Nocturnal 
A couple have swapped newsroom deadlines for sheep and cattle after landing jobs as the new farmers on one of Wales’s most remote islands – and in doing so, they’ve doubled its year-round population.
Georgina Rannard and Gwyndaf Hughes are leaving Cardiff to take over farming duties on Ynys Enlli, also known as Bardsey Island, off the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd. The pair successfully applied through a competitive recruitment process run by the Bardsey Island Trust, which owns and manages the island.
Enlli is a National Nature Reserve and Europe’s first Dark Sky Sanctuary, but it’s also a place with no electricity, no shops, no schools and no cars. Reaching it means a ferry crossing of the notoriously choppy Bardsey Sound. Water comes from a handful of springs, washing is done by hand and the toilets are composting.
Despite all that, the island supports a small but close-knit Welsh-speaking community, and its tiny population means even one new household can transform it. According to the Bardsey Island Trust, the farming tenants are the island’s only truly permanent, year-round residents, with bird and accommodation wardens living there for much of the year too.
From camera crews to cattle
Gwyndaf grew up on the Llŷn Peninsula and helped out on his grandparents’ farm as a child, but spent years working as a news camera operator before this move. Georgina, who was born and raised in Liverpool, is an experienced science journalist who has lived in Wales since 2021 and has been learning Welsh.
“Swapping the camera for coastal farming is a big shift, but it feels right,” Gwyndaf said. “We’re both eager to get stuck in, looking after the sheep and cattle and helping to keep Enlli’s unique culture, landscape and wildlife thriving.”
Georgina said years spent reporting on climate and science issues had shown her “how vital it is to protect the natural world”, adding: “I’m excited about getting my hands dirty to help conserve this unique island’s environment.”
The couple will look after around 200 sheep and 25 Welsh Black cattle, with conservation grazing helping to protect the island’s internationally important seabird colonies and rare habitats.
Why it matters
They’re taking over from Gareth and Meriel Roberts, who have farmed the island for roughly 20 years. Gareth has known Enlli since 1973, when his father worked there as a part-time pot fisherman, and has agreed to mentor the new tenants during a handover period.
“The time has come to pass over the responsibilities, and also pleasure, of carrying out the day to day duties of farming on Enlli,” Gareth said. “It’s been a privilege to have been part of the fabric of the island for most of my adult life.”
A Bardsey Island Trust spokesperson earlier described the role as an “opportunity of a lifetime”, saying the Trust had specifically hoped to find Welsh speakers given the language remains central to everyday life on the island.
The arrival of Georgina and Gwyndaf comes as the island’s new full-time wardens, Aron Llwyd and Lois Roberts, complete their first season, and as the Bardsey Island Trust rolls out a new five-year strategy for the island’s future.
What happens next
The couple are now preparing for the practical realities of island life, from hand-washing laundry to relying on solar lights and springs for water. The Trust has said there will be support available for the new tenants as they settle into the role and adjust to a community where, even after this change, the population barely reaches double figures.
