♪ ♪ NARRATOR: We are a nation of islands.

PAT O'DOHERTY: Come on you two.

NARRATOR: Over 4,000 are scattered along our coastlines, with hundreds more in our lakes, lochs, and rivers.

VIDURA DASA: Being surrounded by water, it has a very calming effect on the mind.

NARRATOR: Many of these islands are tiny.

Many are remote.

AMIE PERRÉE: I love so much about island life.

NARRATOR: But over 200 are called home.

ROC SANDFORD: I don't own it because you don't own an island.

If anything, it owns me.

NARRATOR: With rugged cliffs and sandy shores, wildlife and family, and lives very different to most of our own.

Going over the edge here is a bit cheeky.

Shall we?

NARRATOR: These are the stories of our tiny islands.

AMIE PERRÉE: The fact that you just walk out your door and you're straight into sea, that sense of freedom is amazing.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: This time, living the high life on Rathlin Island, a wildlife haven, nestled in Poole's industrial harbor, herring girls and Ganseys in the Hebrides, and moments of quiet reflection on, Caldey Island.

♪ SINGERS: Hallelujah ♪ NARRATOR: Nestled within the shelter of Poole Harbour and on the English south coast is the world famous Brownsea Island.

Although just one and a half miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide, with a population of 30, this island has always punched above its weight.

Known globally as the origin of the scout and guide movement, it's also been home to hermit monks, a pirate hideaway, a gentleman's estate, and a failed pottery empire.

Today, it's a wildlife refuge in Europe's largest natural harbor.

It's owned by the National Trust, with the Dorset Wildlife Trust leasing the northern part of the island.

Its magnificent castle, once owned by Henry VIII, is now leased by John Lewis, who run it as a hotel for their staff.

Sophie is a ranger who lives on Brownsea full time.

This morning she's taking care of some of the island's animal residents before the day's visitors arrive.

We've got some layers pellet feed that we give to the chickens every morning.

We've only got two left now, unfortunately.

Two males.

I mean, at one point on the island, we had chickens, pigs, cows.

We don't have them anymore.

So it's just me and my two chickens.

Come on.

They're probably the happiest chickens that can be.

They're completely free range, and we've got no foxes, no badgers, nothing like that.

There was one rumor of a badger that was around, around 30 years ago, and it disappeared.

So the only thing we have to worry about is avian predators like sparrowhawks and stuff like that, but they've been OK so far.

Their numbers have just slowly dwindled from old age.

A typical day, I start by feeding the chickens.

So I give the place a sweep.

I check that there's enough bins in all the facilities.

It's all day, every day.

[laugh] Mainly just getting everything ready for when the public come.

We do have visitors that we bring over to the island.

That's how we get our money that helps us do the conservation work that we do.

NARRATOR: With a 20-minute crossing and seven tourist boats a day in the spring and summer, over 100,000 visitors travel to Brownsea each year.

A lot of people-- including myself, even though I'm local, I always have been-- don't realize how magical it is.

It's quite incredible.

It's a relatively small island, but you've got all these different habitats in miniature.

So it's been a really great place for me to learn and start my conservation career.

[surging music] ♪ ♪ It's quite a beautiful place to work, isn't it?

It's not hard.

The first boat arrives at 10:20, and then from there on, they're here until 5 o'clock.

NARRATOR: Once the first batch of visitors have dispersed, Sophie can tick off jobs on her never-ending to-do list.

Today's priority is to carry out repairs to a trail at the southwest of the island, which helps people get down to the beach.

SOPHIE GILES: So much work goes into maintaining the island.

It's a 24/7 task.

And that's why I live here, because I can be on call if there is an emergency.

We are destroying some steps and putting some new ones in.

Most of these were done with softwood, so we're replacing them with hardwood, which will last longer, be a bit more sustainable.

Part of the job of a ranger is making sure everything's safe and people aren't going to slip over on our steps that are breaking.

It's really, really hands on.

I went to university but didn't feel very fulfilled or happy.

I didn't really know I wanted to do conservation, but just took a step in that direction and it almost took itself from there.

Now it's a lifestyle.

Yeah, absolutely.

[phone chimes] Oh, was that me?

That's me.

Sorry.

It's always we underestimate how long things take.

You just take for granted, oh, the step's there, and you don't necessarily see the process behind.

It's pretty much there for now.

We've put a couple of steps in and they're feeling pretty sturdy.

We need to come back, remove a layer of silt that's built up, and replace it with gravel basically.

Hello.

You can-- yeah, feel free to come up.

Feel free to use the steps.

Amazing, isn't it?

It's good.

NARRATOR: With the repairs done, Sophie's next job is to cover a shift on the National Trust boat, which is taking staff and volunteers back to the mainland.

Hello, Sam.

It's a 24-hour boat service.

And even though I'm a ranger, I do double up and I crew sometimes.

We do have a busy boat, don't we?

Hello.

What have you been up to today?

- Butterflies.

- Butterflies.

What do you see?

Anything interesting?

Lots of red admirals today, isn't there?

It's pretty reliable.

It's quite a sturdy boat.

It's a bit of a lifeline.

We get our food this way.

Residents get their shopping to and from.

This is how we see our families.

We rely on it very heavily.

If you look over there, you see all these building works.

And then you're just getting the boat to the island, which is completely unbuilt and still pristine.

I've not got tired of it yet.

It always still occurs to me how amazing it is.

I feel very lucky going from where I'd grown up, which is very urban, and then living in a place like this, which is just untouched.

It's lovely.

NARRATOR: Many of us dream of island living, seeing it as a chance of an easy life.

But the reality is that each island, however small, relies on the hard work of the community to keep it going.

360 miles from Brownsea, a few miles from Northern Ireland's north coast, lies the L-shaped island of Rathlin.

It's 4.8 miles by 3.7 with a thriving population of 141 people.

Noel is at least the fifth generation of the McCurdy family to be born and bred here, and he has sons, daughters, and grandchildren who also live on the island.

Dedicated to Rathlin's survival, Noel has three jobs, all of which are vital to the community.

NOEL MCCURDY: One of the jobs is looking after two of the lighthouses on Rathlin.

I also work for the Northern Ireland Water.

I also work for Royal Mail.

You get a lot of that on islands.

People would have two or three jobs.

NARRATOR: Today, Noel is making a visit to East lighthouse in his role as lighthouse attendant.

It's beautiful today, isn't it?

You can see Scotland today.

NARRATOR: Noel used to be a lighthouse keeper all over Ireland.

Today, he's here to carry out routine tests to check that everything is running as it should be.

This is a special lighthouse to me because I live just about half a mile down from the lighthouse.

You'd have seen the lighthouse every day.

NARRATOR: Being the island lighthouse keeper was a respected job, and the keeper and their families were housed in a cottage on site.

Noel was also sometimes stationed here.

NOEL MCCURDY: Wee climb here.

That's heavy going.

It was the first built lighthouse on Rathlin in the 1860s.

All the stonework was brought from the southern end of the island by horse and cart to build the lighthouse.

So it was a fantastic piece of engineering.

It still is today.

Around that time, a lot of lighthouses were built.

But prior to that, there were a lot of ships sinking, and this affected the shipping companies.

They wanted to stop ships running onto rocks and that.

NARRATOR: In 1995, 130 years after its first light shone, the East lighthouse joined many other lighthouses around the UK and Ireland and became fully automated.

NOEL MCCURDY: That finished lighthouse keepers.

When I joined, the communication system wasn't very good.

And if a fault developed, you had to fix it there and then.

But then when they improved the system, brought in new electronic equipment and monitoring equipment, they can do all that from our depot in Dublin.

This box here, it controls everything.

Everything that's picked up in there can be transmitted to our depot.

Each lighthouse has its own character so shipping can identify the station.

At the Rathlin East here, we've got four flashes every 20 seconds.

And that character is unique to the East lighthouse so ships know, if their IT system breaks down, they always can fall back on the light.

I like this bit.

You can come up here.

Oh, it's beautiful.

Doesn't matter what kind of day it is, whether it's calm and sunny or whether it's windy like today.

Still beautiful.

NARRATOR: While Noel enjoys his favorite view, down on the island's playing field his grandson Cabhan is eking out the last few days of his school summer holidays.

He's 11 and has lived here all his life.

CABHAN MCCURDY: I like how it's really peaceful.

It's not too crowded and, like, you can come up to a football pitch.

And there's no one here.

You can just have it to yourself.

I bring my football up a lot.

We kick a ball about sometimes with my friends as well.

But a lot of the time I also bring my hurley up.

NARRATOR: Hurling is a popular Gaelic sport, but frustratingly, Cabhan's never had the chance to compete as part of a team.

CABHAN MCCURDY: We don't do an awful lot of hurling here.

I think it's mainly because it's just so isolated.

And trying to get a hurling team is, like, I don't think there's enough kids.

Maybe 7 or 8 at the max, but I don't know if there would be enough to get 15.

NARRATOR: Cabhan may soon play sport competitively.

Next term, he's one of two children in his school year who'll be starting secondary school on the mainland NOEL MCCURDY: Oh, he'll be fine.

He can't wait to get away, I think.

He's also very keen on sports and he's looking forward to joining teams in Ballycastle.

We're at my old primary school.

There was 11, including me.

And you can sit around the one table with the entire school and you can just all talk to each other and everyone's friends with each other.

NARRATOR: Cabhan's dad and Noel's son, Ciaran, also went over to study on the mainland.

He knows just how big a change is in store when you leave the island for school.

CIARAN MCCURDY: Are you excited?

CABHAN MCCURDY: Yeah.

CIARAN MCCURDY: Nervous?

CABHAN MCCURDY: I bit, yeah.

It'll be good.

When I'm leaving school, there was 11 people and it'll be around close to around 1,000 people when I go there.

That's a big jump, isn't it?

Because there's only two in your class.

CABHAN MCCURDY: Yeah.

But you might have then 30 in your class now.

CABHAN MCCURDY: Yeah.

You have to go over on the boat in the morning.

The big boat is 45 minutes and the wee boat is about 25 minutes.

And then I think it's about maybe a 15, 20-minute walk, maybe a bit less than that, up to the school from the harbor.

You always have to be checking the weather the night before you go.

And if it is bad weather in the morning, you have to stay over the night before.

On average, it could be once a week.

You'd be staying in the hostel, so you'll enjoy it there.

And it's close to the shops and it's close to the school as well, so you can walk.

A lot to get your head round at the start.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: This will be Cabhan's first experience of the world beyond his island.

Ciaran came back, but who knows what Cabhan will do.

CIARAN MCCURDY: There is certain generations of names do start to die out, you know?

For Cabhan, I could see him staying on Rathlin.

He's got that kind of thing about him.

He'd want to stay.

But when you go to school in the mainland, you get all these opportunities.

So I'm excited for them, but hopefully there's still a few of us yet for many years.

[peaceful music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Many islands in and around the UK and Ireland have strong traditions of religious worship, whether for pilgrimage or living full time in spiritual communities.

Historically, one of the UK's holiest islands, Caldey, is situated just off the Welsh Pembrokeshire Coast.

It's one and a half miles wide and just under a mile long, with a population of 40.

The first Celtic monastery was built here in the fifth century, and today it's home to a Trappist community of seven Cistercian monks.

But it's also home to a civilian population.

Daria is originally from Poland and has moved here with her husband Oscar to run a guest house.

Like the monks she shares an island with, her day starts at 4:00 AM.

So we're trying to follow life of monks as much as it possible, and they are praying seven times a day.

Because of the fact that we're working in a guest house, sometimes it's impossible to follow seven prayers.

But the most important for us is early in the morning.

[chanting in polish] ♪ ♪ I do find it difficult to wake up early.

But then when you have an intention to pray, sometimes it's more easy.

♪ ♪ I think this is the very unique atmosphere.

There is no sound, no birds are singing.

And you're waking up in the darkness and you are witnessing every morning the dawn.

Like going from darkness into the light.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: After morning worship, it's time to focus on the guest house.

The morning boat has just come in with food orders for a group of guests who'll arrive tomorrow.

Got some rainy delivery today.

For our guest house, we have big deliveries once a month.

Then we have smaller deliveries of fresh food every week.

Fresh things-- milk, bread, et cetera.

During the season it's very easy to have deliveries here.

It's more difficult in winters, of course, because of the boats.

Oh, thank you Steve so much for your help.

It is very challenging from time to time, but we enjoy it very much.

Because we think most of the people who are coming to the island are searching for inner peace and inner tranquility, and that's why we're trying to bring this dimension into this house.

NARRATOR: Once the supplies have been put away and with no guests staying today, there's an opportunity to take advantage of some of the benefits of island living.

DARIA STYCZYNSKI: I'm trying to run three times a week.

I think that there is a big connection between faith and nature.

It's very much visible in the spots which the monks are choosing to live in.

I think that there is a lot of wisdom hidden in nature.

To me, it's so remarkable that there is such a harmony, which is sometimes so difficult for us to gain in our life.

And it's simple.

I think that's the key word about nature, that it's simple.

And also, the fact that you are living on an island which for so many centuries had this tradition of prayer.

And you can walk on the same soil on which monks, for so many centuries, were walking and praying.

I think it's a very privileged thing.

[whistle, horses whinny] Hello.

Good girls.

Good girls.

NARRATOR: Daria's other duty on the island is to look after a herd of wild Welsh ponies.

DARIA STYCZYNSKI: This is Matthew, the shy boy who is coming.

This one is Ginger.

Matthew.

My husband loves this one and she's really good with him.

She really immediately approaches him and he can pat her.

She has chosen him.

My job is just to try to domesticate them a bit or make them more friendly.

They're staying here for the first few years of their lives, so call this for them like a nursery.

And then they will be taken back to the mainland.

There is a lot of grass.

It's like a wild environment for them.

And also there is a limestone, which is very good for them.

If I were a pony, I would love to stay here and have a joyful childhood, definitely.

[whistle] Come on, girls.

NARRATOR: It will soon be the evening service.

But Daria has just enough time to pause in one of her favorite spots, the old priory used by Benedictine monks in medieval times.

DARIA STYCZYNSKI: One of the monks told me to have at least every single day, 10 minutes of good literature, that it's really important for you.

So I'm trying to follow his wisdom.

I do find Caldey a very peaceful place.

It's well balanced that in a way you feel this solitude which is present on this island.

But at the same time, you know that you are not that much cut off from the world, which I think that is good and healthy.

♪ ♪ [cheerful music] NARRATOR: 380 miles north of Caldey, at the bottom of a chain of islands known as the Outer Hebrides, is the tiny island of Barra.

It's just over eight miles long and seven miles wide, with a population of around 1,170.

There's a strong tradition of knitting on the island.

Margaret-Anne, who now lives on the family croft, runs a knitwear company called Herring Girl that exports all over the world.

The company's been going for six years, and she now has 24 knitters working from homes across the Scottish islands and highlands.

MARGARET-ANNE ELDER: Every day I knit.

My granny did it.

My Aunt Jessie did it.

I just don't remember not knitting.

Some people take a pen and a bit of paper.

I take wool and a pair of needles.

This is how you tell a story.

NARRATOR: The story Margaret-Anne wants to tell through her knitting and the company is that of the herring girls.

These were women who followed the herring from Barra right up and around the Scottish coast, sometimes going as far as ports in England.

They were there to gut and salt the fish.

Traveling ahead of the fishing boats, they would sometimes have to wait for them to come in.

And in those moments, they would knit.

MARGARET-ANNE ELDER: My granny was a herring girl.

Then she got married and she came home and she had seven kids.

And that's what she did.

And that's why I want to tell the history of these formidable women.

14, 15 years of age, sent away from a wee island like this, and they ended up there in Yarmouth and Lewis and stuff.

And these women were working and sending money home and keeping rural economies going.

So I think they actually have to be honored.

NARRATOR: Today, Margaret-Anne is working on a Gansey, a type of jumper traditional in the Western Isles and knitted with patterns particular to each island.

MARGARET-ANNE ELDER: They're all knitted in the round, so there is no seams.

So once you get to this bit, you have to turn round and say, what am I going to tell a story in?

It depends on the person you're knitting it for.

When I started this Gansey, my husband was alive.

Unfortunately, he is not with us anymore, but I'm continuing to knit the Gansey.

When I complete that Gansey, ah.

I don't know if I ever want to.

It might just be on the pins forever.

[laugh] [soft music] It's unique.

No two are ever going to be the same.

NARRATOR: Margaret-Anne was taught to knit Ganseys by her granny, and she still has two of her creations back in the house.

These are both my granny's Ganseys, both hand-knitted by herself.

Different times, different wool, different fabric.

Now, this was knitted for my dad's brother.

So this one's probably hitting on to maybe 90 years old.

And here's one of mine.

They have different patterns, but this one here, which runs through here, is called the true lover's knot.

And that is a pattern that belongs to Barra.

The Ganseys that I have, that my grandmother, they mean so much to me.

Sometimes I just pick them up.

I take my inspiration from them.

I take the patterns that we use in our collection from them.

I just, sometimes in a quiet moment, I just hold them and think the work she put into them.

And she's still here.

She's still with me through the Ganseys.

Everybody that knits for us takes the name of a family boat.

I mean, CY Grian nan Oir is myself because that was my grandfather's last boat.

So everything's knitted with connection to the fleet and to the industry.

And we really try to make sure that we keep the heritage going.

We then like to, just for that final touch, is take an old-fashioned parcel label and tie it to your garment, because it finishes off the way the girls would've sent stuff home.

I think it's in every vein of every woman in the Western Isles that's been brought up with these women as their mentors.

I'm very proud.

Hi.

Afternoon.

Just the one today.

Thanks.

OK.

Would you like it tracked?

MARGARET-ANNE ELDER: Yes, please.

Thank you.

- And there's your receipt.

- Thank you.

Have a good day.

Thanks.

And you.

NARRATOR: With today's orders posted, it's back to the Croft, which has been in Margaret-Anne's family for generations and provides inspiration for many of her designs.

You can see over there the colors of the croft, the purple, the green, the yellow.

You can see down in the shades of the shore, you have oceans of blue.

The algae blooms in the sea in spring and summer, and it creates this massive, massive green color against the sand and the sunlight that just inspires.

It's just magical.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Some tiny islands are very remote, with minimal links to the mainland.

Others are closer and maintain strong relationships.

But however connected they are, their communities will always need a level of self-sufficiency.

Rathlin is an island that sits around five miles off the north coast of Northern Ireland and has regular boat links to the nearby seaside town of Ballycastle.

It will be these boats that Cabhan will be using to get to school when term starts in a few days time.

And it's these boats that bring in the island's post, which is met every morning by Cabhan's granddad, Noel.

NOEL MCCURDY: And we park here.

NARRATOR: Who, as well as being a lighthouse attendant, is also the island's postman.

NOEL MCCURDY: We're waiting for the mail to come in on the 10 o'clock sailing, collecting that off the ferry and taking it round to the post office to sort out.

Unless, the only time that you might miss the 10 o'clock if the weather's bad and there's no 10 o'clock sailing, that might be put back then to the 12 o'clock, or maybe no sailing at all.

So you go a day without mail.

And the next day, you've double the mail to sort out.

Is there much stuff today?

FERRY WORKER: There's three bags.

NOEL MCCURDY: Three bags.

That's not too bad.

- That's it.

- Good, good.

Good.

- Double check?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Noel shift will last around four hours today.

Once he's collected the mail for the island, he first must sort through it all at the island's post office.

[beep] NOEL MCCURDY: You have to separate them and scan the parcels.

Sort out the mail, put it in those different boxes in the van.

And that's the first bag completed now.

And then go round with the mail.

It could take two hours, depending on what amount of mail you have.

That's bag number two.

Last bag now.

And then you collect the mail from the mailbox and that goes out on the afternoon boat.

NARRATOR: Around five billion parcels are delivered in the UK each year, almost triple what it was 10 years ago.

And even tiny islands like Rathlin have felt the surge.

NOEL MCCURDY: Well, the online shopping has made a big difference to the postal because it's made life a lot easier for people.

What you would have been doing if you were going to do shopping, you'd have planned it.

You would have taken a day off work going over to Ballycastle.

Maybe the weather's bad.

But they can just order it online.

So it's a lot easier for people, a lot harder for the postman.

♪ ♪ We actually go to the three corners of the island.

We go out to the west end, to the last house out there.

Then we do down to the south end of the island, to the last house there.

And the east end of the island.

And then you have the harbor area.

So there's quite a lot of ground to cover.

I know every house on the island.

[dog barks] Dogs and postmen don't go together.

♪ ♪ And of course, it's your neighbors you're going to.

And some of them would want to know what happened the night before, if there was any stories.

There's some people who maybe don't get out every day.

Hello.

Good afternoon, Noel.

How are you?

Good afternoon, Margaret.

Fine, yes.

Well, all well throughout the island today?

Yes, yes.

No buzz.

Everything quiet.

- It's all running as normal?

- Yes.

- Good stuff.

Yeah.

That's good.

NOEL MCCURDY: As a postman, oh, I definitely know everybody.

Warts and all.

[wheeze] Don't-- don't include that.

[chuckle] Or I'll be-- or I'll be getting the door slammed in my face when you go.

[laughter] Great, Noel, to see you.

OK.

You too, Margaret.

Right.

Take care.

Take care now.

God bless.

Bye.

MARGARET MCQUILKIN: See you tomorrow.

NOEL MCCURDY: Yep.

I've been the postman for about 20 years.

It gets you out in the morning.

Oh, it's a wonderful place.

Beautiful island.

♪ ♪ That's where I was born, reared.

Rathlin's a lovely place.

Just the peacefulness of it.

When you're born on the island and you grow up on the island, that's in your DNA.

You can't get rid of that.

And then no matter where you go, it's always a draw to come back to the island.

NARRATOR: With everything safely delivered, all that's left to do is make sure the island's outgoing post makes the afternoon ferry back to the mainland, where it will be collected in Ballycastle.

This is the best part of the day when you're collecting the mail and putting it on the boat, because you know you're finished then.

So that'll go out on the 3 o'clock boat.

And those letters will be Belfast by 5 o'clock and across the water by tonight.

[sea birds squawking] NARRATOR: 360 miles south of Noel's post round is Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour.

The island has a long history of farming and industry, but it's now a haven for wildlife in the middle of Europe's largest natural harbor.

Sophie's been a ranger here for over three years.

SOPHIE GILES: Brownsea is abundant with wildlife, and so much different wildlife that you don't get on the mainland.

You have native red squirrels that have been protected by the water that's around us.

There's been a lot of man-made developments on Brownsea over the years that have now been taken back over by wildlife.

So we've got the lagoon, which is a non-natural lagoon.

It was built in the mid 19th century, and it's now being used as a lagoon for lots of wading birds.

It's of critical national importance.

It's funny how easily nature reclaims the works of man.

NARRATOR: One of the island's main industries used to be supplying timber to the mainland, and its still heavily forested.

Sophie's decided to take a quick morning walk before she begins a busy day of tree surgery.

SOPHIE GILES: Sometimes if you need to relax or decompress, you know, walking through the trees is the best place to be for me really.

I just think it's quite beautiful, isn't it?

And it's very still.

Especially nowadays, everything's really fast paced and we're doing something all the time.

When you come to places like this, you can just be still and remember what it's all about, I suppose.

Its foundation is sandstone so we have really sandy, nutrient-draining soil, which is why we have loads of the plants that we do.

It's very Mediterranean feeling.

We've got a lot of sycamores and Mediterranean species that were brought over in the last century.

We expect the red squirrels, particularly this time of year.

It's coming up to autumn and they're starting to forage and bury their nuts and caches.

But a significant number of them actually forget where they put them.

[laugh] So sometimes trees are made.

They're really, really nimble, very lightweight, a lot lighter than their gray squirrel cousins.

So they will jump from branch to branch and tree to tree, and it can be really hard to spot them.

But if you stay still, hunker down, and you're patient enough to just sit there, you will eventually see one.

[cheerful music] This beech tree, they're particularly sensitive to climate changes.

So this summer where we've had a lot of drought and then sudden rain, it's caused massive limb drops.

So we're going to have to pull that out.

We're very sad because beech trees are my favorite trees.

But they are the most susceptible to climate change.

NARRATOR: Removing dead wood and weak trees is Sophie's main job over the winter.

Before she moved to the island, she'd never touched a chainsaw.

[saw buzzing] I used to be very afraid of picking up a chainsaw when I first started.

But once you start getting the craftsmanship of the whole thing, it's really satisfying.

And it makes you strong.

So we're producing this timber and doing this log splitting for residents and people who live on the island, or people staying in holiday cottages.

It basically just keeps the houses warm over the winter.

Whoa!

They're close.

That's fine.

We're trying to restore a lot of heathland, which is basically thinning trees, and that's how you keep a healthy canopy and a healthy woodland, taking some trees out so they've all got space, light, and nutrients.

We used to have rhinos.

We used to have wolves.

We've lost our large mammals that would have really created these habitat disturbances.

And naturally, we're now having to fill in for them.

That is what conservation is.

I love the chainsaw now.

It's a big responsibility because you know that whatever work you're doing is going to have an impact.

It's very innate to us as humans just to blitz everything and make everything great in one go.

But actually, nature is slower and you need to be conscious about the work that you're doing.

But it's hugely rewarding.

Brownsea does feel like home and I feel a real tie to it.

And I care about it and where it's going to end up in the future.

I absolutely feel like I'm a custodian of the land, and I feel really lucky to be.

And it's lovely to be following in the footsteps of people who have been here for centuries.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: The Outer Hebrides to the west of Scotland is an archipelago with over a hundred islands, each with unique stories to tell.

The tiny islands at the south of this chain are called the Bishop's Isles.

Today, the only one of these that's still inhabited is Vatersay.

It sits below its larger island neighbor of Barra, which it is joined to by a causeway.

Around 90 people live across an area that's roughly three miles long and three and a half miles wide.

Fergus was born here 13 months ago.

His mum Lorna was also born on the island.

She juggles Fergus's care with teaching art part time.

Dad Martin is currently away at sea for three weeks where he works on a boat.

LORNA MCNEIL: Living in Vatersay is really lovely.

[gasp] Ready?

It's very unique and the close community is something that's pretty special here.

[gaelic] And they're always willing to help you.

Always a friendly face, always willing to support you.

It's a real family.

[gaelic] I was brought up with Gaelic as my first language.

So it's the plan that it'll also be Fergus's first language.

And so far, so good.

[gaelic] [laugh] We're a really small island here in Vatersay.

We've got such a growing population and over 20 of them, though, that are children.

Let's go, let's go.

Let's go, let's go.

My sister had a baby 10 weeks after I had my son.

Fergus has got many first cousins that were born the same year as him.

So in his school year, he will be related to everyone in his class just about.

[laugh] So he's going to have slim pickings when it comes to getting a girlfriend.

Let's go, let's go.

[fart] Did you hear that?

He's just farted.

Fergus and I, generally pretty much every day we come to the beach.

You've got the option of in the morning being here, afternoon, the south.

By the evening, you're going over to the west to watch the sunset.

It's just glorious.

We're really lucky.

And yeah, Fergus loves the beach.

FERGUS: [gurgles] NARRATOR: Fergus can thank his ancestors for his unlimited access to Vatersay's beaches.

120 years ago, his great-great-grandfather Duncan Campbell landed here as part of the Vatersay raiders.

LORNA MCNEIL: The Vatersay raiders are a group of men that came from other islands surrounding Vatersay.

There was quite poor conditions around the other islands here, and a group of men came to claim land here so that they could raise their families and work the land.

NARRATOR: In the early 1900s, Vatersay was part of Lady Gordon Cathcart's estate, who only visited the island once and ran the island as a farm.

She wasn't too pleased to have squatters, and the men were arrested and sent to prison in Edinburgh.

LORNA MCNEIL: The reality was that there was more money in grazing animals than there was having people here to live and survive.

So they were just kind of told to go off.

NARRATOR: After a public outcry, the men returned home.

And three years later, the island was divided into 58 crofts, one of which is still farmed by Lorna's dad.

People in Vatersay are known to be quite proud when they're from here, especially when they're born and brought up here like myself and like Fergus is.

And I think it's because-- because it's so beautiful.

But also because when something so special like this is fought for, you really have to appreciate it.

NARRATOR: Today, Vatersay faces a very different threat to its future, a victim of its own startling beauty.

LORNA MCNEIL: I want to look after it.

I've seen it from growing up when it really wasn't as popular a place.

Whereas in recent years, it's become such a tourist hot spot that there's lots of areas and elements of it that I want to look after and make sure they're looking their best.

Possibly a chance that the cows have come down here.

I'm imagining they've helped create this sort of deep area.

Unfortunately, if people see a path, they, kind of, assume there's an access point and it does look like that.

But we really try our best to encourage people to access the beach via the gate.

For Vatersay, in particular, I would say our biggest challenge is, unfortunately, our erosion.

We've got tides that are getting a bit higher, but also we've got a lot more footfall causing maybe a little bit more breakage in areas that we didn't used to have.

So hopefully this is a bit of an improvement and people will realize that this is not the appropriate access point to get down to the beach.

NARRATOR: Lorna is also working with Glasgow University, who, inspired by photos showing the dunes' erosion, have asked visitors to take pictures of the current state of the dunes so they can start keeping a record.

The fence behind me here that kind of goes along the edge of the dunes, was put in by my dad and a few other locals on the island.

Originally, they wanted to have at least five meters from the beach to the fence.

But unfortunately, you can see in quite a few areas, the five meters has gone quite quickly.

And we have fence posts now hanging down just into thin air really.

So that in itself is a good record to know of that we did have five meters beyond this fence and now there isn't in a lot of areas.

If left unprotected, Vatersay Village itself is, unfortunately, going to disappear.

Because of the way the two beaches come together, it would essentially mean a causeway being required for the south of Vatersay to connect to the north of Vatersay.

Personally, having ancestors who fought for this land, it would be so disappointing that the land that people fought so hard for back then is something that we can't protect today.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Just 120 miles southeast from Vatersay is the island of Rathlin that sits just off Northern Ireland's north coast.

Today's a big day for Rathlin resident Cabhan.

He's starting a new school in Ballycastle on the mainland, and he's on his way to catch the 7:45 boat.

CABHAN MCCURDY: My dad, my mum, and my little brother are all coming with me on the boat today.

It's making me feel a bit better because I have someone to go with rather than just being on my own.

Sometimes I get a wee bit nervous because it's such a big change because there's going to be so many people.

But I'm feeling good.

I'm excited for it.

NARRATOR: Unlike in his dad's day, Cabhan will be back tonight, weather permitting.

CIARAN MCCURDY: Every day, you know, you're kind of making sure, right, is the boat going to go or do we have to send them away to make sure they're at school the next day?

So it's a long year thinking about whether they're going to get on the boat or not.

In the wintertime, it's dark and cold and wet, but you're constantly looking at the weather forecast as well.

He's a kind soul and he gets on with everybody.

He's very easy to talk to.

But hopefully, he'll make friends very well.

CABHAN MCCURDY: I used to be a bit seasick when I was going over, but I sort of have overcome that a bit.

I'm feeling good about it.

Most excited to meet new friends that enjoy a lot of the stuff I like.

NARRATOR: Away from the harbor, Cabhan's granddad Noel is off to his third part-time job.

Today is one of the days he visits the island's water station.

Rathlin's water supply is monitored on the mainland, but Noel also makes regular quality checks, helped by Sarah, the new assistant he's training.

We have a bit of an issue this morning with the chlorine residual.

It's a wee bit high.

You know how to adjust that?

- Yeah.

Bring it back on the panel.

Will you do that now then?

SARAH MCCORMACK: Yeah.

OK.

NOEL MCCURDY: Our water supply comes from two bore wells, which is 80 meters down into the ground.

Some people think the pipes come from the mainland.

You know, they don't believe that we're using underground wells.

Your water is used by everybody.

Water is drunk by everybody.

So you have to make sure that the water leaving the water station is good and safe to drink.

Flowers are lovely, aren't they?

SARAH MCCORMACK: Yeah, great.

In the middle of the street?

Yeah.

Sarah is lifting a sample of water for the turbidity monitor.

That tells you if there's any particles or that which may seep through.

SARAH MCCORMACK: 0.08.

NOEL MCCURDY: That's good.

SARAH MCCORMACK: Yeah, that's good.

Some people will say, that water wasn't good today or so.

Maybe they had a hangover or something.

[chuckle] But our water is checked every day to make sure that the water is as it should be.

So there's no room for error.

When it goes pink, we know that there's chlorine there.

If it's a deep pink, you know there's too much chlorine in the water.

Or if it's light, like a light pink, then you know there's not enough.

So we can generally tell.

But you know that from experience rather than-- Yeah, just looking at the thing you can tell.

NARRATOR: With the water checks done, Noel is finished for the day.

No more post to deliver until tomorrow and hopefully no nighttime emergencies at the lighthouse.

NOEL MCCURDY: I'd like to think I'll go on as long as I'm able to do it.

If I think I can't do that, I definitely would pack it in.

Is that it?

That's it, yeah.

If you don't love your work, you're in the wrong job.

NARRATOR: Down in the village, the 4 o'clock boat from the mainland has made it into harbor.

So no hostel in Ballycastle for Cabhan tonight.

CABHAN MCCURDY: First day was good.

I made some friends.

There were a couple people that like hurling and Gaelic, and the few people that like football as well.

I've been told that there's tryouts next week for football, so I'll be able to do those.

It's really nice to get back to the island after seeing so many people and seeing so many new faces, being around a lot of people.

I'm happy to get back to the peace of Rathlin.

CIARAN MCCURDY: Going away, it sets them in good stead.

Then when they're older, then they'll have a bit of both worlds to know what they want then.

For Cabhan, I could see him staying in Rathlin.

You know he's got that kind of thing about him.

He'd want to stay.

But when you're 17 and 18, things might change.

NOEL MCCURDY: It's just your home.

There'll always be a McCurdy on Rathlin.

If you cut a McCurdy in half, Rathlin be right through them like a stick of rock.

[cheerful music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪