Couple sought to live and work on tiny off-grid Scottish island
Author: Alison Campsie
The isle of Rona, which sits between Skye and the mainland, is looking for a couple to work on the estate and help run its ‘Robinson Crusoe’-style holiday business. The island is completely off-grid, has no shops or pub and is accessible only by boat, with the new arrivals to live alongside just two other people and a trickle of guests who head there for holidays. Bill Cowie, island manager at Ardochy & Rona Estate said: “We’re looking for an enthusiastic estate worker and partner who will really throw themselves into our island life and outdoor work. Someone just like the island itself – self-sufficient, resilient and perhaps a little rugged. The island is our home and living, and we know the right candidate will fall in love with it just as we have.” Those who take up the job will be involved in managing both the logistics of island life and its 180-strong deer population, while keeping the solar panels, generators, boats and Rona’s digger in good working order. Candidates don’t necessarily need to be skilled already in these areas, but must be willing to learn, Mr Cowie said. Rona has become a destination for those seeking peace and seclusion, with dolphin spotting, dark skies and foraging among activities on an island where time ticks slowly and the trials of modern life slip away.