The most remote places to vote in the UK

With the election coming up we thought we'd search up and down the UK and British Isles to find some of the most beautiful and remote places where votes can be cast.

Cape Wrath | Scottish Highlands

It doesn't get much much more remote while still being on the British mainland. Sort of. Cape Wrath lies at the most north-westerly point of Great Britain, though it's technically separated from the mainland by the Kyle of Durness. The Kyle is only around half a mile wide though, and at very low tide it's almost non-existent, so we're willing to count the cape as part of the mainland.

Properly windswept and rugged, with sheer, sea-battered cliffs and almost no signs of civilisation, make it one of Scotland's last great wildernesses. The cape is home to one family and one family only, which runs the Ozone Cafe at the lighthouse. It caters almost entirely to tourists who come to the cape for the scenic hikes and blissful isolation it offers.

So remote is Cape Wrath that we're going to hazard a guess that it doesn't actually have its own polling station – the nearest we could find is Durness Village hall.

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Isle of Arran | Firth of Clyde

This island off the west coast of Scotland lies in the middle of the Firth of Clyde, between Kintyre and Ayrshire. It's one of Scotland's largest islands and is often described as 'Scotland in miniature', thanks to its combo of highlands, lowlands, and rugged landscapes. While not as remote as some other Scottish islands, the lofty mountains and deserted beaches make it feel a world apart.

The Isle of Arran is a microcosm of Scottish geography with plenty of towns to visit and a long history of beer brewing and whisky distilling. It's even home to all of Scotland's so-called 'big five' native animals – seals, otters, red deer, golden eagles, and red squirrels. So while you're scaling the island's rocky slopes or taking a hike across the glens, make sure you keep an eye open for them.

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St Agnes and Gugh | Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly lie about 25 miles off Land's End. There are five (or six depending on how you count them) inhabited islands as well as a bunch of smaller islets and rocks that surround them. They're characterised by their gorgeous greenery and fringes of golden sand that, when the sun's out, could be mistaken for some of the Med's most stunning beaches.

St Agnes and Gugh are sometimes considered one island because they're connected by a sandbar that's only visible at low tide. Between them they've got a population of around 100 people, and boast 0 hotels, an ice cream shop, a pub and a cafe. The Troy Town Farm lies on the southern edge of the island, making it the most southerly settlement in the UK, and probably the one with the best weather.

Despite its tiny size we can confirm the island(s) does have a polling station, located in the St Agnes Island Hall.

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Fair Isle | Shetland

Fair Isle may not be the furthest north or furthest south or anything like that, but its location in the middle of the North Sea between Orkney and Shetland and lack of any large settlements give it a remoteness that's hard to match in the UK.

As one of, if not the most, secluded inhabited islands of the British Isles, it's a place where wild nature remains unspoiled and human presence is wonderfully minimal. An introvert's dream! It has a population of around 60 resilient souls, mainly concentrated in the south of the island giving it a sense of community that's hard to find elsewhere.

Into birds and knitwear? Fair Isle is quite famous for offering both. Whatever time of year you visit you'll be able to spot colonies of different sea birds that make their nests on the island every year, including bustards, shags and puffins. As for textiles, the island also boasts traditional knitting with specific patterns and techniques that have influenced budding cosies of knitters all over the world.

Though getting to Fair Isle requires a flight or ferry trip that's often dictated by the whims of the weather, the community ensures that everyone's voice counts as we can confirm it does indeed have a polling station.

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