[gentle music] ♪ ♪ 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 PERREE: I love so much about island life.

NARRATOR: But over 200 are called home.

[theme music] ♪ ♪ 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 PERREE: The fact that you just walk out your door, and you're straight into sea, that sense of freedom is amazing.

♪ ♪ [playful music] NARRATOR: This time, we're counting sheep on Iona, searching for hidden treasure on Lundy Island, heading to North Uist for a taste of croft life.

Hey.

NARRATOR: And seal surveying on the Welsh island of Skomer.

♪ ♪ Less than 30 miles off the west coast of Scotland lies the island of Iona.

Just 3 miles in length and 2.4 miles wide, Iona is home to 178 people.

[stirring music] Joanne moved to the island 19 years ago after meeting her husband, whose family has worked the same land on Iona for six generations.

All of this just to keep him in place, yeah.

Monty, come on.

On you pop.

JOANNE MACINNES: The very first night that I met John and spoke to John, we went for a walk, and he said, I think maybe I'll just take you back to Iona.

You could be my wife.

[laughing] NARRATOR: Along with husband John and sons Cameron and Jamie, Joanne now runs the MacInnes family farm.

[gentle music] Today is the start of the busiest week of the year, as all their sheep must be rounded up in time for the transporter coming to take them off island for the sales.

We'll be gathering about 500 sheep and 600 lambs, and sorting through them over the next five days.

NARRATOR: The flock is dotted throughout Iona, and must be hardy enough to withstand exposure to the island's elements.

Gathering them up is a task involving quads, a lot of walking, and new dog Monty.

JOHN MACINNES: Jump up.

Jump up.

Good boy.

Sit, sit.

He's a bright new hope.

We're pinning everything on him.

He's really good natured, Monty, but he's really-- he's really pumped for sheep work.

Here we go.

Wee break in the weather.

Break-ish.

NARRATOR: As John and the boys head off on their toys, Joanne holds the fort back on the farmyard.

It's a few years since I've been allowed out on the bike.

I had to learn quite a lot when I arrived here, and I keep learning all the time.

[bright music] It's almost like John grew up out of the ground here himself.

His family have been on this farm for generations.

There's a strong feeling of just being a steward at this point.

100 years ago, it was one of his ancestors.

And if we were lucky, in 100 years time, it will be one of our offspring.

♪ ♪ JOHN MACINNES: Monty, jump up.

Monty!

NARRATOR: At just 17 months old, Monty is showing real promise.

♪ ♪ JOHN MACINNES: Out in the hills, he's relying on him, and he's used to focusing just on, like, getting one and catching it at lambing time.

That's what we did a lot training with him.

So, yeah, there's a lot to do.

♪ ♪ [sheep bleating] NARRATOR: Their flock is comprised of Blackface sheep, which they cross with a Bluefaced Leicester to produce a Scotch Mule.

It's a bit noisy, but they're basically checking them for their teeth and their udders at the moment, just to check that they're all right to stay in the flock.

[sheep bleating] NARRATOR: The Scotch Mule is a tough but low maintenance breed, great at producing hardy lambs that can grow larger than their mothers.

She's fine.

NARRATOR: Space on Iona is finite, and so every sheep and lamb that remains has a role to play, from maintaining the island's hills and golf course to lambing, and growing a high quality fleece that can be sold.

[sheep bleating] They've been quite big this year.

That's fine.

She can go that way.

JOANNE MACINNES: And if there's any issues, they'll get a wee mark on them.

JOHN MACINNES: It's always a shame at this time, when you're pulling out what are really good old sheep that have worked well for you over the years.

But you know, another year out here in quite harsh conditions is a long time for them.

[thoughtful music] NARRATOR: The sheep are marked to indicate where on the island they've come from, and whether they'll be transported for market.

She's got long teeth, but they're all solid.

She actually-- she could stay on a croft.

She'll get a-- Reprieve.

NARRATOR: The sheep that need a quieter life can often find a job elsewhere.

JOHN MACINNES: So she's too old for us to keep.

She'll be sold as a breeding sheep for someone else, and they'll keep her on a better place.

It's an easier shift for her, and she'll probably get another couple of years.

♪ ♪ JOANNE MACINNES: This is the last two batches.

Quite a manageable number today.

Get us eased into it.

About 30 sheep, so only about another 470 to go.

NARRATOR: Having been sorted, the sheep are back at work grazing the island.

JOANNE MACINNES: So we're looking to have a nice, healthy flock that are ready to eat all the grass, produce nice, healthy lambs, and generally live a nice Iona life.

[playful music] [sheep bleating] NARRATOR: Life on our islands is more than just people and livestock.

They're home to a vast array of wildlife on the land, in the skies, and in their seas and coastlines.

10 miles off the North Devon Coast is the island of Lundy.

It's around 3 miles long and 1 mile wide, and is home to 28 people.

[stirring music] ♪ ♪ Tara is the island's marine wildlife specialist, and works as part of the conservation team.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: I take people rock pooling, snorkeling.

In the spring months, I take school children around the island on school trips for the day, and give them a really nice day out, really.

[gentle music] NARRATOR: Lundy has been a marine nature reserve for over 50 years, and is a designated special area of conservation.

♪ ♪ Tara regularly checks for changes in the coastline for new species that may be appearing due to warming seas, or familiar faces that could be at risk.

♪ ♪ Today, it's the turn of the Devil's Kitchen on the southeast of the island.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: I love finding creatures.

I think they're all so different, and different colors, shapes, and sizes.

At low tide, lots of creatures like to hide underneath the rocks because it's cool and damp.

So the best place to find stuff is to carefully lift up rocks and have a look underneath.

Lots of crabs underneath this one.

NARRATOR: 52 species of crab and lobster have been recorded here, but Tara is on the lookout for one that stands out from the crowd.

So this is a Montagu's crab, sometimes known as a bodybuilder crab because they have very muscly kind of looking carapaces.

I won't hold him for too long.

[bright music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Lundy's diverse marine life thrives due to geography.

The nutrient-rich Bristol Channel and cool Atlantic Ocean meet in the area.

While the west of the island faces strong swells, the sheltered east side is home to teeming reefs, sandbanks, and rock pools.

♪ ♪ TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: I'm looking for a type of sea slug called the Celtic sea slug.

This is the kind of spot where they're always found, and they're one of my favorite creatures to see.

Very small, but I found a couple.

NARRATOR: These sea slugs are sensitive to changes in water temperature.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: They look quite boring at first because they're like a gray dot.

But when you look closely, they have quite cute faces, and they've got little antennas.

And they're kind of covered in little kind of spiky bits, which they use as a defense against predators.

They're pretty cool, despite their mere appearance.

NARRATOR: Rock pools in good health, Tara can get on with the next job of the day, and this one takes her away from her speciality altogether.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: It's a very, very varied job.

I do seal surveying, butterfly surveying, and record other things I see as I walk around.

Sometimes random jobs come up, and you go and help out with whatever's needed.

NARRATOR: Tara's been tasked with installing a new Lundy letterbox.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: So it's a weatherproof box because it rains a lot here.

So once someone finds the box, obviously they can open it up.

Inside is kind of a bit of information, so people kind of learn about the location they're in.

And then you'll find the stamp, which is obviously the most important bit.

NARRATOR: Similar to geocaching, the Lundy letterboxes are a 27-step-long treasure trail.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: It's a really nice way to explore bits of the island that you wouldn't normally go to.

Some of them are quite intrepid, and you have to go down a bit of a slope or traipse through the bracken to find them.

NARRATOR: Tara's decided this letterbox will tell the story of the island's only remaining Heligoland trap, which was used for ringing birds in migration studies.

TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: The location of the letterbox isn't going to be in a really obvious place.

It's got to be a bit of a challenge to find it.

We don't want to spoil it for people that are going to come and find the letterbox.

[thoughtful music] I've just literally finished putting the stamp together kind of yesterday.

♪ ♪ So sometimes it comes out better than other times, but you can see most of the Heligoland trap.

Yeah, that's kind of what it looks like.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Many returning visitors undertake this quest year after year in an attempt to collect all the stamps.

♪ ♪ TARA MCEVOY-WILDING: It's quite exciting to have designed a new letterbox because obviously, letterboxing has been on the island longer than I've been alive.

[gentle music] So it's nice to be able to add to that and leave a bit of a legacy with my design for the stamp that will hopefully stay there for years to come.

♪ ♪ [stirring music] NARRATOR: Scotland is home to almost 800 of our tiny islands, a mix of beinn and muir, of lochs and cuan, of crofts and glens.

♪ ♪ The crofting tradition runs deep, and they form a unique and integral part of life on the isles.

55 miles off the west coast of mainland Scotland, in the middle of the Outer Hebrides, is the island of North Uist.

Around 17 miles long and 13 miles wide, it is home to almost 1,600 people.

♪ ♪ Alexander moved here five years ago with dreams of the good life.

♪ ♪ ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: So this croft had been on the market for about 13 years, and everyone was put off by it.

And most people think of croft, they want it to be working.

So they want sheep and they want cows on it, and it wasn't really the best habitat for them.

So this place-- it was a bit of a jungle.

It was a bit wild.

Nature just moved in.

As much as it was wild, it was still workable.

Every year I see it, it kind of improves, and it's just kind of starting to take shape.

NARRATOR: One of Alexander's first tasks on the 9 and 1/2 acre croft is breakfast.

[whistling] Good morning, guys.

That way, that way, that way.

[playful music] You're learning about jazz hands when you have ducks.

That way.

There's food.

Everyone's munching.

Hey.

There you go.

So I've got a bunch of animals on the croft.

I don't like to say, like, stock.

I've got livestock.

I don't know, it sounds weird.

I've got quite a few workmates.

NARRATOR: For former gardener Alexander, the ducks are a key ingredient of his croft, helping fertilize the ground.

His passion for them, however, was unexpected.

I moved here August 2020, and by October, I had ducks.

I couldn't wait.

It was my son's third birthday, and I thought, you know what?

Let's get him three ducks.

So we started off with three Muscovies, and it's since evolved from then.

I've had up to, like, almost 50 ducks at some point, which is a lot of feed.

A lot of eggs, but it's like Easter, like, they're scattered everywhere.

So it's like constantly looking for eggs.

And I'm happy that they're here because what they do, they walk around, they keep the grass kept.

And they poo everywhere.

They keep the snails down.

NARRATOR: Along with the Muscovy ducks, Alexander has a mallard, 15 guinea fowl, four Hebridean sheep, and a gray-legged goose called Gozzie, who he rescued at just a few days old.

So I slept with the gosling in my neck, and then he shimmied down into my wrist.

And I was, like, half asleep trying to shimmy him out, and he went behind my back.

But yeah, we had a good bond.

He followed me around the place, and every time I left, he would kind of pine for me.

So it was quite sweet to have that bond because I've never experienced that with any of these ducks.

But it was kind nice to see it for what it is.

NARRATOR: All the animals on the croft form part of Alexander's permaculture approach to revitalizing the land.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: Nine, 10 years of my life, I've been studying permaculture, and it's opened my eyes to many things.

The old cliche saying, working with nature instead of against it.

You want to create, like, a lovely system.

But it needs a lot of input at the start, but once it gets flowing, it just keeps on churning all the goodness out.

NARRATOR: Top of his to do list, however, is dealing with an unwelcome guest on the croft.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: The New Zealand flatworm, to me, I'm convinced is an alien.

And they eat our native earthworm.

They have no defense, and it's a pain.

So obviously, we have earthworms to improve the soil.

Their poo is like black gold.

You want to keep them.

You don't want them to get munched.

[stirring music] NARRATOR: Alexander hopes to deal with this pest in a natural way.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: A beetle ditch is essentially like a big, massive hole with lots of brush and branches in.

And what that creates is a nice little beetle habitat for, like, adult female beetles.

And the reason why I'm trying to encourage these ground beetles is because I know they eat a flatworm egg.

NARRATOR: All this manual labor comes with its own rewards.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: I don't go to the gym, so this is essentially my workout.

At the same time, I'm improving the landscape and improving my mental health and my well-being.

NARRATOR: For almost 20 years, Alexander has lived with anxiety.

Croft life has helped him find calm.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: I moved here, and my whole routine was changed.

And that's when I realized I was a bit stressing over different things, and all that kind of stuff.

[soft music] It was so good for me, being outdoors and just getting some fresh air.

And it's been proven, like, you've got more green on the scenery, it makes everyone happy.

It really has.

It's been proven that-- and it's just-- it keeps me sweet.

It keeps me sane.

NARRATOR: Once the ditch is dug, Alexander fills it with twigs and brush.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: There's nothing special about this.

You just have to kind of cut them and then put them in here, and make lovely layers and make like a nest underground, and then you just backfill it with soil.

There you go.

Bosh!

In fact, last thing.

Look at that.

Makes all the difference.

Look at that.

Zazzed it up.

So yeah, that's it.

A beetle ditch.

[gentle music] NARRATOR: While much of his week was spent gardening on the mainland, Alexander has found a new connection to the land through his island croft.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: So being here, I find it a lot easier to work with nature.

It's just a lovely vision I have, and I know to myself that once I'm buried and scattered over the ashes-- I'm going to be cremated.

I'll be scattered all over the croft, feeding the land.

It's going to keep on going and putting out for the future generations to come.

♪ ♪ [rhythmic music] NARRATOR: Our islands are varied, from white sand beaches to sheer cliff faces, from green and pleasant fields, to mountain and moorland.

Their diverse landscapes allow opportunity for many to live off the terrain through conservation, growing crops, and raising livestock.

Right at the end of the Inner Hebrides is the Scottish island of Iona.

While it's home to less than 200 people, over 1,000 sheep live on the island.

[sheep bleating] [stirring music] Joanne is hard at work on an offshoot of the family's sheep farming business.

Oh, it's cracker, isn't it?

NARRATOR: Along with fellow islander Katie, she's grading some of the 1,200 fleeces gathered from across the island, which go into making Iona Wool.

Single-origin wools like this can be hard to find, and Iona Wool is especially warm and hard wearing.

Obviously, the sheep are all raised here on Iona.

And then they're shorn here, and then we grade the fleece by hand here, and then it goes off to the mainland for scouring and spinning.

A lot of what we do is just feeling.

So you can feel the softness.

You can feel if it's a bit scratchy in places.

You can feel its strength.

Yeah, you work on instinct after a while.

You get into a rhythm with your hands, don't you?

It's almost like you stop thinking, and you just feel.

Absolutely.

NARRATOR: The fleeces are evaluated by what type of wool they will produce.

So this kind of stuff here is kind of soft, but not soft enough.

And that would go into our coarse, and the coarse doesn't go into the yarn.

Yeah, all the different grades have different purposes.

JOANNE MACINNES: And you're particularly looking for the kind of kempy bits, which are little short hairs.

And if they end up in the yarn, then it can be really itchy.

[gentle music] So we take all of that out.

And then at the end, your hands are covered in this lovely lanolin, a lovely oil.

You don't need to moisturize for a few months.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Farming on Iona has meant that selling fleeces hasn't always been cost effective for farmers and crofters there.

All the sheep on the island are bred for meat.

They're bred for eating.

The wool is a genuine byproduct.

NARRATOR: They must prioritize breeding sheep that thrive in the conditions rather than those with the softest fleece, and the extra cost of sending fleeces off island for processing meant that they couldn't balance the books.

Just over 10 years ago, Katie set up Iona Wool, aiming to develop a premium product that would also pay farmers and crofters more than they received from the wool board, who produce the majority of wool in the UK.

Joanne has been involved from the get-go.

We work with Ard Dalanish, just 7 miles away on Mull, who weave our tweed.

And we work with a small selection of trusted makers on the mainland.

Having done the lambing and then done this stage, it's very satisfying to see people's faces when they find us in the shop, especially if they're knitters.

NARRATOR: The end product is always unique, thanks to the island's flock.

We take all of the different breeds and mix them together.

The majority of them are white fleeces like this.

But we also have dark fleeces which, once they're all mixed in together, give us a really nice collective flock color.

We refer to it as the kind of natural silver, and every edition is slightly different.

[thoughtful music] NARRATOR: The endeavor is improving the margins of farming on the island, and creating a single-origin product.

♪ ♪ The whole point was that it was a kind of light touch on crofters and farmers.

It wasn't about giving them additional work, just here's a different option.

And the fact that Iona Wool pays more for the raw fleeces means that it's a more sustainable model for everybody.

Is that the last one?

That's us.

That's us all done for today.

Excellent.

Good job.

Great work.

KATE GORDON: Thanks, Joanne.

Why does it feel heavier at the end?

Oh, it's all fluffed up.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Many of our islands are rugged and exposed, shaped by the pounding of our seas and oceans.

Others, however, find protection nestled in rivers, lochs, and inlets like the Bristol channel.

It separates the south of Wales from the counties of Somerset and Devon in England, and is home to a number of islands, including Lundy.

[optimistic music] Former teacher Jane moved to Lundy four years ago with her partner Teresa.

While on the mainland, many hit the gym before work, island life allows Jane to dive straight into her day.

Literally.

JANE SHARKEY: I sea swim all year and try to get people to come with me.

Today, we've got quite a few, so that's good.

This is new.

This is my birthday present.

It's a bit long.

[stirring music] Sea swimming on Lundy is great because we're at sea level.

Most of the time, we spend our time up on the top on the granite rock.

But here, you really get to the ground level.

♪ ♪ [laughing] ♪ ♪ You get to swim with nature, with the seals, and with the birds and the wildlife.

And the drama of the coastline just makes it just feel more wild.

♪ ♪ --water.

Oh, that was exhilarating.

Just what I needed.

And it wasn't too cold.

A little bit of a chop, but it's a lot-- it's about the warmest it'll get.

♪ ♪ Wonderful.

Hot chocolate now in the tavern.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: A PE teacher in her former life, moving to Lundy has meant a career change for Jane.

JANE SHARKEY: I'm a general assistant on the island.

You can be either on housekeeping or you can be in the tavern.

Or we could be working in the shop, which provides everything for all our-- the residents and all the visitors that come to Lundy.

NARRATOR: All those living on the island permanently are employees of what is known as the Lundy Company, and are provided accommodation while they're working.

This evening, she has a shift in the tavern, where partner Teresa is the head chef.

♪ ♪ But before the dinner rush, there's time to catch up.

Your lifestyle's idyllic.

My lifestyle is idyllic on the island, I know.

I've got a lot more time now to do my hobbies and that sort of thing without having to prep for my teaching and dealing with all my students.

I'm a lot less-- I'm a lot less stressed, aren't I?

Yeah, definitely.

You actually use your days off for stuff, doing stuff on your days off rather than planning for stuff like that.

- Yeah.

TERESA DAVIES: Well, there's worse places to live.

[boat horn honking] NARRATOR: With the last ferry gone for the day, the island's residents have been joined by a few extras.

Hello.

I've got nachos.

All these people here are staying on the island, so some of them will be campers.

But we have 22 properties, so there's lots of other places for them to stay.

And we've got a lot of regulars as well at the moment, so that's nice to see people come back year on year.

NARRATOR: The Marisco Tavern is the island's only pub.

It never shuts, as it's the only building on the island to have electricity all through the night.

It was originally built in the 1860s as a refreshment room for workers quarrying Lundy granite.

JANE SHARKEY: Is that everything?

Yeah?

Where are you sitting?

The little table by the-- yeah.

The tavern is a major focus for the island.

The first stop, often, when they come off the ferry is the tavern.

They come on, have a drink, get some refreshment.

And so it's a really pivotal place.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ [soft music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: The morning after a busy shift, Jane is able to reflect on her Lundy life.

JANE SHARKEY: It's possible to stay on Lundy for the rest of my working life, which I haven't got that long left yet.

♪ ♪ If you come to retirement, you have to leave because there's no place to live if you're not working.

So I have got a finite time that I'll be here.

♪ ♪ Although you sometimes take it for granted, a lot of people would like to do what we do.

So we are really privileged to be here.

NARRATOR: The walk along the coastline gives Jane a chance to check in on her poetry venture.

This is a little special place for me.

So it's a-- I call it my little writing retreat, but I've opened it up to other people to come and write.

I've asked people with this project to type haikus.

So haikus are short three-line verses.

[thoughtful music] ♪ ♪ It doesn't have to rhyme.

Doesn't even have to be that poetic.

So it's an old typewriter I got off eBay.

♪ ♪ This is some of the work that people have left me.

Tells me really who's visited, and some people put their age on it.

Some people put who they are, and some people just write me a little story.

NARRATOR: Jane has collected over 250 poems from islanders and visitors, and is making them available to read in the Marisco Tavern or online.

♪ ♪ JANE SHARKEY: And the reason why haikus existed in the first place was about engagement with landscape, and that's how they came about, so it just seemed fitting.

♪ ♪ They are so beautiful.

"Lundy, magic isle.

Puffins, ponies, paradise.

Happiness surrounds."

♪ ♪ "Lundy is gorgeous, As I was told it would be.

I will come back."

♪ ♪ [gentle music] NARRATOR: Across the Bristol Channel, on the Pembrokeshire coast of southwest Wales, lies the island of Skomer.

It's just 2 miles wide by 1.2 miles long, and for just over eight months of the year, it has a population of up to four people.

♪ ♪ Rob is a zoologist and conservationist living and working on the island.

He's been here for the past two years after first visiting to volunteer.

♪ ♪ ROB KNOTT: Coming to Skomer, you can't help but be amazed by the seabirds and the seals that you get here, coming so close to you.

It's really important, and it feels really privileged to be able to work with them now.

NARRATOR: Today, it's the island's population of Atlantic gray seals that are getting Rob's attention.

Skomer has nine beaches they use as pupping sites.

The team of wardens on the island gather data about the seals' numbers and health for scientific study.

ROB KNOTT: Skomer is such an attractive home for these seals because of these nice big beaches we've got.

We're right in the middle of the season, so we're just at that point where there's going to be lots of pups popping out everywhere.

NARRATOR: Globally, the gray seal is one of the rarest seal species, and about 50% of the world's population lives in British and Irish waters.

ROB KNOTT: We scale them from 1 all the way up to size 5 is a very big pup that's ready to go.

It's sort of molting, and it's ready to leave the beach.

[seal trills] So we've got about 10 seals on the beach just now, and we've got five females.

There's a male down there as well, and I can see at least three or four pups down there as well, different sizes.

A couple of size 2s, also a size 3 pup down there as well.

NARRATOR: Monitoring the seals like this allows Rob to watch out for any decline in numbers or environmental problems, such as discarded fishing net, which could be affecting the population.

ROB KNOTT: There's about five females over there on Driftwood Bay, eight females, six pups.

It's hard to get an angle on the main beach from this angle.

It's really important to give the seals some space because they are very secretive animals.

They don't like humans.

And quite understandably, they don't like getting too near to us.

So we do try to keep our distance, particularly when they've got young pups.

And if the pups are just a couple of hours old, they will abandon them if they're disturbed by a person or a dog.

So it's really important that while we're doing this monitoring, it's very little disturbance.

We're staying on top of the cliffs.

We're staying far away from them.

[seal trills] NARRATOR: The wardens are allowed to get close for surveying.

In general, it's important to keep 100 meters away, whether on foot or in a boat.

Got a seal pup just down here.

Probably a couple of days old, just tucked into the rocks just behind us here.

The great thing about North Haven Slip, really, is that we can get kind of quite close to these seals.

And we're still keeping enough distance, so we're not disturbing them.

But we can get a bit closer and see a bit of behavior, and see what these seals are up to.

[seal trills] Seals have always fascinated me.

I think I've always really felt something for them.

Definitely a bit of a spirit animal, I think, as well.

[seal trills] So we've got a pup there on the edge of the water.

It looks like it's going to start moving towards the water.

These pups generally are encouraged to stay on the beaches by the mums when they're this age.

They've still got these nice, big, white fur coats on them, essentially.

So they're pretty heavy when they're in the water.

[inspiring music] Looks like he's just gone into the water.

♪ ♪ Mom's just out beyond it in the water there.

♪ ♪ They do these little test runs into the water just to see what it's all about, really.

But we wouldn't want it going too far out to sea.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Now mom's just going up to keep an eye on it.

So it's-- I think mom's just thinking the same thing as me, that it's OK where it is, but if it goes any further out to sea, then it's just going to want to try and probably push it slightly back towards the beach there.

[seal trills] And there's mom just sort of telling it to get back onto the shore there.

I think she's had enough of it being in the water.

[stirring music] Yeah, looking a bit bedraggled and full of water, but safely up above the waterline now.

NARRATOR: Seal pups back on shore, Rob must head back for the day.

ROB KNOTT: When it's nice weather like this, you can't help but work outside on the bench.

♪ ♪ I think this data is really useful in a small scale.

We can keep an eye on our pup numbers, how they're changing every year.

And it's also useful on a more wider scale.

It helps influence government policy, and in terms of marine areas, it helps them pinpoint species that really need help.

♪ ♪ The wildlife to this island is everything.

It's bread and butter, really.

This is why we're here.

We're here for the wildlife.

We hope that this island will stay as it is.

♪ ♪ We're cautiously optimistic that these seals will have a home here for many years to come.

♪ ♪ [bright music] NARRATOR: Our islands are home to people working in all manners of job, from posties and fishermen, builders and chefs, to taxi drivers and first responders.

♪ ♪ One thing common to many islands, however, is having multiple feathers to your cap.

On the West Coast of Scotland, less than a kilometer from the large island of Mull, lies Iona.

Joanne is off to another of her jobs on the island.

♪ ♪ Lots of people have multiple roles, and not always paid roles as well.

Quite often, people have a seasonal job, and then they'll take on other jobs over the winter.

NARRATOR: It's just over a mile's drive from Joanne's farm to Iona Craft Shop, where the fleeces from the island are sold in their final form.

JOANNE MACINNES: These crofts are on either side are-- both have sheep on them that go into Iona Wool.

And people can then walk around the island and make that connection.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Iona Craft Shop has been operating since 1965, and is the island's oldest shop still in existence.

It's a special day for Joanne, as a batch of fleeces that have been sent off island for scouring, spinning, and dyeing has finally arrived back.

JOANNE MACINNES: One of the best things about the wool arriving is seeing the silver because every edition of wool is slightly different.

It's gone gradually lighter over the years, which means that the colors which are dyed over the natural silver, it means that they're quite poppy this year, which is really nice to see.

Pink looks great, actually.

I mean, all of our colors are inspired by the island.

So we have-- this is our fuchsia pink, which has evolved because it's got brighter.

You'll see the fuchsia bushes outside.

[gentle music] Serpentine for the serpentine stones that you find off Columbus Bay.

These are the kind of sea colors here people really associate with Iona.

NARRATOR: Seeing the end product ready to sell is a process that takes time and patience.

Production takes two years, from the fleeces being shorn to the product being placed on shelves.

So it comes back to us either on cones or hanks, which we sell directly to people who can make things.

And for people who can't make things, we get it made into a range of lovely things too.

It's great to have the full range of colors back, and it's so eye-catching as people come in.

NARRATOR: The shop is a focal point for many of Iona's 130,000 visitors a year.

Thank you.

♪ ♪ JOANNE MACINNES: We have a range of visitors, some of whom are knitters or crafters, and people are always really interested in the sheep.

They want to know if they can spot them on the island as they're going around.

So we gather up fleeces from most of the crofters and farmers on the island.

Because I used to raise sheep.

- Oh, OK.

- And goats.

And goats?

- These are different.

- Yeah, they will be.

What did you have?

NARRATOR: Joanne's customers want something with real roots on Iona.

The single origin coming from the island flock is usually the thing that's most important to people.

I'll pop you in one of our postcards because there's lots of nice information on the website about where your wool's from.

NARRATOR: And the quality of the wool produced by crofters and farmers like Joanne draws in repeat customers.

I can't remember what we bought and how much meterage is in the cone, so I've brought a bit of it up.

Can you tell me?

- Yeah, I think so.

It looks like double knit.

- Double knit?

OK.

- Yeah.

People always ask me if I've knitted the garments, and my answer is always no, I grow the sheep.

Because I can't knit.

I can't knit.

I mean, I can, but it's really bad.

I've been cold since I've been here.

- Where is home?

- Arizona.

OK.

Well, that figures.

[laughing] NARRATOR: Both the yarn and knitted garments fly off the shelves, along with tweed hats and ties made from the coarser fleeces.

I'm going to get this too because that looks like I can wear it golfing.

Yeah, it's perfect.

I would have been able to use that yesterday.

If you'd had more time, you could have been golfing here.

Do you have a golf course here?

We have 18 holes.

You do?

Yep, all kept by our sheep.

Natural greenkeepers.

NARRATOR: The wool's success has had a big impact on Iona's crofters and farmers, who now will prioritize good fleeces when sorting their flocks.

JOANNE MACINNES: An understanding of what we're trying to get to has helped the whole process right back from breeding to shearing to sorting.

And the biggest change is just having more fleeces available.

[thoughtful music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: For Joanne, the work in the shop is the culmination of all the family's hard work lambing, raising sheep, and skirting fleece.

JOANNE MACINNES: For me, it's a lovely connection between what we do on the farm and what John's family have been doing for generations.

And it means that I can speak to customers from a place of experience and authenticity.

It's nice to see these hanks and cones heading off all over the world with people, happy, smiling people.

♪ ♪ [stirring music] NARRATOR: 90 miles away on the outer Hebridean island of North Uist, former gardener Alexander is hard at work on a plan to conquer the elements on the island.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: North Uist is, by far, one of the windiest places and wettest places I've ever lived in my life.

Honestly, like, it's so spongy, like, you can get away with planting a tree in August.

It's wild because it's so wet.

But with it being windy, it tends to slow the growth of a lot of things.

NARRATOR: The high winds and driving rain are making Alexander's vision of homegrown veg stall.

I want to get this nice and big and full of trees, create more of a windbreak, and that is my plan for this pitch.

Willow is one of the easiest plants to plant.

The harder you cut it back, the thicker it will come back, basically.

NARRATOR: He's taken inspiration from the island's past.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: So many moons ago, we had many trees here.

But then the Vikings came, they chopped a lot of trees down.

They made boats.

They made houses.

Because the weather's so harsh, it's hard for the trees and plants to grow back.

They need our help to get protection, to bring back this lovely kind of woodland that we used to have.

[bright music] NARRATOR: Alexander can take a relaxed approach to willow planting, thanks to North Uist's weather.

We're all ready.

This is the place.

So right here, you just put it in.

There you go.

Like that.

Not all of them will take, but it's wet enough here for them to be able to survive and last long and thrive.

And they love it here.

The wetter, the better.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: And he has another trick up his sleeve to give his cuttings a fighting chance.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: The rabbits tend to eat the leaves in the bog, so I'm going to use some wool.

You kind of want to just rub it in.

You want to get it all covered.

Just literally, don't discriminate, just proper rub it on.

NARRATOR: The smell of the lanolin in the wool is known to deter rabbits, deer, and rodents.

♪ ♪ ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: Rub it on your trees, and they will avoid it like the plague, which is great.

So that's why I do this, and it's like a cheaper way of getting because there's sheeps-- there's flocks everywhere up here, and there's sheep wool coming out everyone's ears.

So it makes sense for me to use this free resource.

♪ ♪ There we go.

[inspiring music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: After a hard day crofting, Alexander is heading to the far side of the island for some R&R.

This is the east side of the island, and it's very different to the west.

Totally different landscape.

[gentle music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Alexander had some reservations about the move to North Uist, but came here so his young son could grow up away from city life.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: Moving here, I did think that people might be a bit kind of behind in their thought process when it comes to people and different cultures, and stuff like that.

Knowing that Uist is a place where I can't be anonymous, it's quite tricky.

It was very hard to take on and understand, and get my head about it.

NARRATOR: Growing up in London left Alexander worried how he would be perceived on the island.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: So when I was 16, I used to run everywhere.

It was one of my hobbies.

And one day, I was running from my friend's house, and the police stopped me for running.

[quacking] And that's what kind of changed my perspective.

My hypervigilance became a thing, and that's where I started to notice some people would perceive me in a different way.

NARRATOR: But with arrival on North Uist, Alexander found relief.

ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: The day I arrived here, I got to the beach.

It was low tide.

I ran.

I ran for how long?

I can remember it now.

I can remember myself running.

And I just felt-- it was the first time in my adult life I felt free.

[soft music] NARRATOR: And after five years, he understands island life.

♪ ♪ ALEXANDER BUYER-THOMPSON: Everyone kind of welcomed me with open arms and that, and I can just be myself.

I'm doing my crofting.

I'm working.

I'm just kind of being a nice, happy-go-lucky, happy chappy, basically.

♪ ♪ [closing theme] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪