You can take the ferry from Oban, or hop across on a twin-propeller plane, to discover Jane and Alex Howard’s 18th-century inn, bar and village hub, on a hillside overlooking the harbour.

Set within a comfortable expanse of wooded acreage, the Macdonalds’ ‘fabulous’ country house is run in ‘an efficient but relaxing way’.

'A wonderful and special place from which to explore this magical island.'

‘Excellent food’ and a ‘lovely’ welcome await visitors to Tim and Patricia Martin and Neil King’s former manse overlooking the Maldivian-blue seas and sugar-white sands of a bite-shaped cove.

‘The welcome was superb, the setting magical, the staff were friendly and helpful,’ writes a reader in 2019, of Lord and Lady Macdonald’s former hunting lodge on the shores of Loch Na Dal.

There is whisky galore on this Inner Hebrides island; bonhomie in the bar of this friendly hotel.

Lang may the lums reek at this remote restaurant-with-rooms on the shores of Loch Dunvegan. After 34 years, Shirley and Eddie Spear have moved on, but all is well.

At a handsomely furnished 19th-century house on the Isle of Islay, ‘fabulous hosts’ Margaret and Blair Rozga offer guests a sweet welcome with home-baked treats and tea.

Across a galvanised footbridge, the huge windows of Neil Hope and Lesley Unwin’s modern, architect-designed B&B bring those ‘glorious views’ of Broadford Bay and the Cuillin mountains right into the house.

‘What more could one ask for?.’ On the northern shore of Islay, this ‘charming, beautifully appointed’ B&B is run by ‘wonderfully welcoming’ Fiona Doyle.

The buzzy hub of this Inner Hebridean island, the hotel (run by the Oliphant family for three generations) offers sublime sea views from Coll’s only village.

Amid large gardens, Graeme and Emma Clark’s well-placed whitewashed house, midway between Bowmore and Port Ellen on Islay, gazes across the Mull of Oa to the Atlantic beyond.

Two miles from the harbour of a tiny Skye fishing village, a single-track road leads to Clare and Ian Winskill’s peaceful restaurant-with-rooms; guests are offered a glass of Prosecco on arrival.

Overlooking the beautiful harbour town, an Edwardian country house in landscaped gardens with a sleekly modern interior.

Part of a small crofting community on the dramatic north-west coast. Elaine Fothergill and Richard Inger’s traditional Hebridean farmhouse displays rugged views across to the Butt of Lewis.

'A friendly, comfortable place to stay in an enchanting part of the country.' Warm praise for the McCallum family's hotel overlooking the Sound of Jura on one of Scotland’s ‘wildest islands’.

On an island of long, white-sand beaches, lochs, peat bogs and tidal strands, Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower run their ‘handsome' white-painted sporting lodge as a family-friendly hotel.

On the west coast of Harris, Lena and Richard MacLennan’s small guest house overlooks Borve’s golden sand beach, and has views over the sound of Taransay. Simply and unfussily done, without compromising comfort. Harris tweed blankets drape the bed in the neat, wood-floored bedrooms; fresh flowers and shelves of books bring interest to a sitting room warmed by a peat fire. A surprising touch: a sauna in which to ease tired muscles after a day exploring the island.

A paradise for wildlife and wilderness lovers, Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower’s laid-back modern hotel sits in a small village within an easy drive of dazzling white sand beaches.