Canna

Canna is the westernmost of the Small Isles, 19 miles off Mallaig, a green basalt island joined at low tide to its neighbour Sanday, which John Lorne Campbell and his wife Margaret Fay Shaw gave to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981 with Canna House and its archive of Gaelic song and photographs; the house, restored over nine years with its post-war atmosphere intact, is seen on pre-booked guided tours. Some 20,000 seabirds breed on the cliffs, including puffins and shags, and the archaeology runs from prehistoric forts to the Punishment Stone, and settlements abandoned in the early 19th century. The island is a working farm and small crofting community with a cafe overlooking the harbour, a 24-hour honesty shop and a campsite. Tips from visitors: pre-book the CalMac ferry by four o'clock the previous working day, book Canna House by email well ahead, bring what you need since the shop stocks basics only, and keep dogs under strict control around livestock.