Travel: Lewis, Harris and St Kilda

• The 'Baggin Waggon' pictured at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse. Picture: Ramsay MacFarlane

The above description may not come to mind when you first think of Scotland, in fact it probably conjures up an image of some far-flung exotic destination, but any visitor to the Outer Hebrides won't have to look too hard to find scenery like this.

It's a part of Scotland that's always been on my to-do list but all too often the easy option of a cheap flights succeeds in postponing any trip

trip for another year.

Eager to tick this one off my list I set off in the company of Victor Brierley and Ramsay MacFarlane of website Bagging Scotland, a new tourism-driven social network.

They both have a burning desire for us native Scots to uncover more of what's on our doorsteps.

Our aim was to visit or 'bag' as much of Lewis and Harris as was possible during the time constraints of our three-day visit with the pinnacle of our trip coming in the form of a 90-mile round-trip to the remote island of St Kilda.

Our journey began in a dreary industrial estate near Glasgow Airport where we collected our campervan or 'Baggin Waggon' from Open Road Scotland.

Within half an hour we were motoring up the west coast past the stunning scenery of Loch Lomond, the rugged beauty of Fort William before crossing to the Isle of Skye.

We arrived on Harris after a calm crossing from Uig where the only distraction, be it a welcome one, came from the pleasant sight of 12 dolphins playing what appeared to be an elaborate game of chicken under the boat.

After rising early on Sunday we drove to Stornoway aware that the Sabbath was keenly observed in the Western Isles but sure that we would find somewhere to stock up on supplies.

We arrived to a town of empty streets, locked-down shops and packed churches.

Fed up driving round in circles, we made a bee-line for Lews Castle.

• Lews Castle in Stornoway

It was constructed in 1847 as a country house overlooking the town for Sir James Matheson who accumulated a vast fortune from the Chinese opium trade.

To give an idea of his wealth, a few years earlier he purchased the whole of Lewis.

With some time to burn we headed north to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse.

Built in 1862 by David Stevenson, brother of Robert, this is probably one of the remotest places you'll ever visit.

To the west is North America and to the North is the Arctic, little wonder it's been listed in the Guinness book of records as one of the windiest places in the UK.

In its hey-day it housed three lighthouse keepers, today it is manned from a control centre in Edinburgh following its automation

in 1998.

We then headed for the awe-inspiring Callinish Stones.

Being a Sunday, and this being the Outer Hebrides, the visitor centre was closed but we braved the torrential rain to clamber up to the stones.

Built between 2900 and 2600 BC the layout of the stones is said to recall a distorted Celtic cross.

Why the stones where put there remains a mystery. It's been suggested that they represent a moon-based calendar system while a burial chamber was found at the site during an archaeological dig during the 1980s.

The journey from Lewis to Harris is one of contrasts and once you cross the dividing causeway at Tarbert you are immediately hit by a change in terrain from barren to rocky landscape.

We continued our journey south down single tracks roads before the green-blue tidal waters that surround Harris came into view.

Our first stop was Scarista beach.

It's one of those rare places that makes you pause, take thought and realise you've arrived at your destination.

There was no distraction bar the odd rising wave gathering momentum before crashing into a gentle lather on the shore.

• A deserted Scarista Beach

Our one night out of the Baggin Waggon was spent at Scarista House - a rare gem of a place that was immaculate but had retained its rustic charm.

We arose at 7am in anticipation of our crossing to St Kilda.

We sailed from Leverburgh with Angus Campbell of Kilda Cruises who informed us that our crossing would be his last sailing of the season.

As Harris began to fade behind the increasingly choppy waters it soon became apparent why.

Having had a sly laugh with Ramsay at Victor's newly-adopted stance - bent over at the rear of the boat - I too began to feel a bit queasy.

Just over two hours into our journey the stacks that guard St Kilda's islands came into view.

The archipelago is made of three islands Boreray, Soay and Hirta with the latter being the last isle to be continually occupied.

We arrived into the calm waters of Hirta's village bay before landing at a weather-worn jetty.

The collection of uniform green army buildings may not immediately inspire - St Kilda also serves as a missile monitoring station - but peer beyond this facade and you're hit with a scene that appears locked in time.

• The remnants of buildings and cleits that make up the main street of the village of Hirta

St Kilda is a treasure trove of sites that intrigue the imagination.

At the far end of the village stands the a WW1 defence gun next to the old school and church house while the hillside is dotted with a collection of cobbled houses or 'cleits'.

A walk down the main street is like stepping back in time and gives you a small taster of what life was like for those who lived here prior to evacuation in 1930.

We visited on a bright sunny day but you can imagine the place being pretty bleak in winter.

The village however must have seemed like an oasis compared to the living conditions of those St Kildans who were posted on gannet hunting-stints on the surrounding stacks.

The stone remains of small settlements can still be spotted on top of these rock formations on which wild Soay sheep still roam while overhead gannets near-blanket the sky.

On our return to the island we parked our campervan near Scarista beach and tried to turn in a sleep despite having a feeling that I was still on a boat.

Our last day was spent conducting a quick-fire bagging round of Harris.

We sped out to the remote Amhuinnsuidhe Castle on Harris uncovering what is a candidate for the world's most remote tennis court on the way.

• Bunabhainneader Tennis Court, possibly one of the world's most remotest tennis courts? Picture: Ramsay McFarlene

Our stay in the grounds of the castle was short-lived after being chased away by security for venturing on the lawn.

• 'Bagging' the island of Scalpay which is connected by a single track bridge from Harris. Pictured from left to right Victor Brierley, Stephen Emerson and Ramsay MacFarlane.

We departed on the ferry from Tarbert knowing that, in visiting St Kilda, we had gone to one of the remotest places we would ever go to in our lifetimes.

The sheer remoteness and beauty of the Outer Hebrides in itself is worth a visit but anyone that has the chance to experience St Kilda should grab it with both hands.