Hebrides

Scarista House Hotel, Isle of Harris

This whitewashed late Georgian manse overlooks the flower-strewn machair leading to one of Britain’s most beautiful beaches. It was made famous by Alison Johnson’s A House by the Shore, the story of how she and her husband rescued it from dereliction in the 1990s. Now in different ownership, it preserves its old-fashioned, comfortable atmosphere infused with the aroma of peat smoke. Bread, cakes, oatcakes, biscuits and ice creams are baked in the house or by neighbours and the menu features such delights as Minch langoustines with Dijon mayonnaise, garlic-and-herb butter, navarin of Lewis lamb or hazelnut meringue with Quidinish raspberries and blueberry, lime and elderflower sorbet. Open all year, except Christmas, New Year, January and February. How to get there Plane or ferry to Stornoway or ferry from Skye to Tarbert on Harris, from where it’s a 25-minute drive to the west side of the island Remoteness rating 9 (out of 10)

(01859 550238; www.scaristahouse.com)

The Boathouse, Isle of Ulva, off Mull

In 1989, an old ferry shed was converted into a licensed tearoom, where you can have anything from a cup of tea to a three-course lunch. All seafood is locally caught by hand, line or creel. All produce is organic and outdoor-reared, the bread and cakes are homebaked and the coffee and teas are Fairtrade. Scottish Winner of the Market Garden Local Food Heroes competition 2009. Sit inside or out on the pier and enjoy bay oysters harvested on the island, prawns, brown crab, lobsters or dover sole and monkfish caught off Tobermory. Best from April to October, open 9am to 4.30pm.

How to get there Short ferry crossing from Mull, which has to be summoned (closed Saturdays) Remoteness rating 10

(01688 500264; www.isleofulva.com/the-boathouse)