Located in the Hebrides, is the lost island of Ulva. This once forgotten island is nothing like you’ve ever seen before. There are very few traces of civilisation in this natural landscape—no cars, no shops and only eleven residents. Ulva was once home to over 600 people, and now plans are underway to bring it back to life again.
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The Isle of Ulva
In 2018, Ulva was bought-out by its local community, and other residents from North West Mull with the purpose to 'secure the future of the island for the islanders' and to bring in socio economic activity without destroying the 'essence' of the Ulva.
Since then, the residents have grown marginally in number, but many exciting projects are underway. BBC Travel has reported that abandoned houses are now being renovated for both the current and future residents. Another huge project in the works is the Storas Ulbha project, where they are transforming an old mansion into an Interpretation and Education centre.
Finally, the community has also been working towards equipping the island with electronic mountain bikes, and e-cargo bikes to help residents commute back and forth between the ferries and their houses.
New residents
According toBBC Travel, the island is looking for around 50 new residents! Of course, all the residents would have to be willing to live sustainably on the island, but enquiries have been piling up. A survey conducted before the pandemic showed that over 500 people were willing to make the move from 26 different countries, so this forgotten island is definitely on demand. Ulva’s development manager Wendy Reid told BBC Travel:
People have a romantic notion of coming to live on a remote Scottish island and with everything going on right now in the world, this is an attractive lifestyle to many people. But we're still a community on an island off an island, so life isn't easy for socio-economic reasons. We're further behind the times here, but that's mainly because Ulva has been ignored for so long. Now, it's simply waiting to be rediscovered.
