Oceans apart

Can there be more? Yes! Scotland doesn’t finish ’til 100 miles west of the mainland and up north at the 60th parallel.

Island outliers in every sense.

SNAIL MAIL Postman’s Path, Isle of Harris

The Outer Hebrides drift closer than you may think: mainland ferries can reach the 130-mile chain in under three hours. Like their Inner Hebridean brethren, these isles, 15 inhabited, are varied like a box of allsorts. Even the duo that share a landmass, Lewis and Harris, are wildly different. Both have epic beaches, but Lewis tends to peat, Harris to rugged rock, some so lunar Kubrick filmed his space odyssey here. That terrain proved tricksy for tarmac and until the 1980s the east coast hamlet of Rhenigidale had no road. Instead villagers, and the postie, walked over hill and headland, as you can now, with one bit dropping 850 feet in 12 hairpins.

WALK HERE: Park east of Tarbert (NB184004) and take path east below Trolamul. Fork left down zig-zags and round shore to village. 3 ½ miles one way; stay at the Gatliff Trust hostel.

THE WILDEST WEST Hirta, St Kilda

Beyond Skye, Uist, Harris and Lewis lies St Kilda, the collective name for four steep, small islands – the dot-dash-dot of Soay, Hirta and Dùn, and the outlying, tooled-up, Boreray. Despite architectural features dating back over two millennia, no-one has lived here since 1930 which makes it a pristine and uncanny place to visit. It has two unique species – the St Kilda wren and field mouse – and a supremely isolated feel. It’s not a spontaneous trip – boat rides cost £185+ per person from Skye, Lewis or Harris, and if you want to camp you need to book one of the six pitches in January for dates in the coming year (01463 232034; StKildaInfo@nts.org.uk).

WALK HERE: A natural circular walk from the landing spot of Village Bay on Hirta to Mullach Mor, and on to St Kilda’s highest point Conachair (1410ft/430m) takes 4 hours.