The twenty-fifth day of January is inscribed on the heart of everyone with an ounce of Scottish blood in them. For it is a day, or more particularly a night, dedicated to the memory of the nation's most famous poet, Robert Burns - who was born on 25 January 1759. The feast of the countrys patron saint, St Andrew, which falls on the last day of November, might easily come and go without remark, but Burns Night is a red letter day in the national calendar. But Burns Night 2006, just a few weeks back, was a day with a difference on the Hebridean island of Islay.

Tidal islands
There are islands which never lose their island status. And then there are islands which come and go with every tide. Such fragments of land, which are only proper islands at low tide, are called drying islands or tidal islands. We look at some ...