Introduction to "Early Travellers to Coll" by W.R. McKay

Travelling to an island is always more memorable than just moving from one town or one county to another. There's a built-in drama about coming and going, about being cut off from so many places and people while you're there. So travellers always remember islands for their individual qualities, their particular atmosphere, for the odd things that can happen when you're stuck on a small piece of land surrounded on all sides by the sea. Coll is no exception to this and many people return there year after year for just these reasons. Here, William McKay tells us what some of the earliest travellers to the island wrote about it (a continuing series - we shall get to Dr. Johnson and beyond eventually!) and present-day faithful 'returnees' of different generations explain why they come to Coll and why they'll keep coming back.