My week surviving on an uninhabited Scottish island
Patrick Galbraith joins the Country Life podcast to talk about his week living on the uninhabited island of Scarba, off the west coast of Scotland.

In 2019, the journalist and author Patrick Galbraith spent a week on the uninhabited island of Scarba, a speck on the map in the Inner Hebrides.
In the course of his adventure, Patrick fished and foraged, walked and wondered, and went from moments of joy and beauty to pure misery. He came to the Country Life Podcast to tell us all about it, share some of the highs and lows, and explain what motivated him to give it a go in the first place.
You can read Patrick's original article about his time on Scarba on the Country Life website. You can find Patrick's book, In Search of One Last Song: Britain's Disappearing Birds and the People Trying to Save Them, from all good bookshops.
You can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts, including:
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Google Podcasts
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Audible
Episode credits
Host: James Fisher Guest: Patrick Galbraith Produced and edited by: Toby Keel Music: ‘Summertime’ by JuliusH Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn
The Country Life Podcast
Listen to all the episodes of the Country Life Podcast.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Credit: Country Life Picture Library
'The best job in the world': Listen to Mark Hedges on The Country Life Podcast
Country Life has launched a podcast, and for the first episode we're pulling back the curtain on the making of
Naughty sheep, clever cows and a lifetime of farming: Rosamund Young on the Country Life Podcast
Listen to best-selling author Rosamund Young on the latest edition of the Country Life Podcast.
My five favourite castles, by Country Life's Architectural Editor John Goodall
Listen to Dr John Goodall on the Country Life podcast as he names his five favourite castles in Britain — and
Boom, bust and property lust: Penny Churchill on 30 years of Britain’s best houses
Nobody in Britain has seen more of the nation's great country houses than Penny Churchill.
Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.
-
This blissful converted mill has sweeping views, a breathtaking library and gardens by a Chelsea gold medallist
Penny Churchill takes a look at Stanbridge Mill, one of the finest properties for sale today in the west country.
-
The smooth collie: A working breed with beauty and brains
Once the go-to Scottish herding dog, the smooth collie is as elegant as it is dependable — a working breed with beauty and brains.
-
What the hedge can tell us about the countryside, with Richard Negus
The hedge is much more than just a barrier between one field and the next. Richard Negus joins the Country Life Podcast to discuss his work, his latest book and how he's being tapped up to switch cricket clubs.
-
Ken Follett on Stonehenge, building cathedrals, and the glaring flaw in Shakespeare's greatest soliloquy
The bestselling author Ken Follett joins the Country Life Podcast
-
The finest wines available to humanity, and how to buy them, with Beth Pearce
Beth Pearce MW, head of buying at Flint Wines, joins the Country Life Podcast
-
Levison Wood: Trekking the Nile, near-death experiences and why nothing beats a cup of tea and a piece of toast
The adventurer, explorer, writer and film-maker Levison Wood joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.
-
Bruce Hodgson: Artichoke's founder on catflaps, carpentry and the future of crafts
Bruce Hodgson, one of Britain's best furniture makers and carpenters, joins the Country Life Podcast.
-
The truth about P.G. Wodehouse: Robert Daws on playing England's greatest comic writer
The actor Robert Daws starred alongside Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in Jeeves and Wooster back in the 1990s, and the work of P.G. Wodehouse has been part of his decades-long career ever since. He joined the Country Life Podcast.
-
Marcus Janssen: The man behind Schöffel on Chelsea Lifejackets, bagging a 'MacNab' and recognising the best of the British countryside
Marcus Janssen of Schöffel joins the Country Life podcast.
-
Corinne Fowler: Exploring the hidden history of the British countryside, one walk at a time
Professor Corinne Fowler joins the Country Life Podcast.