With a “cheap tent and painfully new boots”, photographer and writer Alastair MacDonald Jackson embarked on an odyssey of more than 40 islands off Scotland’s west coast.
Over 18 months he travelled, encountering the people, the landscapes, the beauty and the realities of island life for those who call them home.
His aim was to see the islands as close to how islanders saw them.
Now, he has just published a book, Scottish West Coast Isles in Photographs, an authentic record of the places that moved him the most.
Writer and broadcaster Paul Murton, who wrote the foreword of the book, said: “The result is a delightful collection of photographs that goes beyond the clichéd chocolate-box portrayal of the islands as apristine wilderness.
“Beauty is there of course, but Alastair shows us more than that: he shows us how to find beauty and meaning in less obvious places. The result is something altogether more real and true.”
Growing up in Skye, Mr Jackson - an “island addict” - was perhaps inspired to undertake his tour by a comment made by his mother during a walk up Sgurr a’Mhadaidh Ruadh on Skye’s Trotternish Ridge.
As they got to the top, the sight of Raasay, Rona, Harris the Uists and Rum - to name a view - unfolded before them.
He asked his mum if she would like to visit them, and she said : “Why would I want to do that when I was born and live on the best one?!”
The seed for the adventure may have been planted on that viewpoint and in 2020, Mr Jackson embarked on his voyage. He packed up his kits and set off with the bare essentials, with his tent at the heart of his pack.
He said: “Whilst it is in no way intended as a guidebook on the islands, all the travel has been done on a budget, and being a true Highlander, I have resolved to try and never pay for any accommodation, even if that means freezing on the ground in three layers of clothing.
“So, if anything, I want to show that you don’t have to stay in super expensive accommodation to enjoy our fantastic west coast islands.
“Given that I had sold my record collection in 2010 to facilitate the purchase of a DSLR camera, it was always important to me not to waste money on my new hobby, and I promised myself (and my wife) that I would make it as self-sustaining as possible. So,there is a weird symbiosis; photography lets me travel, and travel lets me photograph the islands I travel to.”
A particular draw for him were the islands in the Firth of Clyde “rather than just the Hebrides, which get featured heavily on every Instagram post about Scotland”.
He praised Cal Mac for its “really cheap trips” as a foot passenger and recommended eating on board to avoid “inflated island pub prices”.
Mr Jackson added: “I set out to do this sustainably, if possible, and that meant spending nights under canvas, eating food prepared at home. Not taking my car on ferries, wherever practicable, and putting in the miles on foot.
“All these limitations also helped to keepthe cost down, as not everybody can afford fresh lobster and luxury ‘pod camping, and I wanted to see if this exercise was possible on a budget.
“Thankfully, I think the answer to that question is still, yes.”
When asked about his favourite islands, he said Skye was “right up there” given his family links to the island. While he did not want to single out particular islands, Mr Jackson said there were several which “took me pleasantly by surprise”.
“Islay, for its fantastic beaches and attractive compact villages. Iona, for the undefinable sense of being somewhere special. Eigg and Gigha, for their community spirit,” he said.
Mr Jackson added: “The Clyde islands, being my local islands now, offered a nice sense of familiarity and an easy journey home, and the southern islands of the Outer Hebrides, Barra, Eriskay and the Uists, gave me wind, sunshine, beaches and the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
“There is a kind of magic in Scotland’s west coast islands. Chatting to fiddle player Ronan Martin from Skye, he remarked to me that ‘,y music doesn’t feel the same if I’m away from the west coast.’ I know what he means.”
9. A happy fisherman, Tiree
This little fisherman keeps passers-by smiling at this croft at Vaul, Tiree. | Alastair MacDonald Jackson