[majestic music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: We are an island nation.

♪ ♪ Scattered around our coastline are hundreds of them.

Most are tiny.

[wave crashes] SUE LOUGHRAN: I always like the evening light.

NARRATOR: They are home to unique communities, a mix of wildlife and people.

[bell tolling] Many are remote, majestic-- [birds cawing] EILEEN THOMSON: I mean, it's gorgeous.

Who wouldn't want to spend their summers here?

NARRATOR: --with breathtaking landscapes.

WEZ SWAIN: It's just fantastic.

There's just so much to see, just from this one viewpoint.

NARRATOR: Some are steeped in history and traditions, communities living very different lives from those most of us know.

BEN PORTER: It's hard not to be inspired by nature when it's so in your face as it is here.

It's just beautiful light at this time of day.

NARRATOR: This is the story of life on our tiny islands.

[bird cawing] [wave crashing] [lively music] ♪ ♪ Many people living on tiny islands share their space with the natural world.

[bird cawing] This is certainly true of Bardsey Island, which is a designated nature reserve with a world-renowned bird observatory.

As late as the 19th century, 140 people lived here.

Now, there is just a handful.

They share their lives with 200 gray seals and tens of thousands of birds, who use the island as a stopping off point in migration and as a breeding ground.

But what makes Bardsey different to many other Welsh islands is that it's also a working island.

There may be no cars, paved roads or many indoor toilets, but the people who live here work hard to maintain a sustainable way of life.

You'll find Bardsey just down from Anglesey, off the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in Northwest Wales.

It's just one and a half miles long and half a mile wide, with a year-round population of three.

This is boosted by six more residents who come to live here each year in early spring.

One of these is Gareth.

GARETH ROBERTS: Hill or marsh?

Hill or marsh?

I've known the island most of my life.

I was brought up just opposite the island on the mainland.

It was a progression, really, from loving the island to actually trying to do something here myself.

[cow moos] [sheep bleat] All right, well, we're off to see the cows now.

Well, we need to find the cows.

That's the first thing.

Somebody from the observatory has just been on the phone to say that they come out of the fields they're supposed to be.

I don't know how or why somebody left the gate open or they've smashed the fence.

We'll see in a minute.

I have no idea where the cows are going to be, so I'm getting a bit old to walk.

So I think we need the quad this time to find them.

[engine turns over] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Gareth is employed by the Bardsey Trust who own the island.

His job is to farm in a way that protects Bardsey's rich biodiversity.

♪ ♪ GARETH ROBERTS: It's very, very different to farming on the mainland.

On the mainland, you're trying to make the land create milk, meat, corn, whatever it is.

Whereas here, the produce is totally different.

The animals are here to manage the vegetation.

We're trying to get that balance with nature and farming.

As to what scale we can do that countrywide is another matter.

♪ ♪ [sheep bleats] I will call them in Welsh, because these are Welsh cows, not English cows, so they won't understand the English words, so.

[speaking welsh] [cow moos] Ah, yeah.

Oh, well, that didn't work.

Back to the cowboy job.

[engine turns over] [engine humming, revving] Come on!

[speaking welsh] [cows mooing] In this wetland area we have in the middle of the island, the grazing action of cows is much preferred to the sheep.

[cow moos] Sheep and cattle graze in a different way.

The sheep are very selective feeders.

And they nibble away and they pick something nice here and something nice there and something nice there, whereas cows graze with their tongues, so they just rasp everything in front of them.

There are lots of different wetland plants growing here, so sheep would just nibble out the nicer ones.

So the cows need to be in this area.

And the sheep don't need to be in this area.

I haven't found the problem yet, whether it's a gate open or fences down or whatever, but that's my next job.

[engine humming] NARRATOR: While Gareth tends to his cows, his wife, Meriel, manages the rest of the farm.

[chickens clucking] GARETH ROBERTS: We just happened to meet through the Young Farmers when we were younger.

All went on from there, really.

MERIEL ROBERTS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and a duck egg.

Not bad at all for the amount of chickens we've got.

NARRATOR: Meriel's main job is running the island's shop and cafe.

Thank you.

[welsh] NARRATOR: Bardsey gets around 3,000 visitors a year, which gives Meriel plenty of work.

But it sometimes gives her husband a bit of a headache.

GARETH ROBERTS: The culprits.

Hook's come off the gate here for some reason.

Can't see the cows will have opened that, because the cows are that side.

So it must have been somebody walking, I suppose, or-- yeah, these things happen here.

How it is.

[engine turns over] [engine humming] [soft piano music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Down in the south of Wales is the island of Flat Holm.

Seven and a half miles from Cardiff in the middle of the Bristol Channel, Flat Holm is under half a mile long and wide, with a seasonal population of one warden and up to five volunteers.

♪ ♪ Flat Holm may be in sight of South Wales, but it feels very different from its mainland neighbor.

Over the years, it's provided isolation from cholera outbreaks and defense in the Second World War.

Some of the bunkers are still here.

Today, it's a nature reserve for a large colony of protected seagulls, looked after each season by a warden and volunteers-- one of which is Megan.

It's the first time ever she's lived on an island.

And getting used to life with no shops hasn't been easy.

MEGAN ROBERTS: Being here kind of changes the way that you sort of approach life.

Like, everything we've got here, we kind of have to last it out.

Supplies can be somewhat difficult.

We pretty much bring as much as we can onto the island with us when we get here.

So we're off once a month.

We're so tidal here that it makes it really difficult to get on and off the island.

We have quite narrow windows during the day that you can get boats to land here.

And sometimes those windows are not in hours that anyone is gonna be reasonably expected to be awake.

It is difficult, which is why we just try and get as much-- like, everything that we need just on with us when we're coming on and off the island.

Just over here, you can see the main solar grid for the-- for the farmhouse.

This is like where most of our power comes from.

We have diesel generators for backup.

We try not to use them too much.

Although, we do rely on them a lot more heavily in the winter.

It is very different being off grid.

You don't realize how much power certain, sort of, day-to-day tasks take.

You do have to be careful.

If it's a gray morning and you go put the kettle on for your morning cup of coffee, then that can be enough to trip the system.

Sometimes you do think, oh, it would be nice to be back on the mainland.

It could just be so easy.

But it's just kind of a part of island life, you know?

NARRATOR: Flat Holm volunteers work for six months of the year, helping the seagull colony by looking after the island's habitat.

♪ ♪ The first stop for most, including Megan today, is the tool shed.

And even this has its own backstory.

♪ ♪ MEGAN ROBERTS: It's pretty cool here, actually, 'cause this is one of the old Moncrieff gun pits, and it's been converted into this workshop space for us.

♪ ♪ This island has had many uses over the years.

We've got evidence that there was early human settlements here, you know, in the sixth century.

Religious people came here for a meditative retreats.

Right now, we're stood in a bunker that was used in the Second World War.

We're the latest iteration of the story of Flat Holm.

♪ ♪ So today, we've got some litter picks here.

We're just gonna have a little look around on the beach, tackle some of our plastic pollution.

I came to Flat Holm because I wanted to get some more experience in conservation work and wildlife management, working outdoors.

I love nature.

I love everything being alive around me.

And that's definitely something you get working on Flat Holm.

[bird cawing] So we're just coming down to West Beach now.

Strangely enough, that's on the west side of the island.

It's quite a nice little spot to relax.

We've been known to have beach fires down here.

And currently, we've got a few gulls chilling out on the rocks.

The gulls are like a constant presence here, just hearing them chattering away.

You don't do a job without having a seagull looking over your shoulder.

♪ ♪ [birds cawing] We've got a large colony of lesser black back gulls, and we've also got herring gulls, both of which are in decline, both of which are protected.

[bird cawing] We're right in the middle of the Bristol Channel, close to several large cities.

So there's a lot of rubbish ends up right here.

It just gets washed straight up onto the beach.

The gulls do eat a lot of rubbish.

They'll eat plastic waste.

And it's really not good for them.

♪ ♪ Because they nest here, we see the effect slightly differently.

We've seen chicks that they're not making it, and they do just seem to be suffering effects of essentially starvation.

♪ ♪ It is sad.

I know most people aren't great lovers of seagulls, but I think they have just as much of a right to be here as we do.

And seeing them starve is not pleasant.

NARRATOR: All down the west coast of Scotland are a set of islands known as the Hebrides.

Northwest of the mainland, the remotest islands are known as the Outer Hebrides.

They form a chain linked by a causeway.

The Outer Hebrides run from Lewis in the North to Barra in the South.

Eriskay sits between Barra and South Uist, a tiny island with a population of around 200.

But the island has a global reputation far beyond its size.

Their Football Club, Eriskay FC, is famous because their ground has been named by FIFA as one of the eight most remarkable places to play football in the world.

♪ ♪ This week is the fixture the whole island waits for, a clash with island neighbors to the south, Barra.

There's about 18 hours until kickoff.

And the team are out making final preparations.

Cherry, the manager, is desperate to take his club to the top of the Uist and Barra league.

CHERRY MACAULEY: We're third in the league just now, so a win tomorrow, there's a couple of points off the top, so.

I've got to start laying the pitch for the big match tomorrow.

And there's a few holes to fill and a bit of mess to clean up.

Begins with S, but I can't say the word.

[sheep bleat] [rumbling, squeaking] NARRATOR: It will be a busy weekend for the island's only pub, too, the AM Politician, run by the team's captain, Stephen.

STEPHEN CAMPBELL: Most people play for the, kind of, local team.

There's nobody from Eriskay who kind of plays for anybody else.

If you're from Eriskay, then you play for Eriskay and that's it.

NARRATOR: Stephen's wife, Julia, is currently on maternity leave.

She's out walking with their daughter, Lucy.

JULIA CAMPBELL: She likes watching, like, all the birds and everything.

So many birds around and the sheep and the horses.

And then there's a new wee foal on the island, so she likes seeing that.

It's a great community here.

Everyone will look out for you.

Stephen, being captain of the team, it's a lot of work when you're trying to run a business as well.

He's in the pub 14 hours a day, 7 days, and then trying to organize the football team.

And it's tough on him, but he makes it work.

[waves crash] It means the world to him, I think.

STEPHEN CAMPBELL: The football team is a massive part of the community.

We have people asking us through the week, who are you playing this weekend?

Where are you playing?

Can we come up and watch?

Social media has totally taken off.

You have people enquiring about live streams and where can they buy our tops from, kind of, all over the world.

JULIA CAMPBELL: They're very competitive.

They take it very seriously.

But it's like island pride.

They want to win for the island.

It's like, if they don't, they know the old guys will be saying, oh, we won back in the day and we did this.

There's a lot of pressure on them, though, 'cause everyone's watching and everyone's willing them to do well.

[chalker rumbling, squeaking] [lively music] NARRATOR: It's matchday.

And the ferry bringing players and supporters from Barra has arrived.

This is a fixture as hard fought as any derby in the Premier League.

♪ ♪ Though the trappings of fame might be a little different.

♪ ♪ For the next few hours, Stephen is no longer pub landlord.

He's a captain of Eriskay FC.

STEPHEN CAMPBELL: We're really proud of the fact that we've got our own football pitch, 'cause the rest of the teams all play on council pitches.

People moan that it's kind of a wee bit bumpy and it's a wee bit on a slope and stuff like that.

But it's 11 guys against 11 playing on a patch of grass.

So what more do you need for a game of football?

NARRATOR: Barra, who are playing in red and black, are not so sure.

You've got to take one look at it, man.

Full of rabbit holes-- [laughter] Full of rabbit holes and sheep, man.

We'll be coming off caked in it later on.

A goalkeeper's nightmare.

BARRA FC PLAYER: We've got the corner over here.

If you hit the ball in straight, it's at head height, so that's pretty mad.

In the middle of the park here, we've got this lump.

And obviously, it's sloping up towards this goal here.

So if you're running and tackles are coming, it's difficult trying to keep control of the ball and running uphill, trying to judge everything.

But like that, it's good.

I like it.

CHERRY MACAULEY: A win today, guys, we're back up in this league.

It's a must-win, guys.

Big, big effort, OK?

[lively music] NARRATOR: Not all of the United Kingdom's tiny islands are inhabited, but they still play a vital role in our lives.

One such island is located in the Blackwater Estuary in Essex.

It's a tiny island called Northey that shrinks and grows with the tide.

♪ ♪ The tidal salt marshes surrounding the island make it such an important place, even though for twice a day, they're largely underwater.

Claire is a project manager for the National Trust.

Her favorite days are when Northey is her office.

CLAIRE WARD: This is the causeway.

It's tidal access only, which means you can only access it at certain points of the day when it's not covered by the tide.

And some days, it's just not accessible and you just learn to work around that.

It's really nice coming to Northey.

I like looking out across the mudflats, seeing the birds feeding.

It's a really nice change of pace from being in the office, coming here.

You can kind of disconnect from that quite a lot.

♪ ♪ [whooshing] It is about 80% salt marsh.

Salt marsh is a really neat habitat.

It's a collection of plants that really like salt water.

It's hard to imagine at the moment, as it's low tide.

But when the tide comes in, it comes all the way up to not far from where I'm standing.

And then all of this will be, if not completely covered, then the majority is covered by salt water.

Salt marsh is formed in areas that are low energy coastal areas.

So when there isn't huge, fast tides rushing in and out, it allows sediment or mud to be laid down by the tide.

And gradually, the height of that builds and builds and builds until it reaches a point where salt marsh plants start to grow.

The salt marsh isn't able to cope that the rate that sea level is predicted to rise.

So it's really important that the work we're doing is allowing the salt marsh to naturally move inland and find new space to grow.

It's got so many benefits for society.

It's a natural flood management system.

As the tide comes in, it really slows it down and takes the energy out of the tide and can absorb huge amounts of water into all of its creeks and in amongst the vegetation.

It's also amazing at capturing carbon.

It captures carbon in the mud and in the root system and keeps it locked up, which is obviously something that's really vital, particularly at this point in time.

[rumbling] A lot noisier than it normally is, at the moment.

We've got a major coastal adaptation project taking place to help future-proof the island.

So we're thinking about the changes that we're gonna see in the future and how we can really work with nature to help the salt marsh habitat kind of thrive amidst those changes.

[striking music] ♪ ♪ At the moment, we're doing some work on the main track along the island.

So the track has started to crack and started to slip and slide kind of towards the estuary.

So we're doing work at the moment to stop that happening and keep everything in place and to kind of stop the erosion taking place.

This salt marsh is about 10% of the entire salt marsh area in the Blackwater Estuary.

So it's really vital that we help protect it and we help care for it.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ We have a few trail cams in place around the island.

And they capture wildlife or a movement on the camera.

We do capture a lot of waving grass, as you can see.

So it takes a bit of time going through them.

Oh, there was something there, something flying across the camera.

Not sure I'll ever be able to identify what that is.

We have footage of a fox at night.

And he's just walking across this grass and salt marsh here.

And he's sniffing through the grass to see what he can find.

It's only a short clip.

And then he disappears off camera.

[upbeat music] So all of this area here will be salt marsh in about a hundred years.

So we should get about another 10 hectares.

It makes me feel really proud to be doing this work.

It feels really important.

It has real value.

And even if people don't know about it, it benefits them.

♪ ♪ [serene music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: When you live in a world surrounded by sea, the tides have a massive effect on your day.

Bardsey Island sits off the Llyn Peninsula in Wales.

This is where Gareth farms his sheep and cows for nine months a year.

But islanders don't usually have just one job.

And Gareth is no exception.

[engine humming] Like lots of people on Bardsey before him, if the tides and currents allow, he swaps his quad for his boat and heads out lobster fishing.

GARETH ROBERTS: The name of the island in Welsh is Ynys Enlli, so it's the island in the flow-- I suppose, in the flow of the sea.

NARRATOR: Gareth has been waiting all day to go out.

But right now, the conditions are perfect.

The catch will be sold to a merchant and to visitors in his wife Meriel's cafe.

Tomorrow, the island's chaplain has ordered a set of lobster dinners.

GARETH ROBERTS: Oh!

NARRATOR: So Gareth needs to collect the biggest he can find.

GARETH ROBERTS: Spider crabs.

Spider crab.

There are two of us lobstering on the island.

We go around them once a day, weather permitting.

One for me.

We take the lobsters off to sell.

Every Monday, usually, the merchant comes to buy them.

This one is too small.

It's under the minimum size.

It's way under the minimum size, that one.

95% of the lobsters we catch here will be exported all over the world.

We're not very far out here.

We're out in the bay a quarter of a mile out, not much more than that.

These pots are parlor pots.

You put bait under the bungee.

That draws them in.

They find that they get trapped.

And then they escape into the parlor.

And then the parlor has got a mesh entrance that opens, but it is more difficult to get out of.

[engine whirring] I just like to see the pots coming up, for that anticipation of, oh, what might be in this one again?

And then it's empty.

[laughing] [birds chirping] It's hard work, but it's a lovely feeling.

You've got a nice sea breeze on your skin.

You see the island from a different perspective going around.

And we see the dolphins, the seals.

[soft music] It's really nice to be part of nature out there, I suppose.

♪ ♪ It has been a business of Bardsey to fish for lobsters for many, many years.

It's been part of the tradition of the island.

It's very, very important that it's kept.

And I'd very much like to try and ensure that the waters around the island sort of belong to the island and are respected by people.

Too small.

Too small.

Bound to be too small as well that one, isn't it?

That is exactly on the size.

We're careful not to overfish the area.

I only put 80 pots at the maximum.

You can put hundreds and hundreds of pots.

Legislation doesn't stop you.

But then again, you'll catch everything that's here.

And you just-- the effort you have to go into to make a living, you-- it's like being on a treadmill more and more and more and more pots, more and more cost, bigger boats.

You're just getting nowhere.

You're just-- you're keeping the banks going at the end of the day.

So we're respecting the waters here, conserving the lobsters, so that we have something that we can crop, that we can look after.

♪ ♪ Well, that's the last one for today.

♪ ♪ It's a slack time on the lobsters now.

Lots of them are molting.

They're in their holes.

They're growing, getting bigger for me.

So yeah, in about a month, six weeks, they'll pick up.

They'll catch much better then.

I've got enough for the cafe.

That's the main thing, to keep Meriel happy.

It pays to keep the cook happy.

[birds chirping] ♪ ♪ [lively music] NARRATOR: 315 miles away on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, the much-anticipated clash with the neighboring island, Barra, is about to start.

[chatter] James and Ollie.

James sometimes plays midfield.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Captain Stephen knows a win would put Eriskay ahead of Barra in the league.

He also knows there's a global audience, after FIFA ranked their pitch as one of the most remarkable places to play football in the world.

And he knows it's gonna be a tough match, especially as he's missing key players.

STEPHEN CAMPBELL: We never seem to have the same team two weeks in a row because there's kind of guys that do different jobs.

There's boys that work kind of offshore that go away for, like, a month or five weeks at a time.

There's guys that work on the ferries.

They work kind of two weeks on, two weeks off.

Myself, who runs the pub, so if it's some kind of super busy night where I can't get away.

It's really challenging making sure you've got 11 guys every week, let alone the same 11 or 12 or 13 guys every week.

Don't give them any time on the ball, no time at all.

It's got to be tight and sharp.

And then when we do win the ball, we push out as a unit, yeah?

Boys, we're straight up to the halfway line as soon as we can, yeah?

[clapping] Yeah.

Good fight here.

STEPHEN CAMPBELL: It's really important to people who play, the people-- like, who likes losing at anything?

So this is no different.

It's-- it's really important to everyone who's playing.

It's really important to the island.

See, there's a few people here watching us.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: While Stephen frets on the pitch, back in the pub, his mother-in-law Margaret and sister Emma are getting ready for the much anticipated post-match celebrations.

It's always-- it's always good game between Eriskay and Barra, and the boys all take it quite seriously.

STEPHEN CAMPBELL: The football team was founded by a priest in Eriskay in the early 1950s.

There used to be a Sunday Football League.

Everyone would go to church in the morning, and then football in the afternoon on Sundays.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: It's a hard fought game and Eriskay have had their chances.

But just before halftime, Barra score.

[cheering] BARRA FC PLAYER: Come on!

[cheering] [whistle blowing] Come, lads.

ERISKAY PLAYER: It's the same goal all the time, guys.

Just stop.

We're waiting for the ball to come to us, guys.

We've got to-- we've got to attack these balls.

CAMERAMAN: Steve, how's it going?

Well, terrible.

We're losing 1-0.

Come on.

ERISKAY PLAYER: James.

NARRATOR: The game is slipping away-- REF: Penalty.

NARRATOR: But then Eriskay get a penalty, a chance to equalize.

♪ ♪ [yelling] Then another penalty, but this time, for Barra.

♪ ♪ [cheering] [onfield player chatter] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [cheering] NARRATOR: It's all over.

Final score Barra 2, Eriskay 0.

ERISKAY PLAYER: Unlucky game.

COACH: Losing is never easy, but when you don't do the simple things right, then it's even worse.

You've got no one else but yourself to blame.

We just weren't good enough and it's a really sore one to take, especially in our home game.

All right, I'll see you guys later.

Cheers, Campbell.

NARRATOR: It may not be the result Stephen hoped for, but back in the pub, he and his wife Julia have created a warm welcome for everyone.

JULIA CAMPBELL: Poor Stephen.

I don't think he's very happy.

They'll win the next one, so they'll be happy then.

The next one against Barra will be for the CalMac Cup, so that will be a very good game.

I'm telling everybody, you're putting up the win.

There's always a lot of shouting on the pitch, but they're fine in the pub.

They kind of talk it out.

♪ # # ♪ STEPHEN CAMPBELL: It's good to know that you can create an atmosphere where people can come and enjoy themselves and mix together.

And it's brilliant to know that your hard work is paying off kind of thing.

Barra boys will all be heading off probably ferries about 20 past, half past 4:00.

So they'll all be slowly traipsing their way into planes, trains, and automobiles to get back up to the ferry.

They all had a good day out because they're going home with the 3 points, so yeah.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Bardsey may well be renowned for its nature, but it's also been long regarded as a sacred holy island.

It only sits two miles off the coast of North West Wales, but its difficult currents have always made it feel cut off from the mainland.

Celtic druids built a monastery here in the sixth century, and in the 13th century, an abbey was established.

Thousands of worshippers still travel here for retreats and pilgrimages, but today, part of the draw is also Meriel's cooking.

GUESTS: May we come home rejoicing, grateful for the gifts we will have received.

NARRATOR: Tonight, the island's chaplain and four of his guests have ordered the prized dish from Meriel's menu, freshly caught lobster.

Today, Gareth is no longer farmer or fisherman, he's Meriel's assistant chef.

Lots of meat in the tail here.

That's the main piece, the tail.

We're cleaning the lobster and presenting it in the shell for the customer.

Meriel's on the crabs.

Can be quite slow at times.

GARETH ROBERTS: We self-taught here, so I hope you don't get all these fancy TV chefs writing in to say we're doing it wrong.

This is how we do it, but I would love to see how they do it.

Tools of the trade, rolling pin.

[banging] ♪ ♪ Like any job, it's something you want to do and finish and get on to the next job.

There's never enough time, is there?

CAMERAMAN: Even on an island?

Even on the-- oh, on an island, there's less time.

Because anything you need to do here is more difficult.

On an island, life is harder, not easier.

That's why a lot of islands are struggling to keep people.

That's a problem.

No, we're not doing a very good job here.

You were asking if it's relaxing?

When it's like this, it's quite stressful.

And there we are.

That piece has come out successfully.

Not a total failure, I suppose.

There we are.

That's the best I can do with that one, and into the tray it goes.

NARRATOR: After a day of contemplation taking in the island's unique sense of peace, the chaplain and his guests have gathered to enjoy some more of nature's bounty in Meriel's cafe.

The lobsters are in the oven warming up to get the garlic butter to melt through it.

CAMERAMAN: Smells amazing.

Yeah, it does smell nice, doesn't it?

It's quite rewarding, especially when i can give them fresh lobster straight from the sea and they've never tasted anything like it before.

[soft piano music] ♪ ♪ Here we are.

Whoa.

Woo!

That looks amazing.

Wow.

CAMERAMAN: That's a nice reaction there, wasn't it?

Yes, very.

They seemed happy.

We'll see what they say when they've eaten it.

Hope we still get the same reaction.

♪ ♪ GARETH ROBERTS: Thank goodness, yes, everything went all right, and I didn't trip on the way down, which is a blessing.

I don't know what's going to happen.

One of these days it's bound to happen, isn't it?

Wow, look at this, folks.

Isn't that amazing?

You can't get fresher than that.

No.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: In South Wales, the island of Flat Holm sits just 7 and 1/2 miles from Cardiff in the Bristol Channel.

But despite being so close to a major city, it feels very far away.

Flat Holm island is a nature reserve and a seagull colony.

♪ ♪ But this weekend, volunteer conservationist Megan has been asked by the island's warden, Simon, to get Flat Holm ready for another activity.

♪ ♪ MEGAN ROBERTS: We've got a slightly different visitor group coming today.

We've got a meditative retreat.

We're just sort of getting things ready, making sure the island is welcoming.

So we've not had one of these before, so it's quite different.

We've usually just got sort of day visitors, and they're gonna be staying for the-- sort of the whole weekend, so it's, like, a bit different.

♪ ♪ As far back as the sixth century, this place was used for meditative retreats.

It's got a long history of being used to get away from it all.

♪ ♪ It's a really good way to make use of a place whilst, you know, letting it be everything that it is.

It's kind of embracing the wildness and the isolation that kind of makes this place special.

GUIDE: So other things just to be aware of-- we've got loads of rabbits on the island.

Just be careful when you're walking around because you might trip into rabbit holes.

They're everywhere.

The gulls are really good at the moment, so most of them have gone, so it's a lot more peaceful.

There's a few chicks that have not quite left.

Just be aware that the parents might be around and just don't linger too long around them.

But to be honest, they're very, very chill now, so it shouldn't be any problems with the gulls.

♪ ♪ Let's go.

She's up, she's up.

She has risen.

NARRATOR: Running the retreat this week is Kerry Sanson, a holistic health coach from Llantrisant in South Wales.

KERRY SANSON: People now are really looking for somewhere they can go and disconnect from life.

Life's just getting so busy, so fast, and we forget then to connect to nature and connect to ourselves.

[gulls cawing] Bend at the knees and slowly coming up and make a figure of eight with the hands as you come up.

So bend the knees as if you trace in a figure of eight.

It's a very protective symbol, the figure of eight.

Physically detaching from the mainland so it's just you and the elements is a really, really great way to be present.

Draw your hands up the sides of the legs.

So we're tracing the meridian up beside the legs.

Coming here really helps people to be here now and not think about what they've got to do tomorrow and what they've got to do next week, just actually be present and be in the moment.

Sides of the body, stretching forward.

In this retreat, we really encourage the wardens and the volunteers to join in-- Really great stretching to all of the organs.

--and get out of their brain and into their bodies.

MEGAN ROBERTS: I quite enjoyed that.

WOMAN: I really enjoyed that.

I think Julie should start running some island yoga sessions for everybody.

WOMAN: Yeah.

Because you want to get your yoga instructors-- WOMAN: Yeah.

MEGAN ROBERTS: --what is it?

Teacher training.

MEGAN ROBERTS: Yeah, she wants to do her yoga instructor teacher training.

You can practice on all of us.

WOMAN: Yeah, practice on you guys.

MEGAN ROBERTS: We'd all like that sort of thing.

Oh, I've done a rubbish job at this.

Oh, well.

It's a nice little ice cream cone shape.

♪ ♪ We're just going off to the-- sort of the west side of the island.

The sunsets here are really beautiful.

♪ ♪ What I find, as you sort of sit and you watch the gulls and everything that's happening here, it kind of lets you just reflect.

♪ ♪ A lot of people would say it's very quiet here, but I think like, there's noises all around.

Like, I can hear the gulls as they're chattering about.

I can-- I can hear the chicks that sound completely different, that are just sort of starting to leave.

Like, they're getting big enough to fly, but they still sound like little babies.

It's quite a still day, but I can still hear the wind and I can feel the wind on my skin, and it's very calming.

There's this weird dichotomy here where you're so close to the mainland, like, you can see the lights of the city at night.

When you can see it and you can see how small it is and, like, how little the comings and goings over there really matter, it gives you a whole new perspective.

[gulls cawing] It really does feel like the island kind of changes you as a person.

[peaceful music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪