Couple's 'slightly mad' new life farming on remote Welsh island

On an island where Manx shearwater birds outnumber humans by about 2,500 to one, a couple from south Wales have swapped city life for a remote living dream.

Gwyndaf Hughes and Georgina Rannard will become the new farmers on Ynys Enlli - also known as Bardsey Island - two miles off the Llŷn Peninsula, in Gwynedd.

The journalists, who live in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, admit it will be daunting to leave their old life behind during their year-long career break, but are excited to be doing this "slightly mad thing".

They'll be joining only a handful of other permanent residents on Ynys Enlli, which is home to 200 sheep and around 30,000 breeding pairs of Manx shearwater birds.

Georgina said: "There's a tiny hardy community surrounded by the ocean, and we thought, 'OK, we want to go and join'."

Gwyndaf said: "It's like going home for me."

He grew up on the Llŷn Peninsula, and spent his childhood helping out on his grandparents' farm.

"It's an amazing chance to be going back to north Wales and join the small, Welsh speaking community on Ynys Enlli," he said.

But Georgina, from Liverpool, has no farming experience.

"It's the only time I've been asked in an interview, have you helped an ewe give birth," she said.

Ynys Enlli became the first site in Europe to be awarded International Dark Sky Sanctuary certification in 2023, recognised for having one of the best night skies in the world.

The earliest evidence of people on Ynys Enlli are pieces of flint, which have been dated back to between 2,000 and 1,000 BC.

And after Georgina spotted the opportunity to farm there, Gwyndaf said, "wow, we have to try it".

"It's quite scary now, it's always me that says we should do this slightly mad thing," Georgina said.

They will take over from the current farmers who have looked after the island's animals for 20 years.

They will be conservation farming and using cattle to manage the habitat for rare bird species.

"The nature is fantastic, there are rare birds, rare plants, rare habitats," Georgina said.

"It's such a unique place, it's a pilgrimage site. There are seals," she added.

The first time I went, I just spent three hours lying on the beach looking at the seals."

The couple will be joining two new wardens, Lois Roberts and Aron Llwyd, who are spending their first winter on the island.

And while their move is daunting, there are things they will definitely not miss.

"I'll be so happy to never have to sit in traffic on Ynys Enlli," Gwyndaf said.

"I'm not going to miss meetings," Georgina said.

As for the future, the couple said, "we'll take it day by day and see how it goes".

You can take a day trip to Bardsey on the ferry, or stay in traditional farmhouse accommodation, but dogs are not allowed on the island.

There is a permanent community of 12 people who work on the island, protecting the habitat and welcoming visitors, according to the Bardsey Island Trust.

Visitors can stay on the island for a week in one of the houses, which sleep up to eight people, but you cannot camp on the island.

The island is famous for its wildlife, and is a key migratory routes for birds, with 332 species recorded on Bardsey, including puffins.