This couple lived on Great Blasket with no electricity or running water. Here’s what they did next

How would you survive for six months living on the edge of Europe without electricity or running water? Teachers Emma Melay and Darren McFadden are now finding out, after beating off thousands of applicants to become this year’s caretakers of the Great Blasket Island. They are now the island’s only permanent residents and for six months they will run its three holiday cottages and coffee shop. The island, once home to author Peig Sayers, was deserted in the 1950s, but got a new lease of life in 2014, when Billy O’Connor and his partner Alice Hayes began renting out the holiday cottages.

Emily Campbell and Daniel Regan know exactly what’s in store for the island’s newest residents as they were last year’s caretakers. They left the island in October and say the experience has changed their lives.

Campbell, from Bandon, Co Cork, was working in Great Ormond Street Hospital and Londoner Regan was working as a civil engineer, when they swapped city life for the windswept island almost 5km from the tip of the Dingle peninsula. The couple had always wanted to visit the island but had never expected to be chosen as caretakers.

“It was such a shock when we got the job – we were delighted and terrified,” Campbell recalls.

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Not surprisingly, it took them a bit of time to get used to their new surroundings. “It can be really tough work at times, and it takes some adjusting at the beginning,” she says. A small wind turbine provides enough power to charge a phone, but they were reliant on candles and stoves for light and heat.

“The simple convenience of flicking on a light switch is gone but that is what makes things so special. For us, the sudden shift in environment was really welcomed and we were just so grateful every day to be there.”

And the inclement weather didn’t dampen their enthusiasm. “Even when the wild Atlantic storms roll in it’s a truly breathtaking place. You’re at the mercy of the sea and the weather and that was a very humbling and enjoyable experience for us,” Campbell recalls. “Waking up in the night to the sound of Manx shearwater [seabirds] roosting, seeing the seals on the beach have their pups, watching basking sharks feed in the bay, and the lambs play in the fields – it can be so idyllic and magical there.”

So what advice would they have for the new caretakers? Campbell says they have already been in touch with their successors and they seem to be settling in well. “I think we mostly told Emma and Darren to bring good-quality waterproofs and wellies, and to enjoy,” she says. “It’s such a brilliant time and I don’t think anything we would have said could prepare you for it.”

The new caretakers must adapt to having no fridge or freezer, something Campbell and Regan struggled with when the temperatures rose.

[ Couple on career break from teaching to become this year’s caretakers on Great Blasket Island ]

“Billy and Alice were amazing, though, and in the height of summer ferried out fresh milk and ice packs every day.”

Asked if there were any other challenges, Campbell says most visitors were just delighted to experience the island but some did not keep a respectful distance from the seal colony.

“Like with any heritage site or national park, sometimes it can be taken for granted how lucky we are to share the space with the natural wildlife, so we really struggled when people got too close,” she says. “It’s such a sight to behold and, in our opinion, a national treasure, but a lot of people aren’t aware of how easy it can be to distress or spook them, so that was something we were quite passionate about, working with the Office of Public Works and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to try and rally for more education and protective measures.”

And what was the best bit of the experience? “The nature,” she says. “Going for swims and hikes, and fishing for mackerel in the summer. It was so nice to enjoy eating meals outside and appreciating everything we had. Because it’s so difficult to get things on and off the island, the fresh bag of groceries is something you savour and don’t take for granted.”

Campbell loved meeting the day-trippers who called to the coffee shop, as well as the guests who stayed for longer. “We met some incredible people and heard the best stories, and really made some friends for life.”

I think it truly teaches you to enjoy the little things in life and savour all of the small moments, to cherish interactions and respect the environment and the beautiful world we live in

—  Emily Campbell

Being alone on a deserted island sounds like a plot for a horror movie, but she says they never felt uneasy when they had no overnight guests. “We loved being there alone, even though you’re always in the company of all the sheep and other wildlife. It was a magical feeling to have the freedom of knowing for a short time you have this beautiful, vast space to yourself.”

And they never knew when they might have company. She remembers a sea kayaker from Cornwall unexpectedly landing on the beach, just before a storm.

“He was circumnavigating Ireland in his kayak. Mikey ended up camping on the island for two nights. We had the best time sharing meals with him, in exchange for some incredible stories of how he was taking on new challenges after retirement.”

She says the Blasket experience has definitely changed their outlook on life. “I think it truly teaches you to enjoy the little things in life and savour all of the small moments, to cherish interactions and respect the environment and the beautiful world we live in.”

Not being able to run to the shop also made the couple more resourceful in the kitchen. “There’s been some interesting recipes created from the Blasket days, and we still say things like ‘will we do the Blasket curry tonight?’”

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They found it very strange to be back on the bustling streets of London after they left the island in October. But it wasn’t for long, as they spent two months in Lombok and Bali in Indonesia, while they decided what to do next.

Now they are living in an old scout cabin at a lake, half an hour from Copenhagen in Denmark.

“It’s perfect for us because we can work, but we’re also surrounded by nature and fresh air,” Campbell says. “Our landlord gave us fair warning before moving in that it can be rustic and cold, but when we explained about living on the island, he was quickly reassured.”

Regan is still working as a civil engineer while Campbell is working as a nanny and learning Danish with a view to getting a nursing job.

“We’re just taking it as it comes, enjoying Denmark and we’ve lots of plans to tour Scandinavia and see where the future takes us,” she says.

“The dream would be to live in our own version of the Blaskets someday. We look back now with such fond memories. It was such a beautiful opportunity to live simply and enjoy the little things.”

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