BP will begin a highly controversial campaign of drilling for oil in the deep waters off the Shetland coast within days, after a green light from the Government.

A new cycling trip covers the Outer Hebrides from end to end. Following its 131-mile route, 'casual cyclist' Ben Lerwill falls under the archipelago's spell

Ex-fashionista turned bestselling novelist, Bella Pollen returns to the troubles of childhood with a fable-like story set on an island in the Outer Hebrides.

An artwork by Tim Knowles reveals the sights and sounds of a Royal Mail parcel's journey from London to the Outer Hebrides

One of the BBC's most popular weathermen is to be removed from an on-screen role as part of cost-cutting measures, it was revealed today.

For the second night running, Britain's Team Origin led the Audi MedCup regatta in Cartagena, not because of continuing skill and dominance but because there was so little wind that the organisers gave up mid-afternoon and sent the fleet home.

Residents of a Scottish island that claims to be the world's greenest have been told to cut their power use because a shortage of rain is starving its hydro-electric generators.

In the paw prints of a dog called Reubs, Lucy Gillmore hikes the Uists and Barra

Survival, it seems, is no longer about being bigger. Hooray!

The parents of a teenage cadet who drowned in a boating accident after instructors had failed to follow basic safety procedures, yesterday said they were "disgusted" at the findings of an official inquiry into her death and accused the Army of murder.

Composed and recorded in London, Toronto, Prague and Abilene (Texas), with the involvement of a small host of worthy musos, most of whom have form with Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, British Sea Power and Patti Smith.

Feudal tradition of land ownership set to be swept away after two centuries

Say island-hopping, think Greece. But there are options closer to home. Louise Jury heads out to sea off Scotland's west coast

Year of the Rat is unlikely to delight the Inner Hebrides tourist board with its stark depiction of life on the isolated island of Jura. It was there that George Orwell completed the classic Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948. Roy Smiles has taken a few liberties in Year of the Rat, but his well-observed collection of strands from, and references to, Orwell's life, personality and fiction allows him to assemble an entertaining and somehow real play that resonates beyond Big Brother and Room 101.