A couple have ditched city life to live on an off-grid island.

Aron Llwyd and Lois Robert enjoyed life in Cardiff, but couldn’t resist a job advert to live and work on a remote island off the Llyn Peninsula.

They have now joined Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island) as wardens, becoming neighbours to the breeding colony of Manx Shearwater birds and living under Europe’s first Dark Sky Sanctuary.

Ynys Enlli/ Bardsey Island can be found 3km off the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, home to a working farm, thriving lobster and crab fishery, and a bird observatory.
Ynys Enlli/ Bardsey Island can be found 3km off the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, home to a working farm, thriving lobster and crab fishery, and a bird observatory. (Ynys Enlli)

Swapping out with long-term wardens Mari Huws and Emyr Owen, the pair who have known each other since their school days, have taken on this next adventure together.

Lois said: “When we saw the advert looking for a couple to live and work as wardens on Enlli, there was no doubt about it, we had to apply.

“Life is completely different since we left Cardiff.

“But we have adapted quickly and enjoy living on the island alongside nature and the rhythm of the seasons."

Alun Llwyd (Chief Executive of PYST Ltd, who is responsible for the PYST and Am platforms) was elected chair of the Bardsey Island Trust.
Alun Llwyd (Chief Executive of PYST Ltd, who is responsible for the PYST and Am platforms) was elected chair of the Bardsey Island Trust. (Ynys Enlli)

It comes as part of a new chapter for the island, with Alun Llwyd elected as chair in May, and with a new to-be-published long-term strategy to ensure the sustainable future of the island, both as a location with special history and culture, and as a home and livelihood.

Alun Llwyd said: "It’s fair to say that the island is going through a transformative and exciting period. There is a huge amount of work ahead, and the challenges we face – from the economic, environmental, cultural and creative – are significant.

"But Enlli's greatest strength is its community. The collaboration between the island's residents, the staff team, volunteers, and Trustees gives us a solid basis on which to look forward confidently and ambitiously to the future.”

The “young and energetic team”, including new project officer Nansi Davies-Hughes and deputy visitor warden Elin Chueng, joining Chief Executive Sian Stacey, mark the new chapter for the sacred island.