D's three favourite islands of 2010

1. Harris
For the stunning journey from Berneray to Tarbert that begins with the slaloming ferry to Leverburgh, followed by the winding coastal road along sandy beaches, before rising up and over the strange, blunted mountains.
 
2. Shiant Isles

What began as a compromise after missing out on St Kilda, became one of our best island trips. The sun shone, puffins bobbed and sea cliffs reared. As we returned to the boat for coffee and cake before departing, a white-tailed eagle glided above us.

3. St Mary's

We had our doubts (cost, scarcity of accommodation, smugness) but we were wrong. We found what everyone else finds: a beachy paradise of warm air and cold, clear water. Despite the chill, it was the perfect place for our first snorkelling experience.

T's favourite island moments of 2009

1. Jura

We failed to climb a Pap and we failed to complete Evans walk, but we couldn't fail to fall in love with this incredible island. We saw our first adder, our first butterwort, and our second otter.

2. Muck

Free of light pollution, the sky was so dark and the stars so bright that they looked like diamonds. The bunkhouse was heated by a Rayburn stove, and we ate our own body weight in ginger biscuits.

3. Tiree

We walked to the supermarket across a bay so vast and empty that it felt as though we might fall into the sky. We stayed on a farm where we experienced new life emerging, right on our doorstep.

D's 3 favourite island moments of 2009

1. Brownsea Island
Where our suspicions were confirmed, there really is nothing better than exploring an island. We left our jobs seven weeks later and boarded the sleeper train to Glasgow.


2. Kerrera

On our first day on a Scottish island, walking in the sunshine, everything lay ahead of us and anything seemed possible.


3. Rum

For feeling like guests at an eccentric billionaire's castle, climbing the Cuillins and watching the golden eagles soar above us, but mainly for just being Rum.