Looking after tiny islands 'best job in the world'

After 13 years, Jonathan Grant is to discontinue arsenic the caretaker of 3 tiny uninhabited Scottish islands.

"It's been by acold the champion occupation successful the satellite for me," said the 65-year-old, primitively from Riddrie successful Glasgow.

Jonathan's occupation is to look aft the National Trust for Scotland-managed islands of Mingulay, Pabbay and Berneray, which prevarication southbound of Barra successful the Western Isles.

He camps retired for weeks astatine a clip portion carrying retired monitoring of the land habitats.

Most of the clip his lone institution are seals, basking sharks and seabirds specified arsenic puffins and razorbills. The past islanders connected Mingulay and Pabbay near successful 1912 and Berneray's near successful 1980.

Jonathan, who volition discontinue aboriginal this year, told BBC Scotland's The Nine: "It is an awe-inspiring experience.

"I person lived connected Barra for astir of my beingness truthful I americium utilized to beingness successful the Hebrides."

Jonathan usually begins making his visits to the islands successful April.

"They cannot beryllium accessed implicit wintertime due to the fact that nary vessel operators spell down there. Landing connected the islands is highly hard - adjacent successful the summer," said Jonathan.

"There are nary piers connected immoderate of the islands. You person to get connected a tiny tender and onshore connected a rocky shore. If determination is immoderate swell astatine each oregon the crushed is bedewed it is really, truly hard to land."

Once connected 1 of the islands, Jonathan carries retired checks connected the authorities of vegetation and wildlife.

He besides assesses archaeology, specified arsenic the ruined homes of islanders.

Fishing, sheep farming and hunting seabirds sustained islanders earlier beingness became excessively hard.

Its past pages archer of storms preventing younger children from attending schoolhouse and the teacher's banal of ember for a occurrence being "exhausted".

There are immoderate visitors to the 3 islands today, and erstwhile helium is astir Jonathan gives them an penetration into what beingness was like.

Jonathan, who worked 30 years successful the gathering commercialized successful the Western Isles earlier taking up the NTS job, said: "I emotion the outdoors. I americium rather blessed with my ain institution erstwhile connected the islands.

"I tin beryllium down determination a week oregon 2 and not spot anybody other during that period."

But helium added: "I deliberation its clip a younger idiosyncratic gets the accidental to acquisition what I person experienced implicit the years.

NTS volition statesman recruiting for Jonathan's replacement aboriginal this year.