Size does matter, Richard ... and my private island’s MUCH bigger than yours!
The ultimate in sibling rivalry – Branson’s sister teases him over paradise isles
HE may be a billionaire entrepreneur with an impressive track record in the music industry, banking, travel and even the space race.
But there’s one person who remains distinctly underwhelmed by the achievements of Richard Branson – his sister Vanessa.
For, The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal, the pair are caught up in a unique sibling rivalry.
While the Virgin tycoon famously owns the sun-kissed Caribbean paradise of Necker Island, his sister – a successful businesswoman in her own right – owns Eilean Shona, an island in the rather less sunny West Highlands. And when it comes to bragging rights over their private islands, Ms Branson is happy to boast: mine’s bigger than yours.
Furthermore, her island is about to feature in a new TV series about exotic holiday destinations.
The hotelier bought Eilean Shona, where author JM Barrie wrote the screenplay for Peter Pan, for £1.3 million in 1995.
That sum dwarfed the £50,000 Sir Richard, 71, forked out for his own private island in 1978.
Ms Branson said: ‘We laugh about this. I think there is a sibling rivalry between us. They are both islands but mine is bigger than his and, obviously, they are so different.’
At 1,300 acres, Ms Branson’s ‘fantasy island’ in Loch Moidart is indeed far larger than her brother’s 74-acre paradise.
‘You can’t really compare the islands,’ she said. ‘Swimming in the Caribbean is obviously just gorgeous and we swim there a lot, but also we do a lot of swimming at Eilean Shona as well. The coldwater swimming is very good.
‘There’s no plastic, no televisions and we haven’t got any cars or planes going overhead. You turn up to my beach and there’s no music and parties, just a cuckoo or something calling in the distance. It’s sublime.’
Ms Branson says she and her brother love being on the island and are proud of their Scottish family connections: their paternal grandmother, Joyce Mona Bailey, was born at Invergloy House on the banks of Loch Lochy, Invernessshire, in 1890, and their maternal grandmother, Dorothy Constance Jenkins, was born in Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, in 1898.
‘Richard absolutely loves Eilean Shona,’ Ms Branson said. ‘Not so long ago we had a family gathering up there.
‘You can’t not love it. There’s no light pollution. You are just in the wilderness and that’s very rare to find that now. It’s definitely not a resort.’
Having spent 27 years managing the land and restoring the crofts, a main house and cottages, keen environmentalist Ms Branson added: ‘It’s a continual upkeep of the infrastructures, not an inexpensive thing. It hurts every time you write a cheque.’
Eilean Shona will feature in a forthcoming Channel 4 series, Extraordinary Escapes, presented by Sandi Toksvig.
Viewers will learn about the island and its properties that can be rented for between £1,000 a week and £18,000 for six days.
● Channel 4’s Extraordinary Escapes begins weekly on Thursday at 9pm with all six programmes available on All4 immediately.