Long Island Retreats is run and owned by husband-and-wife team Lindsay Robertson and DJ.
DJ was born and raised on North Uist and is passionate about island life and heritage. Lindsay is a sixth-generation farmer and also a professional photographer. The family unit involved in the business is small, consisting of just Lindsay and DJ.
DJ plays a key role in delivering the tours and carrying out much of the practical development work. Whereas Lindsay plays a pivotal role behind the scenes in all business areas, including strategy, marketing, finance, and administration.
The next generation of the family includes DJ’s adult son, Rory, who lives on the mainland, and Lindsay and DJ’s daughter, Cara
Long Island Retreats is located on the Island of South Uist, part of the famous Outer Hebrides island chain off Scotland’s west coast.
The croft is surrounded by machair, a Gaelic word which describes a fertile low-lying grassy plain typically found in North and South Uist.
Long Island Retreats is located in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise region.
The agritourism journey began in 2021 with the launch of lamb and meat boxes, which includes home-reared Aberdeen Angus and pork. The boxes are sold to the local community and via local food markets.
In 2022 the croft launched their own machair and island tours, as well as pony experiences. Visitors are predominantly private and small groups with an increase in travel trade bookings in recent years.
Lindsay and DJ manage five family crofts on South Uist, comprising a combination of machair and hill crofts. Combined the crofts extend to 259 acres plus access to acres of common grazing land.
Long Island Retreats manage a herd of 18 Aberdeen Angus breeding cattle and 60 North Country Cheviot breeding ewes. Lindsay and DJ recently introduced cattle to the hill crofts with 5 Highland breeding cattle and 2 large black breeding sows with 56 Shetland Ponies. The croft is also home to lambs which are used in meat production.
During the programme, the Ernespie team will focus on
