale when seals swam right next to us. Lazily cycling between the beaches with a picnic you’ll forget what century it is, never mind what day.
Where to stay
The Coll Hotel is the place; all sea views and beaming smiles from the close-knit family team, the Oliphants. Doubles from £130.
Where to eat
The Coll Hotel’s dining room is a delight with homemade linguine starring alongside plump Coll lobster. A rich seafood bounty arrives daily; Coll lamb too.
Islay
Best for whisky
It has to be Islay, which just brought its distillery count up to a whopping 10 with the re-opening of Port Ellen. Sail in and you’ll see Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin en route. Start with this trio of whitewashed Victorian dames as a walkway – a cycle path connects them and Islay E-Wheels rent e-bikes. Ardnahoe is the stuff of Grand Designs, with floor-to-ceiling windows sweeping out to the water. Try their whisky food pairings for lunch.
Near neighbour Bunnahabhain (try spelling that after a dram) does superb tours too, while neighbour Caol Ila finds its way into the famous Johnnie Walker blends.
Smallest of the lot is Kilchoman, crafted around an old farm and made with obvious love. Bruichladdich charms too, using traditional production methods long lost to modern rivals. Bowmore sits handily at the heart of the eponymous island capital. Production helps heat the local swimming pool so savour your dram with a clear conscience.
Where to stay
Staying at the Port Charlotte Hotel feels like living in a postcard, with its whitewashed façade and period features. Doubles from £255.
Where to eat
Your tastebuds won’t forget the tennis ball-sized scallops and local lobster mac ‘n’ cheese at the Islay Hotel.
Mull
Best for wildlife
Why bother jetting abroad to view wildlife when Mull offers a world of fauna? Mull Sealife Surveys hunt all manner of cetaceans armed with Canons and Nikons rather than harpoons. You’ve a good chance of spotting whales – minkes most regularly, even humpbacks and orcas – plus dolphins and porpoises. You’ll know if you spot a sea eagle as you’ll likely mistake it for a glider. On land red deer – the UK’s largest land mammal – roam the glens and you’ll see them on hill walks (Ben More is the only island Munro outside Skye).
Golden eagles tend to steal attention from the bountiful local buzzards – to really get a feel for Mull join Nature Scotland. At the end of a day wildlife spotting enjoy a wee dram by the shore in the dappled light of the gloaming – an ideal time for seeing otters.
Where to stay
The Mishnish, in the island capital of Tobermory, is a vibrant induction into island life; their pub is famous for its Scottish ales and live music sessions. Doubles from £160.
Where to eat
Café Fish in Tobermory are on first-name terms with their ultra-local suppliers. Devouring the seafood platter on the terrace on a sunny day is feasting with the Gods.
Arran
Best for it all
People who ask me where they should head if they can only visit one island seem disappointed when I instantly answer, Arran, without debating a list of world-class isles. This Firth of Clyde oasis more than earns the “Scotland in Miniature” epithets: one half firmly north of the Highland Boundary Fault, soaring with craggy peaks, stag-packed glens and rugged castles; the gentler south soothing with empty, sandy beaches, cute wee whitewashed villages and the rich farmland that conjures up the award-winning Arran cheese.
Arran sports two distilleries (a brace of breweries too), plus a great butcher, baker, ice-cream maker, and even a chocolatier. It’s the only island with all of Scotland’s wildlife Big Five (red deer, seals, otters, red squirrels and golden eagles). You can cycle round it in a day.
Where to stay
The Auchrannie is the only real resort in the islands, with a brace of swimming pools, myriad dining and accommodation options, and leisure facilities for dreich days. Doubles from £199.
Where to eat
Watch the gannets diving for dinner while you tuck into baseball-sized scallops caught in the waters right outside the Kilbrannan Restaurant. Their Arran lamb is stellar too.
Barra
Best for the Outer Hebrides in miniature
The Outer Hebrides spread out over a whopping 130 miles and myriad isles, so if you’re short of time pick “Barradise”, an ideal microcosm. Arrive on the Loganair plane that swoops down onto the beach, the world’s only scheduled beach landing. The island capital of Castlebay sports Bùth Bharraigh, a brilliant community-run tourist information centre, shop and hub.
Cycle around the island taking in the epic white sand beaches and rugged hills, including Heaval, which peers down on Castlebay. For an otter’s eye view – there are plenty around Barra – head out with Clearwater Paddling. For a real challenge try the madcap golf course, with Atlantic beaches for bunkers and fences around greens to keep cows out.
Where to stay
Book a sea-view room at the legendary Castlebay Hotel and pray that the legendary Vatersay Boys are in, taking the roof off with a live session. Doubles from £185.
Where to eat
You won’t forget the king scallop pakora at Café Kisimul, with the giant scallops hand-dived by Martin.
Eigg
Best for community spirit
This gorgeous wee isle in the southern shadow of Skye shows what can be achieved when an island community is allowed to run its own affairs. In 1997 Eigg took community ownership and the population has mushroomed with the impressive An Laimhrig community hub, shop and café a striking testament to what they have achieved.
Swirl in the Eigg Brewery, the excellent Eigg Adventures (with their community electricity-run e-bikes) and Lost Map Records, the island’s record label, and there is a lot going on. Then there are the white sand beaches, wee old school museum, the superb hiking and the cleared villages that show what can happen when islands are not looked after.
Where to stay
Eigg Camping Pods are cosy wooden pods overlooking the ferry and the An Laimhrig community hub. Doubles from £65 (minimum two-night stay).
Where to eat
Galmisdale Cafe in An Laimhrig serves Eigg beer with a view of the isles and the ideal accompaniment of Arisaig mussels from just across the water.
Orkney mainland
Best for epic prehistory
The Unesco World Heritage-listed Heart of Neolithic Orkney blows Stonehenge out of the prehistoric water. This vast network of linked prehistoric sites includes the 5,000-year-old village of Skara Brae, which makes Stonehenge look like Ikea in comparison. Next, drift inland to the spectacular henge at Brodgar, the vast Ness of Brodgar settlement and the vaulting stones at Stenness, themselves part of a prehistoric circle.
Maeshowe is the showstopping experience – guided tours eke down the long dark tunnel into the ancient burial cairn illuminated with Viking graffiti. Ask the tour guide about the trio of less well-known burial cairns nearby. I didn’t see a soul in either of the three.
Where to stay
The Kirkwall Hotel is a grand old dame right down on the waterfront in Kirkwall. The Harbourview Restaurant is worth staying in for, as is the Highland Park Bar, named after the local whisky. Doubles from £220.
Where to eat
The Foveran is a restaurant with rooms in a life-affirming location high on the cliffs overlooking Scapa Flow. Tuck into boat-fresh seafood, including hand-dived Orkney scallop and crab.
Unst
Best for geographical extremes
The UK’s most northerly inhabited isle is a magnet for geography fanatics as everything is the “most northerly” and they make the most of that: sending a postcard from the UK’s most northerly post office is de rigueur. It’s a surreal outpost with a local bus shelter winning awards as a pop-up art gallery, and a beached Viking longship at a local museum proudly proclaiming Unst’s Norse roots.
Mother Nature really shows off too with otters and killer whales patrolling the coast, while the Hermaness National Nature Reserve is a globally significant bird reserve. Peer out past the bonxies (great skuas) and gannets and you will see the wilds of Muckle Flugga, the UK’s most northerly isle, one of my favourite views in Scotland. The Northern Lights are an Unst regular too.
Where to stay
You will want to stay at the Baltasound Hotel as it’s often the only place to eat on Unst. It’s a stately, cosy bolthole with only 24 rooms. Doubles from £130.
Where to eat
Dine in at the Baltasound Hotel with Shetland’s superb seafood. Tuck into crab, monkfish, lobster and haddock; Shetland lamb is superb too.
Inchcolm
Best for a short break
This is a real wildcard, a rarity in Scotland – an east coast island. Inchcolm is also unusually within easy striking distance of Edinburgh, so I’d recommend it if you don’t have time to head out west. Maid of the Forth sailings ease out from the Edinburgh suburb of South Queensferry, with cruises that take in the trio of Forth Bridges and call at Inchcolm. Check out the bountiful birdlife – including puffins in summer – and Inchcolm Abbey, the ‘Iona of the East’.
The views from its tower open up Edinburgh across the water, but you’ll feel a million miles from the Royal Mile crowds. You cannot stay on Inchcolm, but you can get married here, or just have your heart stolen by a brilliant east coast island.
Where to stay
Book a room with a Forth Bridges view in South Queensferry at Orocco Pier and you’ll be able to see Inchcolm in the distance. Doubles from £99.
Where to eat
Dine at South Queensferry’s Boathouse on fish and chips with a view of the Firth of Forth, before tucking into the Scottish cheeseboard.
How to get there
To access Scotland’s islands a car is imperative – drive the entire way, with scenic stops on route, or rent from Scotland’s major cities. easyJet (easyjet.com) offer low-cost airfares or take the train – including the Caledonian Sleeper (sleeper.scot) – to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.
Skye: From Inverness drive across the Skye Bridge, 80 miles from Inverness.
Coll: From Glasgow drive 90 miles to Oban. CalMac (calmac.co.uk) ferries cross from Oban to Craignure on Mull in 2.5 hours.
Islay: From Glasgow drive 100 miles to Kennacraig. CalMac ferries cross from Kennacraig to Port Ellen on Islay in 2 hours 20 minutes.
Mull: From Glasgow drive 90 miles to Oban. CalMac ferries cross from Oban to Craignure on Mull in under an hour.
Arran: From Glasgow drive 25 miles to Ardrossan. CalMac ferries cross from Ardrossan to Arran in just under an hour.
Barra: From Glasgow drive 90 miles to Oban. CalMac ferries cross from Oban to Barra in just under five hours. Or fly Loganair from Glasgow (loganair.com).
Eigg: From Inverness drive 114 miles west to Mallaig. CalMac ferries cross from Mallaig to Eigg in less than an hour.
Orkney Mainland: From Aberdeen take the six-hour Northlink (northlinkferries.co.uk) ferry to Orkney. Or fly Loganair from Edinburgh.
Unst: From Aberdeen take the overnight Northlink ferry to Shetland. Or fly Loganair from Edinburgh. It’s another two ferries north to Unst (shetland.gov.uk/ferries).
Inchcolm: From Edinburgh take a Scotrail (scotrail.co.uk) train to Dalmeny, a 15-minute walk from the Maid of the Forth.
