‘Woofers’ win right to croft on forbidden island of Rum

AFTER travelling around Britain in a 30-year-old campervan for nine months, a family from Sussex are to put down roots on the island of Rum where they plan to run a croft.

Ady Goddard, his wife Nic and their children, Davies, 11, and Scarlett, nine, applied to the Isle of Rum Community Trust for one of the crofts that became available after the community buyout of part of the Hebridean island three years ago.

The family has been looking for a place to settle after spending nine months moving around the country as part of a network of WWOOFers – Willing Workers On Organic Farms. On their travels they spent time on Skye and community-owned Eigg, where they heard about the search for crofters to move to Rum to boost the population and stimulate the economy.

The Goddards have now had their croft application approved and will soon move to the island which is 16 miles from the mainland.

The first croft was given to an island family, and interviews were held two weeks ago to allocate the second croft, which lies to the west of the village of Kinloch and has views across the National Nature Reserve.

Sean Morris, one of the Isle of Rum Community Trusts’ directors, said: “Nic and Ady are incredibly enthusiastic about moving to Rum, and have not been put off by the logistical challenges posed by life on a remote island, or by the hard work that will be involved.

“They convinced us that they have some really good, innovative ideas, but that their feet are firmly on the ground and they are aware of the tough realities of island life. They seem to have a good network of contacts, and hopefully this will be beneficial to the whole community.”

The Goddards have been writing a blog about their search for a different way of living.

Mrs Goddard, who previously worked in retail management and marketing, said: “I believe everything we have been doing over the last year has been leading up to this. Over the last ten years we have been moving away from conventional life towards self-sufficiency. We had ideas of an idyllic life but we wanted to see for ourselves what it would be like so we could go into it with our eyes open.”

While most of Rum is owned by Scottish Natural Heritage, the village of Kinloch is run by the Isle of Rum Community Trust on behalf of the around 30-strong population. The island, known as “the forbidden isle” attracts around 8,000 visitors a year, most of whom come to see wildlife and Kinloch Castle, which Prince Charles is trying to restore. The island is famous for its red deer and sea eagles.