The ultimate getaway
Wanted, ranger for Scottish isle that hasn’t had a resident since 1848 (but don’t worry, you’ll have 200,000 birds for company)
IT is a posting strictly for those who want to get away from it all.
An island which is home only to 200,000 seabirds requires a ranger to spend summer there.
And once the tourists leave, they will have just a few volunteers to help while away the long evenings.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is advertising for the ranger to stay on Handa, a 1mile-square island three miles off Sutherland.
There have been no residents since 1848 but it now receives more than 7,000-plus visitors every summer as it is close to the booming North Coast 500 road route.
Now the trust, which manages Handa with owners Scourie Estate, is offering a £14,500-a-year job to cover the summer season from March to September 2018.
It says: ‘You will need good physical fitness, and the desire to work out of doors in a remote location. Familiarity with Handa Island would be an advantage. Weekly trips to Scourie ( the nearest remote village) are necessary to do laundry, banking, shopping and exchange gas bottles. Therefore, a current driving licence and access to a vehicle are both essential.
‘Accommodation for the post is provided free of charge in the purpose-built ranger’s bothy (a small hut or cottage).’
The trust will consider applications from both job-share couples or individuals and the closing date is Monday. Five years ago, Handa had a £ 50,000 comfort stop installed to keep up with the tourist boom. The Handa eco loo is turf-roofed and made of steel.
It took a team of five men six days to build on an island so difficult to reach it needed two landing craft, making several attempts, to land the specially- designed materials on shore. From the door you can see mountains such as Suilven, Foinaven and Ben Mor Coigach as well as seals and otters on the nearby beach. The red sandstone island and its steep cliffs are now recognised as one of Scotland’s best seabird sanctuaries. It is manned in the summer by four long-term volunteers as well as 45 short-term volunteers.
But from September until March the island is completely uninhabited. On the island’s busiest days it can receive up to 150 visitors, with birdwatchers coming to view, among other species, one of Europe’s biggest colonies of guillemots – as well as red grouse, puffin, Arctic skua, Arctic tern, eider duck and various gulls.