Sanday Croft Cabin

You can’t take your car to the Isle of Canna, one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides. And mobile signal is patchy. But what you will find, after a two-hour ferry crossing from the mainland, is a place you will never forget. Sanday Cabin on Canna Campsite is a charming bolthole on an island that’s less than five miles across and a mile from north to south. It’s a perfectly peaceful, incredibly scenic place to stay. The island is full of community spirit, rich with wildlife and archaeology and home to a permanent population of less than 20.

You can boost those numbers briefly with a stay at the red-roofed Sanday Cabin, which offers self-catering for two from a lofty position on a traditional croft. It’s a place to get away from it all and immerse yourself in nature. Your nearest neighbours will be the sheep and Belted Galloway cattle who graze the land, while your view is of the Cuillins of Skye across the water. The closest beach is sandy and less than a five-minute walk down the hill; the ferry port is just a mile away.

Between there and here, you pass the island’s humble amenities. The award-winning Cafe Canna is a charming wee restaurant and bar right on the water’s edge, famous for their Canna-caught lobster and other delicious dishes sourced almost entirely from the surrounding area, right down to seaweed foraged straight from the shore (they brew their own beer too!).

There’s also a well-stocked (and also award-winning) Canna Community Shop. It’s open 24/7 and runs on an honesty basis. There, you can check out the list of recent wildlife sightings for an idea of what you might spot while you’re here: two types of eagle, fulmars, kittiwakes and puffins. There are also otters, dolphins and occasionally the chance to see basking sharks and orcas – not to mention the Milky Way. It’s dark out here on the Small Isles and the spectacularly starry night skies are another highlight of your stay.

Sanday Cabin is a great base on the island if you’re coming here as a couple, with your dog or even on your own. It sits alone but not too far from host Isebail’s house and she’s on hand if you need her (she can also kindly ferry your luggage to the cabin when you arrive). Chances are you won’t. She’s set this open-plan timber-clad cabin up with everything you should need for your stay. Within its whitewashed walls, there’s a king-size bed, a kitchenette and dining area, plus a bathroom with a shower and toilet. It's a simple space and, notably, there's no TV and no WiFi either – for that you'll have to head to the community shop.

The cabin is technically part of Isebail’s Canna Campsite where there are glamping pods, pitches and a couple of caravans on offer as well, but it’s deliberately set apart on its own. We'd say in a league of its own as well. Outside the front door, the cabin’s deck is the place for watching eagles overhead with a coffee in hand. For puffins, you’ll need to head off on a walk to the cliffs. But, of course, on an island this small, nothing is too far away.