There is very little danger, I am certain, of a gin and tonic taking over from the traditional Scottish welcome ... a wee dram of whisky when you arrive north of the English border... but there is no doubt that gin production at small and very local distilleries many on distant hillsides around the Western Isles of Scotland and on the mainland is increasing.

Just look at the success of one gin alone, Harris Gin, which not only is a superb tipple but there is always that iconic bottle left after the last dreg has been consumed. Friends recently brought me a bottle as a gift and it was very quickly consumed and I just couldn't bring myself to throw away the gorgeous but sadly, empty bottle.

On Islay, that brooding, mainly flat, West Coast of Scotland island, The Queen of the Hebrides, just a short flight from Glasgow or a romantic two-hour sail from the mainland, gin is now being produced alongside the island's iconic whisky... it has at the last count nine distilleries.

Botanist Gin is the current big tipple in the gin trade on the island but let's be frank it's the whisky that people travel to Scotland and Islay for... think of these world famous names, Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Ardberg, not to forget my personal favourite, that smooth Bruichladdich.

I have a long family connection with Islay and it has always featured high in my thoughts.

The island has a low, almost featureless and on the whole peat bog landscape but with some rolling hills, unrivalled vast views in places and a necklace of pristine beaches of Caribbean standard... when the sun is out... as it always seems to be when I visit.

We all know that you don't go to Scotland for the weather, but when those blue cloudless skies appear and the birds are atwitter and the wild flowers are in bloom, there is no better place. There's clear, fresh air and turquoise seas. Not ideal for swimming, it has to be said, except for the very brave.

My parents met on Islay; my father serving with the RAF and my mother a local girl working on a "wee croft" with my uncle and the result was me. In those days, I understand there wasn't a proper hospital on the island and pregnant mothers had to sail to the mainland to give birth... so my claim to be Islay-born didn't quite happen.

I never ventured to visit Islay until much later in life although I listened at my mother's knee to many stories of the early Islay and the hardships they all endured in those days during WW2 and after.

On a visit more than 10 years ago, inevitably as these things go, we succumbed and bought a magnificent plot of land and built a home with terrific views and three, or was it two, deserted beaches below up on the Oa, an area to the west of the ferry terminus Port Ellen. The only other occupants were a small herd of wild goats and some very handsome Highland cattle that seemed to nod enquiringly as you drove past down a much pot-holed track. The cattle all mooched around the land and through a nearby, deserted, "Clearances" village of great historical interest.

Sadly I sold the property... that's a long story... but have always returned to Islay as a tourist.

Islay has changed. It is only 25 miles long, with a population of 3,000 and full employment. The booming whisky distilleries are still there and they keep increasing in number as entrepreneurs seek to get into the highly lucrative international whisky demand worldwide.

All the world brand names are here with shops selling the product at tastings and tours. And there's usually a café for a light lunch as you tour. Whisky is the main tourist attraction on Islay but there is also golf, but more of that later.

Whisky aficionados travel from around the world to visit and as a result there is now a bit more infrastructure on Islay - there's more than one supermarket now, for example, and all around, as you travel the island, you see a greater awakening to the tourist euro, dollar, pound and increasingly the yen.

There is of course more to Islay than whisky.... beach rugby, (yes) great rambling walks, bird-watching and an increasingly thriving artisan scene of pottery, my favourite being www.persabus.com and at a particularly dilapidated square where quilts, whisky marmalade and local art are sold. The square is situated behind the newly-refurbished Islay House Hotel, still not quite five-star. This was once the "big hoose" of the island but fell into considerable disrepair and it still needs money spent on it.

Islay offers desolate drives to silent hills among distant white-painted crofters' homes seemingly always, no matter the weather, with peat smoke drifting lazily from the chimneys into the huge skies. The food scene is also improving with all the fresh sea products; oysters, mussels and scallops... and then there's golf which comes a close second to whisky in the attractions hit parade.

Not only do groups fly in from around the world to taste the famous amber liquid but they come to play golf and this is where the magnificently refurbished www.campbellgrayhotels.com/machrie-islay-scotland/ comes in.

 I remembered the old hotel on the site as a bit of a dump of a place, frankly, very basic, homely with the fairly tatty golf course attached. Then along came the current owners. They saw the opportunity and bought the hotel and golf course which overlooks the dramatic Laggan Bay, which just happens to run alongside one of the most glorious beaches the island can offer. It makes a stunning late evening walk after dinner at The Machrie, particularly from May onwards when it's very light until very late in the evening.

The owners refurbished the hotel and golf course very much with the help of hotel guru, Scotsman Gordon Campbell Gray, the creator of One Aldwych in London; Le Gray in Beirut and Carlisle Bay in Antigua to name a few... all top spots on the hotel calendar www.campbellgrayhotels.com

It was Gordon who, also to much acclaim, was responsible for the refurbishment and relaunch of Malta's own grand Phoenicia Hotel, a few years ago.

What he and his team have created on Islay is one of the great contemporary hotels of Scotland and an asset to Islay's tourism offer.

The heart of the hotel is still the old rustic farmhouse, but elsewhere they have added buildings and re-designed the whole edifice, and now include a spa and a cinema.

Great food delivered by chef Darren Velvik and his team abounds. Highland beef, Isle of Mull cheddar soufflé, haggis and local gin jelly are all on the menu. And this is just what hungry golfers and walkers want of an evening... good honest comfort food with the occasional nod to the foodies among us. The 47 extremely comfortable rooms and suites start at about £145 a night and are divine.

The hotel is scattered with art from some of Scotland's latest young artists and beautifully framed Hermes silk scarves, which used to be given to British Airways first class passengers in the good old days. There's the ubiquitous Golf Pro Shop and this actually does stock gifts that you might want to buy even if you are not a golfer.

Islay should be on your list, when times get better, for travelling, if you think of Scotland. If the weather isn't kind to you there's always a wee dram and a roaring fire....