Entire 1,500-acre Scottish island to see 'robust' deer management in rewilding plan

Owners plans to sell island produce, including venison and seaweed.

A Scottish island is to see robust deer management under new plans to rewild the 1,500 islet.

The island of Ronay, located off the south-east coast of North Uist in the southern part of the Outer Hebrides, is home to the remains of ancient settlements and saw communities living off seaweed harvesting in times gone by.

It was bought in 2023 by Edinburgh-based brand company Carlowrie Group, which has plans to “increase biodiversity and revitalise the natural environment” of the island.

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Ronay island is set for rewilding plan | Supplied

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The team behind the rewilding initiative claim Ronay has limited seed sources, has been overgrazed by herbivores and shows minimal signs of “natural regeneration” - the growth of vegetation without human interference.

A “robust” deer management plan is part of the plans, the company said, to “aid in the restoration of natural habitats.” Some conservationists believe deer, which are sometimes spotted swimming between Ronay and other nearby islands, hinder rewilding projects because they eat young trees among other types of vegetation.

In the future, the company plans to make a range of Ronay Island products, including seaweed and venison.

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Already, this year’s Scottish Chef of the Year David Millar, who works at the company’s Carlowrie Castle, a luxury events venue near Edinburgh, serves Ronay venison to guests. Meanwhile, the castle’s head gardener Alex Knubley has been exploring the benefits of the nutrient-rich Ronay seaweed as fertiliser on the estate.

Carlowrie Group said it has the support for the rewilding move from the Uist community. Partners in the project include Northwoods Rewilding Network, RePlanet, and a purposely-formed steering committee of local stakeholders which includes the owners of local accommodation and tourism business Langass Lodge, the operators of local wildlife tour company Lady Anne Wildlife Cruises and the founder of Love Gaelic language courses.

Andrew Marshall, co-owner of Ronay Island and founder of Carlowrie Group, said: “We’re taking a multi-generational approach to caring for the land and have partnered with a range of organisations and individuals to support our mission. We know this is not a matter of “winding back the clock”, but is an opportunity to create a resilient, species-rich island that will benefit all, long past our own lifetimes.”

Andrew Marshall, co-owner of Ronay Island and founder of Carlowrie Group | Carlowrie Group

He said this summer, the team will undergo extensive surveys to gain a comprehensive understanding of the island’s current state of biodiversity.

Mr Marshall added: “There is a lot of potential to increase the existing biodiversity on Ronay Island, and we can already see nature attempting to make a comeback despite many years of extensive grazing, but it will need human intervention to help these natural processes thrive.”

The name Ronay is Norse in origin (hraun-ey) meaning “rough island.”

According to a field survey of the island, carried out between 2015 and 2018 by Grimsay resident David Newman, who wrote a short book about the island, Ronay is home to “exceptional wildlife.”

Mr Newman said Ronay's name is presumably because of the island’s rugged appearance in relation to the comparatively low lying and smooth terrain of the surrounding areas.

Writing in the Ronay field survey paper, he said the island’s ruggedness reflects the fact that the island straddles part of the north-south line of rocks rendered exceptionally resistant to erosion by movement on the Outer Hebrides Thrust Zone - a major geological fault line that runs along the eastern edge of the islands marking the boundary between the Hebridean terrane and the Northern Highlands terrane.