The smallholder

SALLY REYNOLDS

“Crofting is in my DNA,” says Sally Reynolds, 39, who grew up on a croft just four miles from the one she now owns. “We had a make-do-and-mend way of life and I helped with the sheep, cows, hens and goats.”

Sally studied on the mainland for ten years and returned with a PHD in ecology and a husband, Toby, who now works for the coastguard. “He likes driving the tractor and can catch any errant sheep, so I don’t need a sheepdog,” she says. In 2010, they bought the tenancy of a croft that lies just south of Donald Macsween’s (see overleaf ).

They currently have 13 hens (the area is free of foxes, but mink are just as lethal) and sell their surplus eggs, which pays for the feed. They eat all their own lamb and sell it locally. Sally’s next venture is selling boxes of vegetables grown on her plot of onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes and beetroot.

Sally works part-time as the development officer for the Carloway Estate Trust, which is responsible for 11,500 acres of community-owned land and 500 residents, who work in everything from textiles to tourism. “I take my holidays in the spring to do the lambing,” she says. “That’s the best part, but also the most fatiguing.” Toby works shifts, so he can also help at this busy time.

“I love crofting but we can only afford to do it because we both have other jobs and no children,” Sally says. “It can be hard, but we have a good quality of life and adapt to the conditions. I don’t mind when it’s blowing a hooley, although I do care when summers are awful. We are continuing what islanders have done in the past.”

“We are continuing what islanders have done in the past”