What people in the South don't seem to grasp, are the distances involved in getting anything done up there, and the limited ferry services out of season.
I worked for DHSS (as it was then) in Oban. If we sent a visiting officer out to Mull in the winter, and the weather went snotty, he was in the Craignure Hotel for a couple of nights while the ferry was off (and very happy about it, I must say!)
Those back roads behind Oban are nice for walking. A friend kept some of his bees out there. It was always nice to escape the tourists and head out there to check the hives.