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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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Open Country: Eilean Shona

Eilean Shona

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Eilean Shona

Eilean Shona, once a Highland crofting island, now a nature reserve and holiday retreat

Helen Mark explores  Eilean Shona, an island on the West Coast of Scotland - once a crofting community but now a holiday destination, an artists' retreat and a nature reserve.

Eilean Shona, a small wooded island in Loch Moidart, on the West Coast of Scotland, is owned by Vanessa Branson, sister of Richard. 

Over many years she has restored deserted crofters' cottages, the schoolhouse and the Big House, replanting trees and managing the wildlife.  It's famed for a unique collection of pine trees planted in the 19th century by a former owner, Captain Thomas Swinburne.  Vanessa runs artists workshops and retreats as well as a holiday business. The island has a famous literary connection with J.M Barrie who is reputed to have written the screen play for 'Peter Pan' while staying there.

Vanessa tells Helen Mark that living in such a remote, exposed part of the UK has made her much more conscious of the threat of climate change.  She talks about the growing number of severe winter storms and dry hot summers which are increasing the risks of tree diseases and forest fires. 

Vanessa says she is very conscious of controversies over Scottish land ownership and describes herself and her family as Eilean Shona's 'custodians', preserving and looking after the environment and respecting its past.  She believes it also has a valuable role as a cultural centre where writers, artists and film makers can work.  

James MacLellan, grew up on Eilean Shona.  His family worked there for generations and he recalls being the only pupil in the island's school.   He remembers helping his father when it was a working estate and he talks about the pressure on families living in tied cottages.  

Jonty and Sarah Watt have recently given up their commuter lifestyle in the south of England to become the island's estate managers. They talk about the challenge and attraction of moving from Sussex to the Hebrides.

Presented by Helen Mark
Produced by Kathleen Carragher

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