Vatersay is reached from Barra by a causeway opened in 1991 — before that, islanders kept cattle on the south side of Vatersay Sound by swimming them across at low tide. The island has fewer than a hundred residents but two stunning beaches: the white-sand twin bays of Bagh Siar (West Beach) and Bagh a' Deas (East Beach), separated by a narrow isthmus of dunes.
There is a small café and community hall, and not much else. The walking, the swimming for those brave enough to face the Atlantic, and the silence are the point. Allow half a day from Castlebay.