Many a time have we seen humans dominate nature with their machinery, housing and farming, so it's quite refreshing to see that, in this case, it's the animals that rule the roost.
On the small Shetland Island of Foula, in Scotland, there are more miniature horses than there are people. In fact, the Shetland ponies originated there and have lived on the island since the Bronze Age.
Foula, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the UK, was conquered by Norseman (an old tribe of Scandinavia) in 800 AD. Their traditions, celebrations and folklore are still followed by the 30 human inhabitants who live on the island today. They even respect the ancient Julian calendar which acknowledges Yule (Christmas) on January 6th and Newerday (New Year's Day) on January 13th.
The people are massively outnumbered by the Shetland ponies with a ratio of 50 horses to every person.
Foula island is an amazing place to visit – the relatively untouched scenery is best seen from the eight-seater plane which makes regular journeys to the island. Alternatively, you can catch the ferry from the mainland, which departs three times a week.
As well as the ponies, there is an abundance of rich wildlife on Foula, which is officially a Special Protected Area for birds. 'Floula' in fact means Bird Island in Old Norse. Bird watchers can see puffins and Great Skuas birds amongst its winged inhabitants and, if they look out to sea at just the right moment, they might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a scout killer wale.
To find out more about Foula, visit the Shetland website.
Emma-Louise Pritchard is the Membership Director for Country Living UK & House Beautiful UK, previously Executive Digital Editor for Country Living UK. Emma-Louise is a digital expert specialising in content strategy, social media and newsletters. Her topics include sustainability, homes and interiors, gardening, health and wellbeing, pets, travel and countryside news. She has previously written for Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan and has won several awards, from AOP Digital Editor of the Year 2019 to PPA 30 Under 30. Emma-Louise studied at Cardiff University where she completed an MA in Magazine Journalism.
