SCOTLAND'S MOST UNDERRATED ISLANDS

– with the sunniest beaches, whale-watching, shipwrecks and Caribbean-quality sand 

Looking for an island escape with beautiful beaches and stunning scenery, but don’t want to go abroad? Then look no further than Scotland, home to nearly 800 offshore islands.

THE ISLE OF ERRAID One of the driest and sunniest places in Scotland, with less than 1,000mm of rain and 1,350 hours of sunshine annually, so you’re virtually guaranteed great days out on the beach.

DAVAAR ISLAND, Campbeltown Try swimming from the jetty and take the kids raking for whelks and winkles on the beach at Killdalloig Bay, or cockles on the Dhorlin.

 INCHMURRIN ISLAND, LOCH LOMOND The island offers lovely walks and quiet beaches for swimming, as well as archaeological sites like the ruins of the 7th century monastery and 14th century Lennox Castle.

FOULA This remote but dramatic island, 20 miles west of the Shetland mainland, has one of the highest sheer sea cliffs in Britain, Da Kame, standing at an impressive 1,233ft.

THE ISLE OF SEIL Separated from mainland Scotland by the thinnest of sea channels - just over 70ft at points - and accessed by Clachan Bridge, popularly known as the ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’.

COLL There’s over 30 beaches, lapped by turquoise seas which wouldn’t look out of place in the Caribbean. And it enjoys some of the longest sunshine hours recorded in the UK.