Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck are known collectively as "The Small Isles" and are within easy reach of Oban. Lying between Mull and Skye, they are a virtually guaranteed stopover point. Canna, especially, is a beautiful island on which to spend a whole day and practically guarantees sea eagle sightings.

Canna Known as "The Jewel of the Hebrides" Canna is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is a very wild and remote island with an amazing diversity of wildlife both on its beaches and in woodland. The island hosts a puffin colony and rare butterflies, corncrakes and wild flowers such as orchids.

Rum A dramatic island owned by Nature Conservancy. Nestled in Loch Scresort you are surrounded by splendid mountain scenery and can visit Kinloch Castle, an eccentric folly, completed for Sir George Bullough in 1901. 

Rum was the island where sea eagles were re-introduced to the Western Isles in 1975 after being wiped out in 1916 and is also home to red deer, seals, otters and birds such as Manx Shearwaters.

Eigg and Muck Eigg was recently purchased by the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, a collaboration of islanders and organisations dedicated to preserving the island's natural, archaeological and cultural heritage. Eigg is dominated by a sphinx-shaped lava formation and has "singing sands" at Camas Sgiotaig, sea cliffs and caves. Much of the island is farmland. Muck, the smallest of these islands, means "sea-pig" or "porpoise" in Gaelic and auks are often seen here.