NEXTSTOP, LANDSOF SEAANDSKY

Nicola Davies has travelled the world, but South Uist is among her ‘favourite places on Earth’ – Neil Drysdale finds out more

She has searched for chameleons in Madagascar and turtles in the Seychelles, and followed walruses across the Arctic Circle.

And yet Nicola Davies is certain in her assertion that the isles of South Uist and Benbecula are among her favourite places in the whole world.

This redoubtable woman, who has engaged in a peripatetic career, encompassing life as a zoologist, TV presenter, children’s author and champion for reading, is about to embark on a whistle-stop tour of Argyll and Bute, the Highlands and the Western Isles to participate in a packed programme of school events in some of the country’s remotest areas from May 7 to 11.

Nicola, 59, will be spreading her message that there is nothing to beat the power of books in inspiring youngsters, whether in providing them with an “interior movie” which is unique to every person, or encouraging them to seek out and pursue their own dreams and destinies – rather like the list of adventures on her own CV.

But she will also be savouring the refulgent ruggedness of the landscapes and prolific natural wonders as she journeys from Gigha and Islay to Oban and Lochaber and on to South Uist.