Open Country - Fair Isle
Halfway between Orkney and Shetland, Fair Isle is one of Britain’s most isolated inhabited islands. It's famous for knitting and birds, and those still form the basis of the island's economy, as Martha Kearney discovers.
As an inviting rock in the North Atlantic it’s a magnet for migratory birds, with exhausted individuals blown off course regularly adding to a long list of unusual species recorded by the local bird observatory. Martha joins the island’s Head of Ornithology, Alex Penn, to ring some visitors and sit for a while with Britain’s friendliest colonies of puffin.
French knitwear designer, Marie Brahat introduces Martha to her flock of sheep and gives her a lesson in turning their wool into the unique designs of Fair Isle knitwear. School teacher Jonathan Pye is the newest arrival on the island, currently dealing with a school roll of just two pupils - brothers Luca and Anders.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Published on Thursday, 18th September 2025.
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