ANGELA DEWAR

What do you get if you take a windsurfing sail, attach it to a go-kart and head to a long, wide beach? As long as there's a good wind blowing, a lot of fun as you tear up and down the sand reaching speeds of 60 mph.

Blow-karting isn't the type of activity you'd expect to find on a small Hebridean island where the local population of crofters is outnumbered by sheep and cows, but the choice of adrenalin sports on offer on Tiree has put it firmly on the map.

And for once it's all thanks to the Scottish weather. The wild, blowy days which keep people away from some places have turned the island into a mecca for sand and watersports fans with the hardiest souls braving freezing temperatures to ride the waves.

Just about any weekend - as long there's enough wind - you'll find surfers, windsurfers and kite surfers pitting their skills against mother nature. The unique appeal is that because Tiree is an island, there's almost always a bay somewhere with the right winds. And as it's so small, it takes no time to get around and find the perfect conditions.

I'm fascinated by the different activities windsurfing sails can lend themselves to. Down on Crossapol beach, they've been attached to what look like skateboards, only fatter with chunkier wheels, for sand-yachting. It's the perfect way, I'm told, to practise windsurfing without getting wet. Manoeuvring up and down the beach when the tide is out gives beginners the chance to learn how to hold up the five-metre square sail - it's incredibly heavy - and balance it while trying to catch the wind at the same time.

The island is not all about high-octane thrills though. In fact, the appeal of Tiree is quite the opposite. It's so calm and peaceful you can feel your shoulders drop within minutes of arriving. Apart from a couple of small hills, Tiree is so flat you can almost see from horizon to horizon. The one landmark you can't miss is the golf ball, a huge white radar dome on the top of Beinn Hynish, the highest point. We take a walk up to the top for the best views out to sea, with Mull in one direction and the endless Atlantic in the other.

Back in the nineteenth-century, the population reached more than 4500. Emigration to north America, New Zealand and Australia saw figures fall over the years and now there's about 800, rising in the summer months when those with holiday homes come to stay. Inside An Iodhlann, the little red building next to the Co-op in Scarinish, visitors can trace their family roots. It's a treasure trove of faded photographs, out of print books and newspaper cuttings with local stories recorded on tape for posterity and even Gaelic music to listen to. It's not just for genealogists though. Tiree is a haven for bird-life and if you've spotted an unusual species, this is the place to put a name to it.

One of the prettiest corners of the island is Hynish, near the southern tip. The tiny hamlet was built to house workers and supplies for the construction of the Skerryvore lighthouse, 10 miles out to sea. At one time it was the highest lighthouse in Scotland, protecting rich tobacco cargo on its way back across the Atlantic to Glasgow from Virginia. The original lighthouse keepers' cottages still stand in a row behind the signal tower and there's a museum overlooking the harbour.

But for us, like many visitors, the big draw of Tiree is the beaches. Endless miles of shell-blown white sand beaches which wouldn't look out of place in the Caribbean or South Pacific. If the temperature was 20 degrees higher, they'd be covered in sunbeds.

Instead we get wrapped up against the wind and enjoy the gentle pleasure of scrambling over sand dunes to walk along the shore battered by the salty air with the beach all to ourselves. The water is a delicious shade of turquoise green as waves roar and crash on the sand and seals occasionally pop their heads out of the water.

Then we walk inland over the flat machair - fertile swathes of lush, green short grass sprinkled with wild flowers. Sea birds dart across the sky and fat geese take off in the distance, circling before heading for warmer winter shores.

For my money, the best view is at sunset from the old pier at Scarinish as the sky burns up and slowly turns black, studded with stars. Inside the bar at the nearby Scarinish Hotel there's a warm welcome and a hearty menu packed with home-cooked food. Later in the evening, impromptu sessions with local musicians provide the entertainment at the Tiree Lodge.

And if you need to blow the cobwebs away the next morning after indulging in a dram too many, there's always those high-speed wind-powered go-karts. Don't forget the crash helmet.

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