Where is it?

Graemsay, Orkney.

Why do you go there?

It’s an oasis of calm in the pell-mell craziness of Orkney life.

How often do you go?

Every day in my imagination, less frequently in person. Even if I don’t go physically, it’s still on my mind: I see it out my living room window, a low green curve in Clestrain Sound, the dark ramparts of Hoy rising behind it.

How did you discover it?

In the 1990s I wrote an island-hopping guide to Orkney, so I visited all the islands I hadn’t already been to. Graemsay was the closest to my home, and maybe because of that I had ignored it. As most residents and visitors still do.

What’s your favourite memory?

At one end of the island, overlooking Scapa Flow, there’s a tall, elegant Stevenson lighthouse, Hoy High. At the other end, squaring up to the Atlantic, there’s a squat, fortified Stevenson lighthouse, Hoy Low.

In between lies the white crescent of Sandside Beach, which dazzles like it’s made of coral, though strictly speaking it’s maerl.

Robert Louis Stevenson visited here aged 18, on a tour of lighthouses with his father. I remember sitting there, reading Treasure Island, and imagining RLS dawdling on the same beach, dreaming of piratical adventures on the high seas.

To the west is the open sea, to the east the Mainland, and the Hall of Clestrain, once owned by a wealthy Graemsay family, the Honeymans.

In 1725, Orkney’s own pirate, John Gow, raided the Hall during his last rampage around the islands. As he and his crew carried their loot back to their boat, they forced the Hall’s servant to march before them playing his bagpipes.

Shortly afterwards, Gow was captured and carried south to Wapping, where he was hung, twice, as the rope broke on the first attempt when friends attempted to hasten the end by pulling down on his legs.

(Image: Rebecca Marr)

Who do you take?

Anyone who hasn’t been there before – so just about anybody.

What do you take?

There’s no shop or cafe on the island, so you have to take everything you might need to sustain you till the afternoon boat.

Fattie cutties are the traditional energy bar of the islands: flat and thin, about the size of a slimline phone. Crammed with currants, but with short, savoury pastry, they’re both sweet and salty – a perfect reflection of the Orcadian character.

What do you leave behind?

All my cares and woe.

Sum it up in five words.

Gangsti. Fillets. Gorn. The Lash.

What other travel spot is on your wish list?

I like to travel abroad too, so I visit our nearest foreign country, England, a couple of times a year. In particular, I like to wander around Peckham in south-east London. It’s full of exciting sights, sounds and smells, a million miles away from what I’m used to. It never fails to entertain, educate and agitate. I avoid Wapping.

Duncan McLean has adapted Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson for this year’s Christmas production at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, which runs from November 28 until January 4. Visit lyceum.org.uk/events/treasure-island