For many islanders, delays to the postal service are an inescapable part of life. But that should no longer be the case for those living in Orkney, after it became the first place in Britain to have mail delivered by a drone. The new Royal Mail service will see post transported from the Kirkwall delivery office to the village of Stromness, where drones will then transfer items to posties on the islands of Hoy and Graemsay for their regular routes. Currently, mail arrives at Kirkwall Airport before being sent by plane or ferry to Orkney's 19 inhabited islands. But the challenging geography and weather conditions often result in delivery disruptions.

The UK's new Space Agency funding will be used to support drones that deliver coronavirus testing kits to a Scottish island. Skyports, the company behind the drones, started a two-week trial in May with NHS Highland, which serves a group of islands off the west coast of Scotland. The technology was able to cut delivery times between Oban and the Isle of Mull to around 15 minutes, instead of going via road and taking a 45-minute ferry crossing. An initial £2.6 million was made available by the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency (ESA) to find and support space-enabled technologies and services that can support the NHS response to coronavirus. Skyports along with two other initiatives have been awarded a share of £1.1 million in funding, while the rest is open to bids until the end of September.

George Orwell escaped to a remote Scottish island to created his final masterpiece - the dystopian classic 1984. Going into the Corryvreckan whirlpool is a heart-stopping experience even when conditions are relatively benign. It hits quite suddenly as you are passing through the narrow stretch of sea between the islands of Jura and Scarba. One side of the boat drops away and you find yourself sitting on the deck. Then the other side goes and you are grabbing on to the guard rail to stop yourself sliding in the opposite direction. It must have felt something like this when George Orwell found himself in the throws of the Corry on the way back from a picnic on the west side of Jura.