A pop-up disco on Scotland’s remote Isle of Coll

When your taxi to the nightclub is a 2.5-hour journey on a 5500-ton CalMac ferry, you know you’re in for an interesting time.

Some 40 miles west of the Scottish town of Oban in the dreamy archipelago of the Inner Hebrides, the Isle of Coll is a place for relaxation and exploration, for dodging the crowds and daydreaming by the sea. 

Nature supplies the entertainment around here: white-sand beaches, starry skies and golden sunsets; the sound of the waves and the distinctive call of the corncrake; basking sharks, seals and seabirds. Popular with stargazers, island hoppers and wildlife watchers, the unspoiled Isle of Coll seems an unlikely choice for a festive, razzle-dazzle-y night out. Unless you’re visiting on September 22 and 23, that is.

The brainchild of London-based DJ and magazine editor Jonny Ensall, Detour Discotheque calls itself the “world’s most remote disco,” bringing groovy beats and throwback scenes to surprising, specially selected locations on the world map. The mere concept of a one-time, two-night pop-up party is enough to entice and excite – a teasingly temporary, limited-edition opportunity to bust a move on an unfamiliar dance floor. And that’s without the added allure of a far-flung location and adventurous effort to get there.

Iceland’s Westfjords played host to the debut disco in spring 2022, transforming the small village town hall of Þingeyri into a glittering old-school nightclub – and was, from all accounts, a raucously fun-filled affair. Next on the list of unexpected destinations, Coll is a suitable successor. It not only ticks the box for (relative) remoteness: Coll has a unique title that no other Scottish island can claim. 

Thanks to its absence of street lights and distance from the well-lit mainland, Coll was awarded “Dark Sky Community” status in 2013, one of only two such places in the whole of Scotland to earn this official designation, granted by the International Dark-Sky Association. The lack of light pollution offers unrivaled stargazing…