"Beginnings and Doubts.

By the time we had reached Edinburgh Waverly Station, barely an hour into our adventure, the realisation of the task ahead was beginning to dawn. The idea of the journey was little more than five days old, and yet now we found ourselves rucksacked up to the max and pushing a bloody air hostess trolley. what were we thinking?"

"Where the hell are we?

Our spirits began to lift as we ventured into unknown territory. We arrived in Thurso in the pitch dark to discover our hostel was also a kebab selling take-away internet cafe. After ditching our luggage, trolley included, we headed out to sample the Thurso nightlife. This was it!"

"Time to recharge.

After a few hours spent on the choppy seas we finally reached Thurso. It was pishing with rain- absolutely chucking it down. Thankfully we didn't have far to walk to find Brown's Hostel. After polishing off a fish supper from the local chippy we decided a night of rest was much needed."

"Two adults and a trolley to Maes Howe please.

We decided to be tourists for the day and use public transport to visit some of the local attractions. We were unsure what the drivers reaction would be to our travelling companion."

"A delayed return to the mainland.

Having stayed in Stromness for almost a whole day longer than originally planned, we finally set sail for the mainland. The people we met on Orkney, and the island itself, were without doubt the highlight of the journey so far. Orkney- we love you."

"A day dominated by travel.

In a day that involved two separate train journeys, one bus ride, a lift in a taxi and a ferry crossing we had precious little time to stop and relax. The one exception was at Kyle of Lochalsh where we were able to abandon the trolley for a short while, find a nearby cafe and kill some time before the next bus across the Skye Bridge to Kyleakin."

"St. Kilda anyone?

After reaching a dark, wet Mallaig the night previously, we awoke to find a grey, wet Mallaig waiting for us in the morning. Having altered our itinerary due to financial constraints, Mallaig was now our first realistic port from which we could sail to St. Kilda. Upon discovering the cost of involved in this we attempted a more financially viable, if a little optimistic, alternative."

"Enter a world of unlimited homemade marmalade and scones.

We arrived in dull and wet Oban. The directions we had been given to the hostel were a challenge to us both but we eventually found the hostel and its rather exuberant hostelier. All activity in the hostel was centred on the small kitchen where unlimited scones along with homemade jams and marmalade were available for no additional cost."

"The very reluctant Pied Piper of Oban.

For almost the whole day we were followed around Oban by two extremely enthusiastic youngsters named Ruairidh (right) and Colin (centre). Their endless energy started to become slightly wearing when we found ourselves being layed siege to in our hostel at around eight in the evening!"

"Missing Presumed Found.

At the journeys end we placed the stories we had gathered into a single bottle and threw it into the sea off the coast of Oban. Although we had failed to reach St. Kilda, we had succeeded in gathering some great stories, meeting a number of diverse characters and maybe even touching other peoples lives with our mission."