- 6 hours ago
Our Tiny Islands (2024) Season 2 Episode 2
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00:08We are a nation of islands.
00:11Come on, you two!
00:14Over 4,000 are scattered along our coastlines,
00:18with hundreds more in our lakes, lochs and rivers.
00:22Being surrounded by water, it has a very calming effect on the mind.
00:27Many of these islands are tiny. Many are remote.
00:32I love so much about island life.
00:34But over 200 are called home.
00:43I don't own it, because you don't own an island. If anything, it owns me.
00:49With rugged cliffs and sandy shores, wildlife and family,
00:55and lives very different to most of our own.
00:59Going over the edge here is a bit cheeky. Shall we?
01:05These are the stories of our tiny islands.
01:10The fact that you just walk out your door and you're straight in to see that sense of freedom is
01:14amazing.
01:27This time, a journey rich with growth in County Donegal.
01:32A view from the top on Oe Island.
01:36We're all at sea in North Uist.
01:40And a slice of life in the Inner Hebrides.
01:46Off the west coast of Scotland is the island of Iona.
01:50Although just three miles in length and 2.4 miles wide, Iona is home to 170 people.
02:01Ailey moved to the island 16 years ago from Glasgow.
02:06She came to Iona after having her son seeking an antidote to city life.
02:10And to give her young son the chance to grow up in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
02:19It's a small island off of an island, which is an added particular vibe really.
02:28Everyone knows how to get along.
02:32We're a very small little rock in the middle of the sea, so everyone has that in common.
02:38And the island move inspired more than just a change in scenery.
02:43I'd always really liked cooking, but at the time was a musician.
02:49I just kind of had enough, you know, of that whole business.
02:54I was really getting into the kind of island life of having a garden, growing vegetables,
02:59being all kind of like Earth Mother kind of vibes.
03:04A friend of Ailey's moved to the island to run one of the hotel kitchens shortly after.
03:09I basically talked her into giving me a job.
03:13Never been in a commercial kitchen before.
03:16I was a decent home cook, but God bless her, she created a part-time job for me.
03:22Today on her commute, Ailey has to make a quick detour to pick up fresh produce from Flautcher,
03:28the gardener at the St Columba Hotel.
03:31Hey!
03:32Hi!
03:32Oh, this is exciting. Nice!
03:35What do you think?
03:36Oh, amazing.
03:38Is this the first potatoes of the season?
03:41Pretty much.
03:42Got about 100 kilos of these.
03:44She often has a surplus, so she sends out a text with a list of what she's got available that
03:50week,
03:51and you just order what you want.
03:53Are they purple all the way through?
03:55I think they're supposed to keep their colour.
03:58So either purple all the way through, or like a little bit sort of coloured veins through them.
04:04It would look nice.
04:05This is going to be lovely.
04:07Rather than being at the end of a long supply chain, the community's waste not want not attitude allows Ailey's
04:14food to be both seasonal and sustainable.
04:16The joy for me in it is using things that are around about me.
04:21Your courgettes, I'll have millions of these for the next couple of weeks, so don't hold back.
04:27And then your edible flowers.
04:29Mostly.
04:30So calendula, cornflower, I think that's it.
04:34I basically get overexcited and just order loads of stuff.
04:37And then I suppose when I go and pick them up, it's at that point I think about what I'm
04:43going to do with them.
04:44All right. Cheers.
04:47I'll see you later.
04:48See you.
04:51This passion for local produce led Ailey to set up the island's first and only takeaway three years ago.
04:59Although it's probably more Michelin star than deep-fried Mars bar.
05:04You don't see many takeaways with little tweezers, like tweezing on an edible flower onto a takeaway thing.
05:13It's a tiny little place.
05:15It's like three metres by four metres.
05:17It's got two little ovens.
05:21I'm using produce from the island.
05:24I'm making quite simple things, but using skills that I've learned in restaurant kitchens.
05:32Ailey is open six days a week for lunch and dinner.
05:35And as it's peak tourist season, she expects to be busy.
05:39I don't have a set menu, which really infuriates people.
05:44I'll put cheese on it, then people will buy it.
05:48I just think about what I've got and put it together in a sensible fashion.
05:53I mean, it's easy when you've got amazing ingredients.
05:58We could have lobster.
06:00We could have crab.
06:01We could have mackerel.
06:02We could have various lovely vegetables from flortcha.
06:06We could have wild things that are in season.
06:10We could have lamb from Val the crofter.
06:12It just depends what's available.
06:15So that's quite a hydrated dough.
06:18Her menu always has dough at the heart of it.
06:21And for lunch today, Ailey is making the most of what the waters around the island have to offer,
06:26with some crab caught by local fishermen.
06:28Oh, great. Hiya.
06:31Crabs.
06:32Basically, they came out of the water this morning.
06:35It's not that common up here because a lot of the fishing boats,
06:40their catch gets put straight onto lorries to Glasgow Airport to go to Spain.
06:47So loads and loads of the shellfish from the Hebrides goes abroad.
06:53After I do some courgettes, I'll just make the crab butter,
06:57get the ovens on and hopefully things will be OK.
07:03There'll be food for people.
07:06With 130,000 people visiting Iona each year,
07:10feeding the lunchtime rush is no easy feat for Ailey.
07:1346.
07:14Thank you very much.
07:16And it's a tough crowd.
07:18Did you enjoy your pizza?
07:19Um, yeah, I did.
07:20I actually thought I wasn't going to like it, but it was actually pretty good.
07:24Yeah.
07:24What about you, Aaron?
07:25Did you like the pizza?
07:26Yes.
07:27Yeah.
07:29It was great.
07:30She's always a bit hectic.
07:31Super busy.
07:32Sold out of crab really quickly.
07:35Had to actually close a wee bit early because we had sold out.
07:46Many islands cast a spell over the human spirit.
07:50Some are lured by empty beaches, quiet clifftops,
07:54or the sense of something ancient in the air.
07:57For others, it's a calling away from the noise of the world.
08:05Scattered throughout Loch Derg in County Donegal are dozens of islands and islets,
08:10including Station Island.
08:12Also known as St. Patrick's Purgatory, or more simply just Loch Derg,
08:17the island is around 160 metres long and 145 metres wide.
08:23It has no permanent population, but over 10,000 pairs of feet pass through the island each year,
08:30thanks to the 1,500-year-old tradition of pilgrimage.
08:34Joe, the island's passenger boat captain, has worked there for the past 22 years.
08:40When I first applied for this job, it was an advert in the local newspaper.
08:44After being interviewed, I thought, I'll take a run out and I'll go and have a look-see.
08:48And I was surprised to see this big island with two, three and four storey buildings.
08:53I expected a little island with a cottage.
08:55It was amazing to me.
08:58Joe has spent his life on the water.
09:01My father was a fisherman and I was a fisherman as well in the beginning.
09:06Then I went on to other boats, bigger boats, fished all around Ireland,
09:11below England, below Cornwall as well.
09:17Today, Joe's first task is one of his favourites,
09:20returning a boatload of pilgrims who've just completed three days on the island back to shore.
09:27Joe's responsible for three vessels on the island,
09:30all named for patron saints of Ireland.
09:34This boat requires a minimum of two crew.
09:36You can have three if you want.
09:38The St. Bridget, you're allowed one.
09:41And the St. Daryl, you need two as well.
09:45Ladies and gentlemen, just your attention there for a little second.
09:48Interacting with pilgrims would have been my favourite part now.
09:51But years ago, it would have been the traipsing back and forth with the boats,
09:54driving the boats, taking them to the pier and leaving the pier and back and forth, you know.
09:58Just a little reminder, please remain seated until the boat is safely tied up.
10:03And it's a good thing Joe enjoys the back and forth.
10:06There you go now, thank you very much.
10:08As he'll make the ten-minute journey to the mainland up to 20 times a day.
10:12Pilgrims can come at any time during the day, they don't have to book.
10:17Some don't, we don't know who's coming or who's not.
10:20Ah, you're right, you couldn't have enough.
10:22I certainly couldn't.
10:25Over the years, Joe has come to know the lock well.
10:29It is a sacred place up in the mountains here, and we're only about 700 metres from the shore.
10:34But when you come out here, you do seem like you're removed from all of technology nearly.
10:43So we don't have much traffic like wheelboats or canoes or jet skis, none of that.
10:49Just a little fishing club and our own boats.
10:52Quiet and peaceful and just, it's lovely, yeah.
10:57First section, St Columba, we're on our way, we have eight pilgrims, two crew, two staff.
11:04Thank you, Joe.
11:05Just making our way towards the island, we'll be there in about three or four minutes.
11:10And it's not just pilgrims, Joe helps to make the passage.
11:14Hello, Anne.
11:16The ferry is for staff as well.
11:18We try and keep it as economical as we can, so if the boat is going in and out and
11:23out and in, staff will board this boat.
11:31The island may resemble a built-up metropolis, but for Joe, the 500-metre stretch from the shore has kept
11:37the island distinct.
11:39So you are very isolated out here, like there's very little in the way of houses.
11:45Island life is fantastic.
11:48And Joe's own pilgrimages means he understands the island better than most.
11:53I've done it three times, but I have good faith now, and it's something that connects me to the island
11:59definitely.
12:10Islands can be remote, cut off, at the mercy of the seasons and tides.
12:16The environments created by their exposure to wild winds and stormy seas are resolute and unyielding.
12:26The opportunity to explore these enduring landscapes is a siren's call to any adventurer.
12:33Off the northwest coast of Ireland lies Owee.
12:36At one mile long and 0.9 miles wide, Owee is uninhabited bar a few families in the summer months.
12:50Exposed to the battering waves of the North Atlantic, Owee has a unique coastline that appeals to adventurers like Ian.
12:58He grew up in Scotland and learned to climb cliffs and kayak in the waters of Orkney.
13:04Ian moved to Donegal more than 20 years ago after meeting his wife and now runs adventure holidays throughout the
13:10county.
13:12Today, he has a well-earned day off.
13:15We're on the pier on the north side of Critch Island.
13:18We're just getting ready.
13:19We're going to paddle out and have a wee climb and a play in the caves on Owee.
13:25Unfortunately, there are no ferries to Owee, so Ian and his dog Lochie must forge their own path.
13:32Luckily, conditions mean the short stretch of sea is perfect for one of Ian's favourite activities.
13:37For me, kayaking is a means to go places which are outrageously beautiful.
13:43It's rarely visited, still has all its natural beauty, hasn't yet been tamed.
13:52Often throughout the year, Atlantic swells in the area, popular with big wave surfers from around the world,
13:58can make the short 800-metre journey impossible.
14:03Given the sea and tide conditions today, less than five minutes we'll be on the island.
14:10I'm just going to paddle to the beach. I'm dropping him and the bag off.
14:17With Lochie and the climbing gear left safely ashore, Ian can head somewhere more exciting.
14:25Along with Tasmania and the west coast of Scotland, the west coast of Ireland is one of the three capitals
14:31of the world for sea stacks.
14:34These landforms are formed by the continual pounding of the ocean against headlands, and for adrenaline junkies like Ian, they
14:42offer the ultimate thrill.
14:43I've been through this canyon an awful lot of times. There's lots of rock climbing on these sea stacks here,
14:48so it's a means of entry to the sea stacks.
14:52The North Atlantic is funneled into this 30-metre deep ravine, in between the cliffs of Owee and smaller islets
15:00and stacks, making for a bumpy ride.
15:05It's sometimes what we call stage two or secondary fun, which means it's only fun once it's finished.
15:14You use all five-year senses when you're there, because you've got sight of what you're seeing.
15:21You've got the sound, you've got the birds, you've got the wind and you've got the sea.
15:25You've got the smell, because the rock smells of birds. The whole place smells very nautical.
15:32And the fifth one, taste. You can taste through your nose and through your mouth by breathing salt air. It's
15:40a realm of the senses.
15:50The name Owee is an anglicised version of the Irish Owee, which means cave, and dotted around this tiny island's
15:58coastline are around 20.
16:00The island's a bit like Swiss cheese in places.
16:03There's a lot of land missing from under your feet when you're walking about on the clifftops.
16:10Back on land and reunited with Lochie, Ian can now explore an empty island.
16:19Owee was last inhabited full-time in the 1970s.
16:24It was home to around 100 residents until the lure of modern conveniences on the mainland led to a dwindling
16:31population.
16:33With the last remaining islanders leaving in 1977.
16:39For someone who's never visited Owee, visiting the island is, in many regards, stepping back in time.
16:50The island isn't agricultural. There's no electricity, there's no running water.
16:55Owee lay abandoned for 25 years before, slowly, original islanders began to return and renovate their family homes.
17:04The village itself is a summer-only inhabited village.
17:07So, as a lot of people in the school holidays come across their holiday homes and their parents' houses, if
17:13you like, and they stay here.
17:20When I arrive on Owee, I always get a sense of isolation.
17:24In general, like at the moment, we're on the island on our own.
17:28That's one of the main reasons why it's so nice here.
17:32In the 25 or so years that I've been visiting Owee, the island itself, physically, hasn't changed very much at
17:40all.
17:41The land hasn't changed very much, the ocean hasn't changed very much and the cliffs haven't changed.
17:48The island itself, it's still very natural and very beautiful and it hasn't been spoilt by the march of time.
18:03Picturesque and unspoilt. Quiet and serene.
18:07The peace is what attracts many to visit our tiny islands.
18:12There are, however, some that achieve this tranquility while being bustling and busy.
18:20Less than two miles from the border with Northern Ireland, Station Island plays host to pilgrims from all over the
18:26world.
18:28Maureen is the Prior's PA and commutes each morning from March till September on Jo's boat to her island office.
18:35This is my 31st season full time.
18:41I worked a few years before that during school holidays.
18:48I love that it has such a rich history.
18:52We are like just keepers of the island.
18:55It has been a place pilgrimage for over 1500 years.
18:59Maureen grew up less than five miles from the lock shore.
19:03I first came onto the island as a pilgrim when I was about 15 with my older sister.
19:10It was curiosity on my part that brought me here initially.
19:14We could always look across but never see actually what was going on here so we were really curious to
19:19get here.
19:20Maureen has a busy morning ahead, making sure that the island is ready for the next batch of pilgrims.
19:26We're never exactly sure how many we'll have but we have a very good guide in that we look at
19:32how many pilgrims came this day last year and it's always there or thereabouts.
19:39Knowing the island can accommodate up to 800 pilgrims at any given time, she has a big task on her
19:45hands.
19:45Hello Breach, how are you today?
19:47I'm very well.
19:49Who's coming or going?
19:51We have a lot of activity going on today.
19:54Oh, did you meet Anne?
19:55I bet, yes.
19:56I told her her room was going to take a wee while.
19:59Staffing wise, there are 10 members, permanent staff, that work all year round.
20:06So I'll know that for you.
20:07Lovely.
20:08Okie doke. Thanks Breach.
20:10Staffing during our high season, we would have a part-time staff coming in.
20:14Anywhere from 45 to 55.
20:17The nature of the three-day pilgrimage in particular, it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
20:24We have two groups due in today.
20:27There's this tradition that you don't actually have to make a booking.
20:31You can simply arrive any day from the beginning of June to the 15th of August.
20:35We would hope all in all to have maybe about 120, 130 today.
20:41Next up for Maureen is a final check of the pilgrim's accommodation.
20:45And it's a world away from the typical mini-break.
20:48From the pilgrim arrives and goes to their dormitory, they remove their shoes and their barefoot then for the duration
20:55of the three days.
20:57They are also fasting, so the fast begins at midnight before arrival and continues to midnight on the third day
21:05after they've left.
21:06And they have one locked-yard meal here each day of black tea or coffee and dry toast or wheaten
21:13bread and oat cakes.
21:17It is tough, there's no doubt about it, but it's also very rewarding.
21:23It's an experience that impacts more than just the pilgrims.
21:27Obviously, we're not going to be eating in front of them.
21:30We'll not have our phones visible to them.
21:33We would always be conscious, you know, to have soft-soled shoes on.
21:37We're not going to be clip-clopping up the island in our high heels or, you know, a hard-toed
21:42boot.
21:44Because there's that air of quietness, prayerfulness, reverence, stillness.
21:50And for the one night they're allowed, she's keen the pilgrims have somewhere suitable to lay their weary heads.
21:56So each pilgrim is assigned a cubicle on arrival.
22:00Very basic accommodation.
22:03They will probably never have experienced a bed as welcoming as this one will be by 10 o'clock on
22:12day two, having been on vigil for 24 hours.
22:16They'll have a glorious sleep from half ten until 6am the following morning when they're up then for mass.
22:24Maureen is next to you in the basilica where today's new pilgrims are waiting.
22:29I'll be available in Davuk House, which is just across from the basilica here.
22:33I'll be there this afternoon, around about two o'clock.
22:35And I'd love if you'd just pop in at that stage.
22:38I'll get you your passport if you haven't already got one.
22:40And we'll stamp them.
22:44Hello ladies.
22:46I'm good, thanks.
22:47So just get your passport stamped.
22:49She often knows repeat pilgrims to the island well, like Lisa.
22:53I love coming back.
22:54Lock Derg's a very special place.
22:58It's really a little gem in Donegal that not a lot of people probably know enough about.
23:05Anybody who's looking for a peace, anybody who's seeking to spend time away from the hustle and bustle of the
23:11madness in the world today, definitely come to this island.
23:17Catherine, however, is visiting for the first time.
23:21Definitely coming away from the mainland out to the island and having nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.
23:26You're here.
23:26I'm looking forward to just sitting out here and being near the water and enjoying, you know, the wind running
23:31through the plants and the water and the ripples.
23:33It'll be lovely.
23:37After a busy day, Maureen's able to slip away to her favourite spot behind the basilica to take in the
23:44view of Saints Island.
23:46Saints Island is where the original monastery was.
23:48It just amazes me that that's the origins of what has grown to become Station Island.
23:56It's just a peaceful view, completely void of any houses or infrastructure, really.
24:03It's just a wee bit of solitude.
24:07It's just so, so, so special.
24:09And it's unique.
24:10Like, there isn't, not that I'm aware of anywhere like this.
24:25While some islands lie marooned, cast far from the reach of the mainland, others defy approach, not by distance, but
24:34by treacherous waters or imposing coastlines.
24:38Yet, true isolation is rare.
24:41Most islands are born not alone, but in spectacular clusters, thanks to some of the Earth's most powerful geographical processes
24:49that form them.
24:56The Outer Hebrides are a chain of over 100 islands and skerries, more than 40 miles from the coast of
25:03mainland Scotland.
25:06Only 19 of these islands are inhabited, and one of these is North Uist.
25:14Around 17 miles long and 13 miles wide, it is home to just 1,600 people.
25:22Hey, guys.
25:23Alexander moved to the island from South London five years ago.
25:26I do love London, don't get me wrong.
25:28Like, I always big up anyone in London right now, but I always say this,
25:31I want a bit more greenery on the scenery, and that's why I'm in this space.
25:35My work-life balance was awful.
25:37So after I wake up at the crack of dawn, I was pretty much out of the house for like
25:4012 hours a day.
25:41But it was just like, I knew I could just have a better way of life and just have more
25:44time.
25:47Alexander moved to North Uist with his partner and young child.
25:51Although his relationship ended, he chose to stay, and has enjoyed life in the slow lane.
25:58Today, his transportation needs a bit of help.
26:01His two boats, Sorrel and Luna, have become a key part of his life on North Uist.
26:07Tides wait for nobody.
26:09So right now, it's what, two hours, almost two hours and a half past high tide.
26:13So ideally, I would have done this at high tide, but it's pretty early.
26:18So that's why now I've got a rush.
26:25Before I moved to North Uist, I'd never, yeah, I've been on ferries,
26:27but I've never been on a small boat like this with an outboard and manned it myself.
26:32Getting my sea legs took time with me.
26:36It's like a weird skateboard.
26:38I never did skateboard, but just have to just go with the waves, ride the waves,
26:41and just take your time.
26:45A gardener in his former London life,
26:48Alexander's discovered a passion for a different type of horticulture on the island.
26:53So I started cutting seaweed in 2021 on this lock.
26:56So I started off down there.
26:57I remember it was a group of us.
26:58We cut down our big bay.
26:59We got 24 tons between us.
27:02I fell in love with it because I was like, this suited me.
27:05It's like, I'm outdoors.
27:06I'm working hard.
27:07Like, my muscles are aching.
27:08I was just like, this suits me.
27:11Alexander farms part of the little minch known as Locky Port.
27:15Each seaweed farmer's patch is allocated to them in order to prevent over-harvesting.
27:21There are over 120 species of seaweed found in the Outer Hebrides,
27:26but Alexander is on the lookout for one in particular.
27:30It's called Philomodosum is very profitable.
27:32Like, they sell it by the tonne, and then they sell it for a good price.
27:35They sell it in 25 kg bags.
27:37Also known as knotted rack, the seaweed's found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.
27:42The plants grow slowly and can live to be decades old.
27:47You can get about a good maybe six, seven, six, seven foot.
27:50Quite heavy and weighty.
27:52And you cut that off.
27:53Starts off yellow, turns into brown and almost black almost.
27:58The most I've ever gathered in a day is nine tonnes.
28:01It was a good spot.
28:03I was out there for a while.
28:06Knotted rack has fortified crops, livestock and the lives of people in North Uist for centuries.
28:14The method of harvest has changed little.
28:17Quite a few ways of harvesting seaweed.
28:19But the one way I use is, well, it's using a sickle.
28:23I'm leaving a good maybe, maybe what, five, six inches and it will grow back.
28:29Hold it.
28:30And then you put a bit of pressure on.
28:32And you cut.
28:33And I've got some seaweed.
28:35And just drop it right back in the bucket right there.
28:38The seaweed is processed and sold as an additive,
28:41which is used in fertilisers, animal feeds and even pharmaceuticals.
28:46Alexander also uses it on his nine and a half acre croft.
28:50So today I'm not harvesting for pennies.
28:53I'm just going to harvest this bucket here.
28:55Like I'm not going to break my back today.
28:56But what I'm going to do is I've got a bunch of buddlier cuttings
28:59which need the kind of a good growth because they're starting to take.
29:02But seaweed promotes good root systems and kind of strong immune systems.
29:06So that's why I'm going to use some of the seaweed and sprinkle it around my new cuttings and stuff.
29:11On days like this, Alexander truly feels the difference between his old and new life.
29:17In London, there's always constant noise, whether it be a train or a plane or a siren or something.
29:22Whereas here, like, there'll be days you could, you walk up a hill and you'll be by yourself
29:26and then you stop and it's quiet.
29:28And you hear like, what's that?
29:29And it's you.
29:30You can hear your heartbeat and you can hear yourself breathing.
29:32Big culture shock.
29:34Like, it was just a big, massive change.
29:37That's enough for me today.
29:39Although the change from London to North Uist couldn't be more dramatic,
29:43Alexander has found his feet on this tiny island.
29:46It's odd to be by yourself. It's like, you can't really bounce with anyone.
29:49Like, you can find yourself talking to cornets and seals and like jellyfish and stuff like that.
29:54I'm happy being by myself. It was tough at first, but I'm very happy in my own space.
30:01So it took about four years for me to kind of be in Uist for it to feel like home
30:06to me.
30:11I felt like that's when I felt like this is my space.
30:21Many of our islands have shared monastic roots.
30:24Although for some, Christianity still looms large, others are forging new identities.
30:31Less than a mile off the coast of a large isle of Mull is the Hebridean island of Iona.
30:37Ailey is hard at work prepping for her dinner service and has a helping hand from fellow islander, Freya.
30:46Tonight, I'm going to char these spring onions. These are from Flautcher.
30:50They're going to go on a pizza with some mushrooms and ricotta.
30:53I've got these maven potatoes. They're kind of purple and pink potatoes.
30:58So I'm going to do like a kind of a pizza with a little oil, garlic, rosemary.
31:02Menu set, it's time to prep and showcasing Flautcher's Iona-grown purple potatoes is the priority.
31:09I will blanch them a wee bit, hope that they keep their colour.
31:13Sign of the cross.
31:16If they do lose their colour, I'm going to take them back to Flautcher and say I want my money
31:20back.
31:21Because she said they didn't change colours.
31:24In peak summer season, the ferry can bring up to 250 passengers every 30 minutes to the island.
31:32Many of whom landed Ailey's hatch.
31:35It's just a lot, you know, it's a lot of plates to spin at once.
31:39And also because it's such a busy island, we have a lot of visitors just kind of coming up for
31:44a nosey and a chat.
31:46Which is lovely when you have time for a chat.
31:48But when you're like hectically trying to like get things set up for service and someone's just asking you,
31:54So what do you do in the winter? It can be a bit much.
31:58And although demand is high, Ailey knows she can depend on the camaraderie of island life.
32:03Me and the other food businesses all kind of work together.
32:06We try and kind of complement each other in that kind of island way.
32:10And we help each other out.
32:12You know, if you run out of something, you can phone up the cafe and, you know, ask to borrow
32:16this or that.
32:17So it's just having a food business in the context of a really supportive small island community.
32:23I think it just really works like that.
32:26And luckily, Ailey can depend on a familiar face for an opinion on her test pizza.
32:32Hi, have a look at your potatoes.
32:35Um, I did say they were coloured all through, but they're not, should they?
32:39Well, they're fine. Some of them are.
32:41It was a wee bit like nail biting though, like to see if they keep colour when I blanched them.
32:46Yeah, fair.
32:47And I was actually thinking if these lose their colour, we're going to take them back to fortune as well.
32:52What's it like?
32:55Very, very good.
32:58Love it.
32:59And it's reviews like that which help Ailey stand the heat of the kitchen.
33:03That's really what I love doing. You know, I love cooking for people.
33:06Everybody's just so lovely, you know.
33:09I think they really appreciate that it takes extra effort to do something decent on an island off an island.
33:16Can you taste the purple?
33:18I don't know.
33:19Yes.
33:20Wrong answer.
33:21I don't want to see if.
33:26And after a hard day slog, Iona has a reward to offer Ailey in its turquoise waters.
33:34Well, my favourite spot when I'm going in for a quick dip when I'm working is at the post office
33:40beach, St Ronan's Bay it's called.
33:46Two minutes down from work.
33:51It's just perfect.
33:55The water is beautiful. I mean, it's renowned for its crystal clear, beautiful waters.
34:03It just like resets you.
34:05It just like resets you, you know, even just a quick couple of minutes swim in the sea and then
34:09you feel like a new woman.
34:12It's cold, but you acclimatise to that pretty quickly.
34:19Your body's like tingly, so you get a massive endorphin hit.
34:26It's a healthy way to thrill seek.
34:48It's a healthy way to thrill seek.
34:58The water's like you're a natural and then your heart, but slowly the path.
35:09The water's like a new man.
35:11And that's what you see.
35:17The water's like a new life, even if you are a new man.
35:20You've used to be an old man to do.
35:22The story is that God, in answer to St. Patrick's prayer, showed him this place that Patrick
35:29could use in his missionary work.
35:35At that time, of course, Ireland was on the edge of the known world.
35:41And when you get to Loch Derg, this cave or place of purgatory begins to be imagined
35:48perhaps as an entrance to the other world.
35:53Worship on the island has evolved from St. Patrick's time, and for Father Lauren the Pilgrims,
35:59that means daily Mass at 6.30am.
36:02May God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins.
36:06I'm an early riser anyway, so that's not a penance for me.
36:10It will take two boat crossings to get rid of you all this morning.
36:14We wouldn't want any of you to be left behind like a woodwind.
36:18Father, thank you.
36:19Thanks very much.
36:20With close to 200 Pilgrims leaving today, and the weather not cooperating, keeping spirits
36:26up is high on Father La's agenda.
36:28You put it in the eye.
36:34With the returning Pilgrims safely on their way, Father La can turn his attention to the
36:39Pilgrims still on the island.
36:41I love the people who come, and I suppose that's one of the things that's very precious
36:45to me here is the connection.
36:48This interaction is a key part of Father La's daily role, and he wants to make sure the Pilgrims
36:53are well supported.
36:54The penitential beds are the heart of the island.
36:59That part of the island rises a little bit towards where the bell tower now stands on
37:05the site of the original Purgatory Cave.
37:09You meet the beds in your bare feet.
37:13Father La knows the hard rocks and uneven ground make the penitential beds a physical challenge,
37:20especially while fasting and without sleep.
37:24I was 17 when I first made the pilgrimage myself.
37:28I would have come back over my years as a seminarian.
37:32I've made the pilgrimage more years than not over all my life.
37:37In some sense, being on the island here is also something that helps the Pilgrim through
37:42the challenge.
37:43And the challenge, of course, it's not always the physical thing.
37:46It may be where it leads you emotionally and spiritually.
37:50Are you then going to continue or are you then going to opt out?
37:57Along with the penitential beds, the Pilgrims pray at St. Patrick's Cross and while walking
38:02around the lake edge and basilica.
38:06The original island here was about the size of the playing surface of a football pitch.
38:12And the present island is at least three times that size.
38:17When the basilica was commissioned in the 1920s, two thirds of the current island were reclaimed
38:23from the lock and the basilica built on stilts.
38:26You think this was a tiny island, you should have seen it when we started.
38:32St. Patrick's Basilica has been at the centre of island life since its inception and is a special
38:37place for Father La.
38:39The construction began in 1926 and the basilica was first opened for prayer in 1929.
38:48There are a number of times during the day when the Pilgrims are maybe at their own prayers
38:53or devotions and I have time to get my own time of quiet and can draw my breath there and
38:59just have some quiet time to myself.
39:04No detail has been spared here, from chandeliers depicting the stories of St. Patrick to Italian
39:11book-fold marble panelling.
39:15The stained glass windows by renowned Irish artist and illustrator Harry Clarke have a special hold
39:21over Father La on his daily rounds.
39:23The figures themselves are very contemplative, very still, marvellously robed.
39:33Sometimes I wonder if he had a fetish about shoes because the shoes are marvellous in themselves,
39:39but in the roundels then of the Way of the Cross, the detail is fantastic.
39:48For Father La, however, the sign of a job well done is how his pilgrims leave the island.
39:55It's a little piece of heaven, you know, it's so beautiful.
39:57I've been on many pilgrimages across the world with youth groups and I don't think anywhere
40:01compares with Loch Derg.
40:04You're just away from the mainland, away from, I suppose, reality and now we're all waiting
40:09to get back on the boat again, to come back, I suppose, to the real world or to life again.
40:14Sharing the island and all that entails defines Father La's life and his faith.
40:21I can't imagine myself ever tiring of Loch Derg.
40:25For how much longer I'll have the energy to be part of it is another matter.
40:32I made the pilgrimage myself just about ten days ago.
40:37I certainly wasn't getting up and getting down with the alacrity that I used to have.
40:43But I went in one end and I came out the other and I certainly was no worse for it
40:47either physically, mentally or spiritually.
40:56Less than 40 miles away on Owe Island, Ian and his dog, Lochie, are taking stock of the climbing options.
41:04Owe's exposed position and changeable weather means it can be difficult to know which routes are safe to ascend
41:10and Ian must complete an on the ground inspection.
41:14We're continually just checking the rocks around us.
41:17You can hear the ground crunching under us, which means the turf is quite dry.
41:21And all the rock we can see, both north facing and south facing, is all dry.
41:27When he moved to Donegal, Ian dedicated himself to plotting new climbing routes on the island,
41:33literally writing the book on the matter.
41:36Owe Island is one of the few locations that I regularly visit.
41:43And how it's affected me as a climber is that every time I come out here, I find something new.
41:54It keeps me having an open mind that round the next corner, under the next cliff, might be something very
42:01interesting.
42:03Today, however, Ian is checking how dry the rock is on a few old favourites.
42:09So, at the moment, we're looking across at the Holy Jesus Wall,
42:12an 80 metre, 90 metre high, slightly overhanging wall.
42:16It's got a lot of iron content, which gives it that reddy-orange tilt.
42:23Ian's hoping to climb the Black Spink.
42:28I can't believe the sun came out. Look at this.
42:31It's like the world's been photoshopped.
42:34A spink, also known as a Zorn or a Geo, is a deep, narrow sea inlet, cut into the cliffs
42:40by erosion with near vertical sides.
42:44The Black Spink is so named for the lichen that grows on its walls.
42:48What I'm seeing is an ocean that's a little bit bouncy, but not too aggressive.
42:53I'm seeing dry rock. The sun's been on it for about two and a half hours, two hours now.
42:59It's just conditions couldn't be better.
43:03Meeting Ian is his climbing partner, Neil.
43:07Neil has all the right attributes.
43:10He's not reckless.
43:12He understands fear.
43:14He understands caution.
43:15And what we'd say in climbing circles, he's solid.
43:19And that covers a multitude of bases.
43:22On Owey, what wants to go up must first go down.
43:26Ian's going to abseil down in first. I'm going to abseil down in behind him.
43:30And then he's going to climb the route and place in some protection in the cracks along the way.
43:34Then I'm going to take all the equipment out.
43:36No trace climbing is an important part of Ian's philosophy and desire to leave Owey untouched.
43:42So, I'm rigging three monster anchors, really good anchors for the abseil.
43:49So, we go over the edge.
43:51We're 100% reliant on the rope stopping us from falling into the sea.
43:56So, we place three anchors.
43:58And for this area here, it's big slings around these huge glacilar attics.
44:03So, we're going nowhere.
44:05With nothing but the crashing waves of the North Atlantic below them, safety is paramount.
44:11Going over the edge here is a bit cheeky.
44:13Once you're over the edge, you're fine.
44:15But first, you'll see when you're doing it.
44:18Shall we?
44:25When you're in a climb at your ability, you're on a tight rope.
44:29You're a fine balance between your flow state and you're moving effortlessly.
44:34And everything is just working for you.
44:37And then once you get to say the top or the summit or whatever it is, and you know that
44:43danger is over for this particular climb, you feel a pop in the back of your head.
44:49And once you feel that pop, there's a flood to the front of your brain.
44:54It's easily one of the best feelings in the world.
45:00I've not found any other way to replicate it.
45:06It's another successful summit for Ian on Owe, where many of the routes have only been climbed once.
45:13It just went nice. Just good dry rock, good moves, good gear. Just flowed the way to the top. No
45:20drama.
45:21Nice one. Good job.
45:24That was good.
45:27For Ian, the island is on a par with some of the great climbing spots in the world.
45:32What I'm grateful for is what Owe Island represents in terms of the natural world and the unspoilt nature of
45:40it.
45:41That's what we're grateful for.
45:45You've got an equal balance of remoteness, stroke solitude, potential danger and beautiful surroundings.
45:53It's like the trifecta. The three things we need in life to make us smile.
46:01Now, there's lots of places in the world where these things live.
46:05But for me, this is on my doorstep.
46:09I'd rather be here.
46:12quite a bit.
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