Braving the Currents on Bardsey

Joanna Porter writes about living and working on a remote Welsh farm

(Article originally published in the A Rocha UK magazine, Spring 2010)

‘The Lord watches over your coming and your going’

The words of Psalm 121 come to mind as I stand on the island’s lookout point and scan the stretch of sea between us and the mainland. Bardsey Sound is one of the most notorious stretches of water in Wales, with numerous currents ripping through, and the weather conditions often preventing boats from crossing, despite it being only a 2km sound. Bardsey Island or ‘Ynys Enlli’ in Welsh, means ‘Isle in the currents’. Today my husband, Steve, has popped across to pick up post, some extra Christmas supplies and a friend of my daughter, who is coming to stay for afe

w days… or maybe longer! Staying on Ynys Enlli is unpredictable at any time of year and it’s easy to get marooned either side. The wind is picking up fast and I breathe a sigh of relief and whisper a ‘thank you’ to the Lord as I spot them returning, a tiny white speck in the grey turbulent water. I wonder what it would have been like for those 6th Century saints crossing in boats without engines and without weather forecasts to help them pick the right moment.

How did we come to be here? In Summer 2007 the island’s farmer

advertised for a new tenant to manage the 180 hectares of land, 400 sheep and 30 cattle, and so we became Enlli’s only year-round permanent residents.

The first 12 months were a particularlysteep learning curve as we experienced the ins and outs, and the ups and downs of a typical farming year, from the demands and delights of lambing, calving and harvesting to the rigours of the windswept winter, as well as the seasonal busyness of summer. Home education of our children, Rachel (15) and Ben (13), also proved to be an enjoyable challenge.

There have been challenges to our faith too. We miss being part of a regular church community. We do have regular family worship times, but have come to realise more and more that our daily lives are to be worship and are full of opportunities to listen to the Good Shepherd. Soon after arriving here, I came across a book of Celtic blessings¹ which illustrates this lack of distinction between the secular and the sacred. The book tells of a community who saw the presence of God as the most immediate reality in their lives and who saw that God was lovingly concerned in everything they did. They felt totally at home in God. It contains a blessing for every aspect of daily life, from milking the cow to laying the fire to ploughing a field. We have, however, found stubborn sheep a challenge to bless and not curse!

Our prayer is that Ynys Enlli will remain a place of pilgrimage, where many who come will encounter Jesus and journey deeper into the heart of the Father, and where creation will brim over with the glory of God.

[1] "The Celtic Vision – Prayers and blessings from the Outer Hebrides" by Esther de Waal. Ed note: possibly now out of print.

About Bardsey Island

Ynys Enlli is a National Nature Reserve as well as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, amongst other designations. It comprises a variety of habitats such as maritime heath and grassland which are tinged pink with thrift in spring, diversewetland pastures which dance with butterflies and other insects throughout the summer, and a hill (claiming the title of Bardsey mountain!) which glows golden with gorse and purple with heather in the autumn. Such diversity supports a variety of birds, like the Manx Shearwater and Chough, and is maintained and enhanced by adjusting the grazing levels of sheep and cattle throughout the year.

Ynys Enlli is historically a place of pilgrimage and a famous Welsh poet, Meilyr Brydydd, speaks of the island as ‘heir of resurrection’. The island itself, he suggests, is in eager expectation of the coming of the risen life. The monks on Enlli lived a resurrection life, living in Christ’s triumph over death and in the joy and power of a new life.