Chains of islands famed for their wildlife. Each has a character of its own. But all have an addictive charm for those who enjoy the natural world and breathtaking coastal scenery. Low intensity agriculture, in the form of crofting, encourages wildlife to thrive. Coll, Tiree and many of the Western Isles are blessed with machair, one of Europe's rarest habitats.
Here a spectacular array of flowers bloom on wind-blown shell sand and, in turn, provide breeding sites for vast numbers of wading birds. Corncrakes have all but disappeared from farmland elsewhere, but make their presence felt in the Uists, Coll and Tiree with distinctive rasping calls as male birds seek a mate.
Around the coast, common seals are abundant all year round. Large numbers of grey seals gather in the autumn to give birth to their pups - the second largest colony in the world is on the sandy beaches of the remote Monach Islands, beyond Uist. Far outlying islands, like the legendary St Kilda, are renowned for their huge colonies of breeding seabirds.
There are more than 6,000 lochs scattered across the islands. Most hold brown trout. Arctic charr, survivors of the last Ice Age, are found in some, and in summer salmon and sea trout are present in lochs with links to the sea. The lochs are important, too, for otters and birds such as red- and black-throated divers, mute swans and red-necked phalarope.
The landscape of Harris in particular presents a dramatic contrast between the mountains and the sea. Large expanses of blanket bog are also found in the islands and are another important habitat for waders like dunlin and golden plover. Eagles and merlin are worth looking out for, as are large wintering populations of barnacle, greylag and Greenland white-fronted geese.
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