A travel vlogger, Ruth Aisling, stayed at Fair Isle Bird Observatory between Orkney and Shetland, and revealed what it was really like inside the accommodation that only opened last year
Fair Isle is the southernmost part of the Shetland Islands (Image: )
A Scottish travel vlogger has stayed in Britain’s most isolated accommodation – and reckons it’s nothing like what you’d expect.
Ruth Aisling has been discovering her homeland on YouTube following a 12-year stint abroad. She’s just visited Fair Isle, the UK’s most remote inhabited island, nestled between Orkney and Shetland.
Though it stretches just three miles, roughly 50 people call it home, and it’s renowned as one of Europe’s premier spots for watching migratory birds journeying from Scandinavia and Iceland towards the UK and Africa.
But since last year, visitors can now spend the night at The Fair Isle Bird Observatory, and Ruth insists there’s far more to it than feathered friends.
Broadcasting from the breathtaking island, which she reckons might be her Scottish favourite, she explained: “Getting here isn’t always straightforward as the weather decides everything.
“But once you arrive it feels very different from what you might imagine. From cosy rooms and delicious food to a real sense of community, it plays a much bigger role than just somewhere to sleep.”
The lodgings welcome guests from May through October, with single rooms this year priced at £169 per night, covering all meals.
And on the subject of grub, Ruth gushed: “The food here has been absolutely incredible. I have some dietary requirements and they’ve catered for that absolutely no problem.”
She revealed that Fair Isle had no other eateries, and during her visit she tucked into the likes of homemade soups served with bread, macaroni cheese, lasagne and meals featuring fish landed by a local fisherman.
In her YouTube video, which you can watch in full here, she offered a comprehensive tour of the observatory, even popping into the bar – the island’s only watering hole – which naturally proves popular with residents.
She mentioned there was an extensive drinks menu featuring a vast array of Orkney beers.
The island can be reached by ferry or plane, and travelling by air, as Aisling did, restricts you to just 15kg of luggage.
She explained that rooms feature an ensuite bathroom and shower stocked with shampoo and body wash.
Yet the real highlight of staying at the observatory, she revealed to her 224,000 subscribers, was the stunning panorama from her window.
She enthused: “The star of the show is the view. Let me show you the view out of my window. Look at that. That is incredible. Every morning, been waking up and looking at this.
“Even though it’s called the Fair Isle Bird Observatory, you don’t need to be a bird watcher to stay here.”
This view was echoed by Steve Holgate, the observatory’s manager. He chatted with Aisling about the accommodation which boasts 20 ensuite rooms for visitors.
He said: “It’s amazing. The community is amazing. The island itself is beautiful. You can just go on and on and on. There’s so much here to do. You think it’s going to be a small place and there’s not much to do. You’ve never got time. It’s just busy all the time here.
“It’s open to all guests, general tourists, wildlife enthusiasts, birders obviously, knitters, anybody who’s got an interest in Fair Isle. All the transport links are obviously subjected to weather, but we rarely get people stuck here for very long.”
You may have heard of Fair Isle Knitting, and during Ruth’s visit, she joined knitting workshops held in a room at the observatory.
More than 350 bird species have been spotted on Fair Isle, with birdlife including Puffins, Kittiwakes and Gannets.
The Good Shepherd IV ferry accommodates 12 passengers for the two-and-a-half hour journey to Fair Isle, whilst there’s also a daily flight from Tingwall airport taking under 30 minutes.
Responding to Ruth’s latest video, one fan commented: “I love the idea of getting away from all the noise of the city to somewhere quiet and relaxing like that. It would be so good.”
Another wrote: “What a beautiful place, I would love to see all those puffins in person.”
A third person remarked: “Thanks for the tour around your accommodation, I guess this place is the center of the world for everyone on the island.”