Glasgow-born Barra island ranger Jonathan Grant retires

He had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, only that he wanted to live in the place where he had spent treasured family holidays.

In time he got a job with a local building firm and he continued in the trade for the next 30 years until a fresh challenge presented itself in 2010 and one that appealed to his adventurous spirit and love of nature.

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He become a ranger for the National Trust for Scotland, a post that would involve regular, solitary stays on the uninhabited islands of Mingulay, Pabbay and Bernerary.

Over thirteen years, he has witnessed the changing seasons and evolving landscapes of three of Scotland's most remote isles but his tenure as caretaker of the islands has now come to an end.

"I'm not a spiritual person but it's a spiritual experience," said Mr Grant.

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"Sitting on Mingulay, with hundreds of seals on the beach and eagles flying overhead, it's difficult to put that feeling into words.

"I'll be 66 this year and I always knew that when I reached retirement age it was time to hand over the gift to a younger person."

His role involved him camping out, no matter the conditions, during seasonal visits from April to September, spending mainly a week to ten days helping conserve the island’s heritage, biodiversity and wildlife. 

His longest stay was three weeks on Mingulay, part of the small archipelago known as the Bishop or Barra Isles, which are described as,"a cluster of islands surrounded by a boisterous sea, making the passage of one island to another a matter of very considerable hazard".

Mingulay and Pabbay have been uninhabited since 1912 and Berneray since 1980, with abandoned dwellings the only trace of the hardy communities that once lived there.

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Many of the ranger's visits have been longer than anticipated due to bad weather but he is never completely alone. He carries a spot locator device, which allows him to send and receive regular messages to communicate with the National Trust team.

Visitors should be prepared to wait to travel to Mingulay,  the small tourist boat from Castlebay will only 

Mr Grant says this has benefits for the three islands. Vsitors have to really want to travel there so are more inclined to exhibit responsible tourism.

He mentions that he's only been angered by dropped litter once in 30 years.

"We get a lot of climbers, but I never, never have a problem," he added.

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He says visitor numbers to Mingulay were the highest they have ever been last year, despite bad weather and boat cancellations.

"I think people are becoming more aware of what we've got on our doorstep," he says. "After all the David Attenborough programmes, there's been an increase."

Mr Grant's building skills were put to good use on the islands. When the Trust took over their management in 2000, several of the outbuildings started to be transformed into liveable quarters.

They included the old schoolhouse in Mingulay and a former garage on Berneray. Camping is still the only option on Pabbay.

“As the work of a ranger is seasonal, I’ve always continued my work as a builder during the off-season, so I acted as a contractor for the Trust in renovating the old schoolhouse on Mingulay. 

“We were thankful to have a helicopter deliver the heavier materials for the job but there were lots of carrying supplies off boats to the schoolhouse.

"This is what we must do whenever we’re on-site, whether it’s carrying gas cylinders, materials, or food supplies. There’s no infrastructure, no cars, just hands to carry things.

“My job certainly requires fitness and stamina which is one of the reasons I’m heading for retirement at the end of the summer. It’s not a job you can do forever, as much as I’d like to.”

He retires with a wealth of memories and countless stories of the people who have travelled to the remote islands to find a sense of heritage.

Tourists from America, Canada and Australia, as well as Scots, often visit after finding out they have ancestry tracing back to Mingulay. 

Through the National Trust's conservation work, he is sometimes able to show tourists the very house where their ancestors lived, now just stone outlines in the shifting sands.

There is also an important link between residents on Barra and Vatersay, whose ancestors came from the islands and who still have a strong emotive tie to the islands. 

"I did feel for a long time that I was one of the few people on Barra who didn't have a link," he says," but a few years ago I discovered my great-great-great grandmother was born on Mingulay, then moved to Barra in the 1820s.

"The remains of the building are there and you can go and sit there."

While he has enjoyed working in isolation, each summer he was joined by a team of volunteers helping him monitor, record, and control the spread of water reeds, butterbur and bracken, which have all naturally returned since the islands were abandoned. 

His role also sees him recording and monitoring the archaeological sites, nesting seabirds and other wildlife. 

These essential roles help to understand the changes taking place as natural processes take hold. 

"When people talk about re-wilding, that's exactly what is happening there," he says.

"Maybe not always in the pristine manner we expect. You are going to get a lot of negative things. 

"You are going to get species like Bracken, which can smother a lot of the other vegetation.

"It's a long, long-term approach that you have to have because no one can really say what will happen.

"You might go down in 100 years and there will be woodlands. There will be a totally different landscape."

The three islands do not have any land-based predators like rats and this has allowed the seabirds and other ground-nesting birds to raise their young. 

Recently Jonathan has also started a systematic check for rats so that the Trust can respond as soon as possible to any incursion.

He is currently on St Kilda, where he is helping prepared the group of islands for the tourist season when 2000 or so visitors make the trip.

The National Trust has not started recruiting yet for his replacement but is anticipating a high demand for the post.

"They would need to have the same love for that environment and the ability to be on your own. It's a great opportunity," said Mr Grant.

"I don't want to tread on my replacement's toes but I'll always be there to help out."