A Second Chance At A First Impression
Fair Isle Adventure
Ed & Sarah's Journey to Britain's Most Remote Inhabited Island
🏝️ Fair Isle Location - Where Scotland Meets Scandinavia
Between Great Britain, Faroe Islands & Norway • 24 miles from Shetland Mainland
Britain's most remote inhabited island. We flew in December 2020, and it feels like we are walking into a painting. Think Norway meets Hawaiian islands where Father Time and Mother Nature have a field day. Of all the 115 islands in the archipelago, just 15 are inhabited ones. We are at Britain's most remote island, Fair Isle - population 55, now 57!
🎥 Fair Isle Video Journey
✈️ Edinburgh to Lerwick
First, Sarah and I flew into Lerwick, Shetland's mainland via Edinburgh, Scotland. Next, we got a PCR test for Covid (Think Positive Test Negative). The Shetland Isles are located in the North Atlantic, closer to Norway than to Aberdeen. Go Vikings! At first I thought Fair Isle was the Faroe Islands (that's Danish and in the sub Arctic Circle).
🛩️ The Puddle Jumper Experience
Thankfully, our flight link was not cancelled due to fog, wind or just plain bad weather. The 20-minute straight run aboard a 7-seater fixed-wing plane from the mainland of Shetland - a twin engine prop plane, heart-in-the-mouth flight, up-close and personal with the pilot and his control dashboard. We followed-on to Fair Isle, population 55, now 57! What a place to self-isolate during the global pandemic!
🎨 Walking Into a Painting
It feels like we are walking into a painting. Think Norway meets Hawaiian islands and Father Time and Mother Nature have a field day. No man is an island, as John Donne wrote, but north of the border, you can live on one. Scotland's Shetland's is good like that. It feels like we are moving through paintings as the ever-changing weather lights the landscape in unique and splendid ways.
🔋 Living Off The Grid
Fair Isle is not connected to the National Grid. Energy is generated on the island by the Fair Isle Electricity Company (FIEC) using wind turbines and solar, stored in a battery backup system. We brought torches (flashlights), as there is zero light pollution or street lights. Living off the grid and living on the edges - this is what true remoteness feels like.
🗼 South Lighthouse Discovery
We discovered the South Lighthouse - Josie and Dave's place. These historic lighthouses have guided ships through these treacherous waters for generations. The lighthouse keepers and their families form the backbone of Fair Isle's small but resilient community. Every building, every person has a story that connects to the island's maritime heritage.
🤝 Becoming Islanders
Thanks to the popularity of the TV Series Shetland, we had it on our radar as places to visit this year. But visiting became living, observing became participating. In a community of 55 people, every person matters, every contribution counts. We became part of the fabric of Fair Isle life, understanding what it truly means to live at the edge of the world.
Ready for Your Own Remote Adventure?
Where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, extraordinary journeys await those brave enough to venture to the edge of the world. Fair Isle is calling - will you answer?
"Some places change you not by what they show you, but by what they strip away - until only what matters most remains."