So, if collection is the name of the game and the mountains have run their course, why not change tack and collect something else, such as islands or, more precisely, the islands of Britain? The British Isles! … There is one which is not likely to spring to mind. That is Rathlin, off the coast of Antrim. In fact, it is the only inhabited British isle off Ireland, the others more renowned in song and drama belonging to the Republic…

The best way to explore the island is to visit each lighthouse in turn…There is no traffic and you are transported to the country lanes of fifty years ago. Banks of primrose, wild violets, kingcups and marsh orchids line the margins. Stonechats, wrens and pippits bob and dart around the hedgerows. Lapwing and oystercatcher strew the fields, whilst lochs and lochans attract a variety of wildfowl.

To visit the southern point, follow the road past the Boathouse Visitor Centre and skirt Mill Bay. Both common and grey seals will be found basking on the rocks. On the day we passed we counted over fifty and as each seal will eat two stone of seafood daily the resident population is responsible for the disappearance of a fair few fish suppers. The main road is joined at Soerneog View Hostel where, if speed is of the essence, bikes can be hired. Various lochs are passed and the track peters out at two derelict cottages. Incongruously, one was used for smuggling, the other by the coastguards, apparently in complete harmony. A rough path, part in concrete, can be followed to the lighthouse at Rue Point. Here the mood changes. No longer the peace of the country lane. Waves surge and crash into narrow jagged inlets. Flotsam and jetsam are trapped in crevices and cracks. One such piece of detritus bore the legend DIVERTED TRAFFIC, its arrow pointing optimistically in the direction of the mainland.

Graham Wilson explores some other British isles in his book Macc and Other Islands.