162 islands, 4 years, 1 man

You can never decipher what motivates one to take the trips they take. It may make you wonder, but it really doesn’t matter.

Through friend, fellow writer and traveler Sean Mclachlan, I learned about Andy Strangeway, the “Island Man” — a Yorkshireman who has slept on every Scottish island more than 40 hectares in size — i.e. 162 islands — alone. No one has slept on ALL these islands before, being the first one to do it was one of his main drives; he did it over a period of 4 years.

To me, the most overwhelming part of his feat is the fact that 100 of the 162 islands are uninhabited — he was the only soul sleeping there! The thought made me imagine moments of blissful solitude intertwined with moments of outright fear, I suppose that would be enough to pump large doses of adrenalin into the adventure seeking intrepid traveler.

Strangeway’s next trip is to Rockall — the smallest, most isolated rock on the western most tip of Europe. According to him, more people have been to the moon than to Rockall. You can find out more about his Scottish Islands trip and Rockall on his website.

Posted by | Comments Off on 162 islands, 4 years, 1 man  | March 18, 2008
Category: Travel News

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