Millport is a perfect place for walking at any time of the year, providing you are well prepared, writes Calum Corral.

At the turn of the year, I walked round the whole island for the first time - all 10.5 miles - during a 'dryathon' after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

It really was a winter wonderland, as all the surrounding hills, looking back towards Largs and Fairlie, and across the water to Bute and Arran, were sprinkled with snow. A fantastic sight.

We set off on a bitingly cold January morning, and as the far side of the island had not been gritted, keeping your footing was important while admiring the exquisite views around about.

It could have been somewhere sublime in Scandinavia like Norway, and the blissful sunshine really gave the island a dazzling appeal as I trooped around with my friends.

More recently, I joined Millport photographer Karen Brodie on a short walk from the seafront, up a winding path from George Street, towards The Cathedral of the Isles - the smallest cathedral in Europe.

I visited the new community art studio, within the grounds of the Cathedral, which was a truly relaxing place to get away from it all, and concentrate on painting, model-making or craft.

It is a fantastic asset for the community, as is of course The Cathedral, and the studio will hopefully provide a very useful spot to concentrate and inspire.

And after leaving the studio, we walked down the steps beside the beautiful building that is the Cathedral, as the chimes resonated around the yard area - it was 3pm!

But as we turned and walked down the steps towards College Street, I was truly amazing by the stunning autumnal scene in front of me as the over-arching trees provided an outstanding backdrop, and it could have been something out of a Hollywood movie.

The yellow and orange colours were so radiant, it was the perfect walk to truly inspire, if you were wanting to pick up a paintbrush with easel.

As we walked out from College Street, we walked down towards the seafront, past the Garrison entrance, which again, was looking resplendent in the autumn sunshine.

Heading towards the beach, the light breeze on the sea made it appear that there were little ridges stretching across the ocean, and unsurprisingly, there were lots of yachts out looking to take advantage of the perfect sailing conditions.

And as luck would have it, a seal popped its head out of the sea just 50 yards away from us, and was obviously looking for his friends over in 'The Eileans' which is normally a good spot to see Sammy and co. lounging around on a Sunday afternoon.

It was hard to believe that it was actually November, as it was so mild, and relaxing with the waves lapping up against the shore,