The National Trust

They said they had no work-life balance

A family who moved to Britain’s most remote inhabited island, where just 50 people live, say it takes seven hours to get a takeaway curry delivered.

Katy Phenix, 33, partner Josh Moore, 35, and their kids have relocated to Fair Isle for a quieter life after quitting the rat race of working long 12-hour days. She saw an Instagram ad to live and work on the Scottish island near Sheltand and registered ”on a whim”.

They applied to move to the isle – where there are more birds than people – despite never visiting before. Numbers are strictly controlled and new residents are only allowed in when others leave.

Interview process

They had to go through a rigorous interview process with its inhabitants and the National Trust for Scotland to ensure they were a “good fit”. Four months later, Katy and Josh moved to the UK’s most geographically remote inhabited island.

They were accompanied by their children, Hetty, six, and Teddy, 11, three dogs and four cats. Despite the huge lifestyle change, they said they are now living the “absolute dream” – and all the children miss from the mainland is a trip to McDonald’s.

But they say they’ve learned to be resourceful, getting an Indian takeaway on the Island ferry, which took seven hours from Shetland to their croft, in what they describe as a “military operation”. Katy revealed they can place the order with the Indian at midday, order a taxi to pick it up and take it to the island ferry.

It is then picked up from the ferry and heated up for dinner when it arrives. Apart from missing easy access to their favourite takeaway, Katy, an early years practitioner, and Josh, an electrician, said the move has been a dream.

No work-life balance before

They had almost no work-life balance and “lived to work” when they applied from North Yorkshire in March 2026. They sold their three-bed new build home in Redcar and are now renting a five-bedroom house with 17 acres of land and five outbuildings from the National Trust.

She said: “We had a really large mortgage in England, but now pay peanuts in comparison to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the UK. It feels like we’ve won the lottery. I don’t think you could get a bigger change of lifestyle – but as a family we are all loving it.

“We were kind of like passing ships in the night before. Neither of us thought there was any chance at all we would hear back from our application, but the more we researched into it the more we were totally hooked.”

Fair Isle sits about 24 miles south of the Shetland Mainland in the North Sea. After their interview in May 2026, they received their offer to move to the island.

Massive gamble

Katy, who now works around four hours a day Monday to Friday, said: “It was a massive gamble and a long journey. It cost us £8,000 for the move in July.

“The only thing we knew is that there was a five-bedroom house, and it had 17 acres of land and five outbuildings. We saw a floor plan, but that was out of date.”

Outgoing tenants Deryk and Hollie and their four children have been a great help to Katy and Josh, passing on all of their crofting knowledge with a yearly planner and selling their sheep to help them start their own croft. There are seven children living on the island, five in school, one in nursery and an infant with two teenagers in high school on the mainland.

Hetty and Teddy were able to have calls with the school to help get them settled before the move. Luckily for them, there was a six-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy already on the island, giving them “an immediate best friend”.

Katy said: “The little boy and Teddy are off all the time mushrooming, fishing, they’re in our outbuildings making weird contraptions out of wood. Hetty is such a little animal lover, she’s been out with the sheep and we’ve got hens she’s with all the time. We’ve not had many challenges at all.”

With no high school, teenagers go to a school on the mainland with free accommodation and frequent trips home. Every half term the Fair Isle children will go to visit to meet their future classmates and ensure a smooth transition when they begin school.

The island has a pub in their bird observatory in the summer season, shop open four days a week, a Post Office and even has Amazon Prime. There is also a nurse on the island and when any situation begins to raise concerns, it takes a helicopter 15 minutes from Shetland and patients are airlifted off the island. Josh has found a lot of work as resident handyman.

Katy said: “He’s been out today fixing someone’s washing machine. He’s re-plumbed our house, he’s done everything.”

Slower pace of life

The significantly slower pace in life and family time has been the ultimate highlight for Katy.

She said: “We’re not stressed and overworked, we’re so much more present for the children. I remember Teddy once said ‘oh mum you’re so much nicer in the school holidays’. It was a throwaway comment, he didn’t mean anything by it.

“It stuck with me. I never wanted to be that mum, but it was kind of the way life pans out and you accidentally get there.

“This has just given us that time to breathe and be as a family. We do everything together and that’s made it totally worth it.”

What would typically look like a five-minute job can take residents three weeks to do, as they need to plan ahead for deliveries. They are also bound by the weather as the small plane or ferry may not be able to get to them as planned.

Learning how to shear and herd 30 sheep and a ram has not been the easiest at times, but it’s “all hands on deck”, and the children love it. Teddy uses his shepherd’s hook and chases the sheep as the family doesn’t have a sheep dog.

Katy said: “I think the massive misconception is that it’s lonely and there’s nothing to do. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Our lives haven’t actually changed that much. We’ve got something on every day.

“Everybody is here to help you out. I have a really good group of mum friends here. I do pilates and yoga. This is the most social I’ve ever been and Josh is quite an introvert, so he’s really come out of his shell now.”

Full calendar

Their calendar is always full with dress-up parties or harvest festivals. Katy is even learning the tradition of Fair Isle knitting from another resident to help keep the culture alive, a craft skill welcomed by the National Trust to maintain tradition.

Crofting and fishing were the other traditional occupations, but today the island’s economy is far more diverse. There are significantly more species of bird on the island than people, with over 350 different kinds.

To move to the island you have to wait for a current family to move away. National Trust for Scotland then reviews all applications to check for appropriate skills and applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed. Other desirable skills include direct experience in crofting and land management, trade skills such as plumbing expertise, joinery, or maritime skills.

This beautiful seaside town has gorgeous coastal walks and plenty to see

As the summer throngs start to thin out, late August and September offer an ideal opportunity to discover Devon’s coastline, with less crowded beaches, gentler temperatures and beautiful walks just waiting to be enjoyed. A delightful seaside town nestled between steep hills and the Bristol Channel has been crowned Devon’s finest seaside destination by Which?, placing it squarely on the map for an idyllic West Country escape.

Lynmouth is the sort of spot that appears almost impossibly picturesque, with its lovely riverside location, striking coastline and classic village appeal. Perched on the fringes of Exmoor National Park, it’s encircled by breathtaking scenery and is frequently dubbed “Little Switzerland”.

The region is a paradise for ramblers, with the South West Coast Path and Tarka Trail winding through the village and providing numerous routes to discover. Tourists can trace the River Lyn upstream to Watersmeet, a striking wooded gorge looked after by the National Trust, complete with riverside paths and a tea garden.

Among Lynmouth’s standout features is the renowned Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, which has linked the twin villages since 1890. The 260-metre railway holds the title of the world’s highest and steepest water-powered railway, with travellers enjoying panoramic coastal vistas as they journey between the two settlements.

Those looking to transform their visit into a romantic getaway, River View is a second-floor flat positioned directly alongside the river in Lynmouth. The property boasts a furnished balcony with views over the bay, and on a clear day, guests might even glimpse the Welsh coastline in the distance.

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For a different setting, Ilfracombe sits less than 20 miles away, celebrated for its selection of restaurants and historic harbour. Guests can also catch sight of Damien Hirst’s eye-catching ‘Verity’ statue positioned at the harbour entrance before returning to the tranquil environment of Lynmouth.

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Visitors who have previously enjoyed a stay at River View have posted glowing reviews online. One guest said: “Lovely apartment. Perfectly situated with everything we needed. A real ‘home from home’. We love Lynmouth and will be back.”

Another added: “A wonderful location for walkers as several spectacular river and coastal walks from the door. Great for visitors with dogs, close to the promenade for walks and meeting lots of other dogs.”

A more in-depth review explained: “A small but well-equipped and comfortable flat with beautiful views over the river to the sea. Good location to explore the area. Luckily found a temporary parking spot initially on Riverside Road in order to unpack, as the flat entrance is on a pedestrianised street.

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