THERE ARE AMAZING PLACES WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED JUST OFF OUR UK COASTLINES, OFFERING MEMORABLE AND FASCINATING EXPERIENCES. ALEX GREEN, CHRISSY HARRIS AND ANDREW MILLHAM EXPLORE…
Fair Isle
Fair Isle is a grass-covered dot on the map, alone in the vast North Sea, halfway between Orkney and the Shetland mainland. This three-mile-long by one-and-a-half-mile wide island was first populated around 6000 years ago, and is a full-time home to just sixty people. Wildlife (especially seabirds) and cultural heritage thrive there, and the inhabitants produce something that’s just as tight knit as their community spirit – it is famous worldwide for the knitwear that carries its name (although the vast majority is no longer made there, and does not follow the traditional patterns of the island’s craftspeople). However, the patterns continue to be passed down the generations, and it is still possible to buy authentic garments from local knitters.
Traditionally, crofting and fishing were the main occupations of the inhabitants of Fair Isle, but today the economy is far more diverse. Nevertheless, agriculture remains an extremely important part of island life, and some of the most significant moments in the Fair Isle calendar revolve around croft work, such as lambing, clipping and baling silage. If you’re keen, visitors sometimes get the chance to join in with this work, helping to round up and clip sheep in the summer.
Weather permitting, the island is accessible via a two-and-a-half-hour boat passage on the Good Shepherd IV from Lerwick, so, if it’s a cultural, wildlife-filled experience you’re after, Fair Isle might just be for you. AM
fairisle.org.uk
Isles of Scilly
Resident Agnes Chapman-Wills was drawn to the Isles of Scilly because of its role in her history. Her parents, Jane and Jim, met in a pub on the island of St Mary’s after her dad had been rescued by the RNLI when his sailing boat was caught in a storm: ‘I always thought I should come back to Scilly and have my own adventure,’ says Agnes, who moved to Tresco in 2020. ‘I can’t imagine living anywhere else now. It’s so different and wild and creative. I absolutely love it.
‘There’s a real pull to Scilly – people adore this place,’ she says. ‘There’s that feeling that you have to make the most of being here, because it’s so
