Opportunities to visit Stroma are rare, but Alan Hendry was among a group of walkers who took a boat trip on Sunday to explore the enigmatic uninhabited island off the north coast of Caithness. He brought his camera with him.

The Norse called it Straumey, “island in the stream”, and in earlier times it may have been a base for Pictish seafarers. From more recent history there are tales of smuggling and illicit distilling. The Stroma men were renowned as fearless and skilful sailors.

Stroma’s population peaked at 375 around the beginning of the 20th century, but by the 1950s it was in serious decline and the last islanders left in the early 1960s.

Their former homes are gradually succumbing to the elements, yet in the crumbling cottages dotted around the island there still a few poignant reminders of the families that once lived there.

The 44 photos in this gallery were all taken on May 19.

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