By Kenneth Macdonald Newsnight Scotland

With nine months to go before the polling stations open, Newsnight Scotland correspondent Kenneth Macdonald has embarked on the Long Road to Holyrood, filing the first of a series of reports from key constituencies. Here he explains the aims behind his journey.

The next Holyrood election is less than a year away

Yes I know - on the election trail, already.

What possibly can have possessed us?

The standard procedure for scribes like me is to wait until a few weeks before polling day, whereupon we sweep down from our Mount Olympus of News to dispense what we consider to be the major election issues to a supposedly grateful electorate.

Bemused electorate, more like.

There's plenty of evidence that a sizeable number of voters have made up their minds how, or whether, they'll be casting their ballots well before the official campaigning starts.

In the islands life is a matter of logistics

That's one good reason to get around some potentially pivotal constituencies now.

Another is that we may be able to sniff out the possibility of a surprise result.

Actually, you are entitled to be more than a little sceptical when people like me start talking about "surprise" results.

Surprised journalists would be nearer the mark.

Electoral upsets don't come as much of a surprise to the people who vote for the winning candidate - they are only too well aware of the issues that matter in their constituency.

Island chain

And it's in search of those constituency issues that Newsnight Scotland has gone.

First stop, the Western Isles.

Although stop is the one thing we didn't have time to do.

Five days, two bumpy plane journeys, two scenic ferry trips and 600 queasy miles in the back of a camera car were more than enough to remind this reporter that in the islands life is a matter of logistics.

Transport is a major question for Western Isles communities

Which is why it's safe to predict that transport will be high on the agenda once again.

There's a new scheme offering islanders discounted air travel.

More causeways and ferry services mean it's now possible to travel the length of the island chain by public transport in a single day.

But rising fuel costs take the shine off such benefits.

And many roads remain single track with passing places - tourists may think they are quaint, but they don't have to live with them year round.

A single-issue candidate could have an unpredictable effect on the result

Health care is another perennial issue.

But in this electoral cycle it has been given added spice by the travails of the local health board.

So far this saga has encompassed allegations of mismanagement and cutbacks, a vote of no confidence in management by staff and this week the resignation of the board's chairman.

Also looming large - figuratively if not yet literally - is the wind farm issue.

The prospect of a major wind farm on Lewis has provoked debate

Wind is something the Western Isles rarely lack but plans to harness the energy with hundreds of huge wind turbines have run into fierce opposition.

The emergence of a single-issue candidate could have an unpredictable effect on the result.

A result which is already unpredictable enough.

As things stand it looks like a two horse race between Labour and the SNP - Labour held the Holyrood seat by fewer than 800 votes last time round, but the Nationalists took the equivalent Westminster seat last year.

The parties are already getting their candidates in place and campaigning is to all intents and purposes under way.