Island paradise awaits for someone after that get-away-from-it-all job

IT COULD be the ideal job for someone wanting to escape the pressures of 21st-century life – running one of the remotest guest houses in the UK.

The idyllic island of Canna, population 12, is owned by the National Trust of Scotland (NTS), and the last time it advertised for tenants for Tighard Guest House, there more than 350 replies from around the world.

Stewart Connor, of the NTS, described the job as “a unique proposition for people who enjoy hard work and want to live in one of the loveliest of settings possible”.

The two-storey villa, with spectacular views over the Sound of Canna to Rum, attracts up to 300 guests, who arrive by private yacht, cruise charter or non-car passenger ferry from Mallaig, during the summer season.

The westernmost of the Small Isles archipelago in the Inner Hebrides is five miles long and a mile wide, and it is home to one of Scotland’s most important seabird colonies.

Mr Connor said: “Tighard Guest House is an important part of Canna’s economy and whoever takes on this challenge will be central to a successful tourist and visitor experience.”

Previous tenants Sheila Gunn and John Clare, who took over in 2007, blame NTS rules on buying property and land for their decision to quit. Ms Gunn, who now runs a guest house on the nearby island of Eigg, said she could not comment as they had been “gagged by the NTS” from speaking about the issue under the terms of their lease.