If your idea of escaping the rat race involves windswept cliffs, puffins wheeling overhead and a community where everyone knows your name, this tiny North Sea island could be calling your name.
The rugged outpost of Fair Isle — widely regarded as the UK’s most remote inhabited island — is searching for ‘resourceful’ newcomers willing to embrace life far from the mainland.
Home to just 50 or so residents, it sits roughly halfway between Shetland’s administrative centre and the Orkney islands, around 80 miles north of the Scottish mainland.
Despite its isolation, it’s a favourite for tourism, known for its tight-knit community, wildlife and stunning views — not to mention its world-famous knitting patterns.
And now, a rare opportunity has opened up for someone to relocate to Fair Isle and play an active part in its future.
National Trust for Scotland (NTS), which owns most of the three-mile long island, is seeking tenants for a 14-acre croft with shared pasture land called ‘common grazing’ for raising livestock.
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The smallholding is also home to a ‘comfortable’ four-bedroom house, available to rent separately, featuring oil heating, electricity supplied by the island’s renewable power schemes, a phone and internet services.
There are a few stipulations for who gets it though: not only should the successful applicant be ‘hard working and enthusiastic’, they need to have the experience and financial resources to work the croft.
On top of this, NTS requires the new resident to have ‘a viable way to make a living on Fair Isle’, which can be through island-based employment or remote working — although trades or skills deemed ‘valuable’ to the local knitwear industry are a big bonus.
Duties of a crofter
Before applying for the Fair Isle tenancy, the NTS listing warns applicants must be ‘fully aware of the duties associated with croft ownership’.
According to the Crofting Commission, crofting entails the following:
- To be ordinarily resident on, or within 32 kilometres of their croft
- Cultivate and maintain the croft
- Not to misuse or neglect the croft
If a tenant wants to use the land for something not considered cultivation (which includes horticulture, keeping livestock including poultry and bees, growing crops or planting trees) landlord or Crofting Commission permission.
All crofts should meet the standards of Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC), with breaches investigated by the Commission.
‘Resilience’ is key too, as although the island offers stunning landscapes and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the mainland, living there means planning ahead when it comes to supplies.
Fair Isle, which forms the southernmost part of the Shetland archipelago, isn’t completely cut off, and can be reached either by small aircraft or ferry services connecting to Aberdeen, Lerwick and Orkney (which typically takes about two-and-a-half hours).
Weather conditions can sometimes disrupt travel though — especially during winter when strong winds and rough seas are common.
Still, those challenges are balanced by an extraordinary quality of life for the right candidate, who’ll wake up every day surrounded by breathtaking scenery and some of the most spectacular wildlife in the UK, along with a close community to help them get settled.
The scheme is designed to ‘increase the number of settled, working-age residents’ on the island, most of whom have several jobs and voluntary roles.
Would you consider moving to the remote Fair Isle and starting a new life?
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Yes, it sounds like an amazing opportunity!
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Possibly, but I need to think more about the challenges.
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No, it's too remote for me.
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I would love to visit, but not live there.
According to Fair Isle Development Company director, Eileen Thomson, it’s hoped a family could be attracted to help support the school, which has just four pupils, with the long-term goal of growing the population to about 70 people.
‘Most of us have a croft but also work in the school, on the ferry and in various community organisations as well,’ she told The BBC. ‘It’s so much better than having a nine to five.’
If it sounds like your idea of heaven and you fit the bill, applications are open until Friday April 10, 2026, via the Scottish Land Matching Service (SLMS).
After this closing date, the trust will create a shortlist, with the local committee getting involved in the interview process.
A spokesperson for SLMS says: ‘This is an exceptionally rare opportunity to secure a croft and family home in one of Scotland’s most remarkable island communities.’
‘We are looking forward to welcoming new people to the island to become part of the crofting community of Fair Isle,’ added Angus Murray, NTS’ operations manager for Fair Isle.
‘We are inviting resourceful and enthusiastic people with the skills, creativity, and care needed to make a success of this unique opportunity.’
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