Scottish Islands

[lily]

I've just got a brochure for some more unusual type holidays including several to some of the Scottish Islands- Shetland, Eigg, Mull Barra etc. We visited Orkney a few years ago and loved it, any one been to any of these?

[sunflower]

Last year we went to the Isle of Skye and Orkney and absolutely loved it. We travelled around Scotland for 3 weeks with our two youngest sons,the dog ,Hubby and me in our mini bus. I would loved to have gone further and travelled the tiny Islands. I cried when we left Orkney! What amazed me was the incredible colours of the wild flowers growing in abundance everywhere. When I remarked on this to a Scots she replied that they were 'going over' now and not so nice as two weeks ago!! Good luck with your plans.

[jazzactivist]

Hi lily, I have been to most of them, and know people who have lived on the others. All are at their best in the Spring / Summer, but the weather is unpredictable, and the cost of getting to them can be very expensive. In my view, Shetland is the least attractive as it is fairly industrial and utilitarian, and is best visited if you are also going on a cruise to Scandinavia. My neighbours go there every month and love it, but her sister lives there. It also costs a lot to get there by plane, and quite a lot and a long time by ferry. Barra has very beautful beaches and is quite easy to get to. Muck, Eigg and Rhum are quaint with good wildlife, but really nothing to do there if you are not fascinated by chilling out, wildlife and the outdoors. For these small islands you need to stock up with plenty of food to take with you. You can place an order and it is brought out by helicopter, but not if the weather is bad. On the larger islands eg Barra, Islay etc then it is better for the local economy if you buy there. Skye is the easiest to get to as you just drive across the bridge, and it has nice scenery, but only one decent (expensive) restaurant and one decent cafe on opposite sides of the island! I worked there for a while, and found the people not as friendly as on the other islands. Mull is very touristy with lots of English people living there, so it might not be different enough for a holiday if you are looking for Scottishness. Although you can get a boat to Iona and Staffa which are both well worth the day trips. Orkney is great, not too difficult to get to, but not if you are squeamish and remember the big child abuse case there a few years back. It all fell through, and the families still live there, which makes it a bit uncomfortable for some. My favourite pair of islands are Islay and Jura where I have holidayed a lot. They are more barren, but have their own spectacular beauty. Islay is also the home of malt whisky and there are quite a few well organised outdoor activities and lots of wildlife. There are also a few nice, reasonable restaurants on Islay with useful shops in Bowmore. Jura is easy to get to by ferry from Islay, it is less populated and best visited for a few days.

I hope that this resume helps with your decision. It is only my view on the islands, but it is best to weigh up the benefit of the holiday against the length of time and expense to get there. The West coast of Scotland on the way up has fantastic scenery but good, up-to-date food and accommodation is hard to come by at affordable prices, unless you are camping... Enjoy your holiday.

[lily]

Thank you so much for all the info. I'm thinking of the coward's way, i.e. booking with a travel firm, everything sorted for us. Think it might be a bit much going in our camper. Barra is one of the options- so very pleased to have an opinion about it. Have to sell the idea to husband, so will see...Will let you know if we book anything.Again, thanks to you both.

[jazzactivist]

Hi again, lily, there is probably no need to book with a travel firm as loads of people do this sort of holiday every year, and regardless of the 'Whisky Galore' reputation, Scotland isn't really the unreachable outback! I would decide what you most want to do on your holiday and then look at descriptions on the internet to see which islands will best suit your needs and how near they are to one another, and aim to stay in each of your choices for a week to get the feel for it. Same goes for accommodation - look for hotels / B + Bs / cottages / chalets that suit your needs, and book on the internet. Travelling around Scotland by camper is one of the most popular ways to do it, as there is loads of good local produce to cook, but most cafes etc are a bit behind the times. Good luck with whatever you choose, and I am happy to answer any further questions about possibilities, if I know the answers.

[lily]

Thank you for that Jazzactivist, have just turned our ground floor into a building site- so will approach the holiday topic with care! Will let you know.

[Healing Hands]

lily, I have to go with Jazzactivist on everything she has said. I too have been to all of the place that jazzactivist has visited all except Eigg and Muck. All of those mention are just so beautiful I was there travelling about 6 years ago now and I would love to go back but it can be expensive as jazzactivist said. I was lucky I got to go on my late husband ship that we sailed to Ireland then the West Coast of Scotland up to the Shetlands, Orkney, we even managed to get the Zodiac's to St Kilda which is an amazing place and so full of wildlife.

I do hope you have awonderful time and let us know where you go. Oh by the way Jazzactivist did you buy any of the Jura whisky I could'nt get Nigel out of there! My Uncle said it was the best whisky he had ever had.

[Crocus]

Hi Jazz, we've never been to the islands of Scotland and would very much like to do that one day. Thanks for the all the lovely info on the islands. I would very much like to go to Skye and hubby wants to go to Islay (I wonder why(?)).

[jazzactivist]

Hi all, glad that you found it useful. HH, Isle of Jura malt whisky is our favourite, as it has a lovely, soft, warm, peaty flavour, without any of the harshness that can be the case with some others.

[Redstart]

My son's favourite is cask strength Cao Ilsa and he's also partial to an aged Bowmore. We all like Lagavulin and usually have bottle of that in the cupboard; I like Glen Morangie as well.

The ridiculous things is, malt whisky is cheaper there than in the UK!

[Sparrow]

I visited the Shetlands in 1987 and absolutely loved it. It is so wild and dramatic. Great if you love birdlife and knitting and going for very bracing walks! We rented a cottage and the vegetable garden went straight down into the voe. It wasn't unusual to have a seal basking amongst the cabbages! I think the islands are the most beautiful part of GB (and I'm from Yorkshire, so I have no axe to grind!)

[Redstart]

I'd like to visit Shetland sometime because of the knitting! Now that my daughter's moved to Oban I'm more likely to than when she lived in Wales.

I'm from Yorkshire too - North Yorkshire, near the coast - and we often went to Scotland for holidays when the children were small. The further north I've been was the Moray Firth but I think I might just start hinting about a holiday in Shetland!

[Sparrow]

Hey Redstart, maybe we're related way back! My Dad's side were from Scarborough, Huttons Ambo, and Castle Howard area.

I was over in Scarborough last week. Even in the middle of winter, there were people braving walking along the seashore.