Family's Seven-Hour Wait for Indian Takeaway on Remote Scottish Island
Logistical challenges involving ferries and taxis lead to lengthy delays for food delivery to Fair Isle.
A family living on Fair Isle, one of Scotland's most remote inhabited islands, has experienced significant delays for takeaway food, with one order taking seven hours to arrive.
Katy Phenix, 33, and her partner Josh Moore, 35, who moved to the island between Orkney and Shetland earlier this year with their two children, described the complex planning required for a simple Indian meal.
To get a takeaway from Saffron, the nearest Indian restaurant in Lerwick, Shetland—approximately 50 miles away—requires advanced booking of taxis and ferries. Phenix stated that orders must be placed by midday to account for the transportation, which often results in the food arriving cold and needing to be reheated.
"There’s a lot of advanced planning because you have to book the taxi 24 hours in advance," Phenix explained. The family collects the food from the boat upon its arrival at the island's harbor.
Despite the logistical hurdles, ordering takeaway is not uncommon for the island's approximately 50 residents. Phenix recalled a time when three families on the island coordinated separate orders that arrived together. "For someone who hadn’t had a takeaway in three months it was bloody amazing," she said, noting they ordered extra to freeze.
The family, including children Hetty, six, and Teddy, 11, relocated to Fair Isle in July. They previously lived in Redcar, England, but sold their home after a successful application process to move to the island, which is managed by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).
Phenix described their previous lifestyle in England as one where they "lived to work" and noted the significant reduction in living costs on Fair Isle compared to their previous mortgage payments. They are currently renting a five-bedroom house with land from the NTS, which has owned the island since 1954.
Opportunities to move to Fair Isle are advertised by the NTS only when properties become available. Prospective residents undergo a review of their skills and interviews to assess their suitability for island life. Phenix added that the family is enjoying the dramatic change in lifestyle, calling it a "bigger change of lifestyle" that they are all embracing.
Fair Isle is known for its significant seabird populations and its distinctive knitwear. The number of permanent residents is kept low, with new individuals permitted to move to the island as others depart.