Almost deserted, the tiny isle of Ulva is on the brink of a new era. A fold of Highland cattle is just the start, finds Sandra Dick

Under a watery blue winter sky, Ulva’s hairy-backed new residents piled side by side on to a small barge for the short journey from Mull, on their way to help breathe fresh life into the Inner Hebridean island.

With hooves clattering on the metal deck of the Maid of Ulva, a navy blue and white barge owned by a salmon farm business and loaned for the occasion, 11 blonde, brunette and raven-haired young Highland heifers took their first and highly significant steps on to the island’s slipway, and towards a new chapter in the isle’s very chequered history.

The first fold of Highland heifers to set "hoof" on Ulva in countless years is now settling into their new home.

Soon they’ll be joined by 20 more and sent to graze on land which hasn’t seen cattle for decades.

Of course, on the surface, the arrival of Ulva’s newest "residents" may seem slightly underwhelming.

However, for islanders, the Ulva fold signifies the first gentle steps towards restoring an agricultural presence on an island where dozens of farmers, boat builders, merchants, carpenters, weavers, blacksmiths and tailors once worked, and where, until a few weeks ago, just six people remained.

The fold of cows’ first task will be to graze on wild and overgrown former farmland, trampling down the troublesome bracken and restoring a healthy environment for native species to flourish.

Eventually it’s hoped the fold will play a key role in attracting new farmers: a small but vital part of a larger plan to rejuvenate an almost deserted island which was once home to almost 900 people.

Indeed, the pioneering cows are a small but significant sign that Ulva’s rebirth, sparked by a community land buyout in 2018, is gradually taking shape.

“This is the first stepping stone,” says Wendy Reid, Ulva’s recently appointed development manager who arrived on the island in September to boost the number of residents to seven.

“It’s significant and symbolic to have animals coming back to Ulva. This is the first step towards bringing agricultural beasts back and using them to improve the conditions of the productive land on the island.”

As well as paving the way towards the reintroduction of farming activities, the cows' presence is hoped to help boost biodiversity and help support corncrakes and rare species such as the Slender Scotch Burnett Moth.

Subtle signs of activity on Ulva come 18 months after the island celebrated a controversial £4.65 million community ownership deal largely funded by public money.

Some argued it was a harsh day for the island’s owner, Jamie Howard. Recently widowed and whose family had owned Ulva for three generations, his hope to sell to his preferred bidder was removed from his hands by Scottish Government community land reform rules.

Others, however, embraced the move as a new dawn for an island which had suffered at the hands of 19th and 20th-century owners.

In 1841, the population of Ulva and neighbouring Gometra – attached by a narrow bridge – stood at 859. Within seven years it would slump to a mere 150 and by the 1920s, Ulva, a favourite spot for Beatrix Potter, Sir Walter Scott and visited by James Boswell and Dr. Samuel Johnson, would have just seven families left, with crofts abandoned and properties in ruins.

Since the change of ownership, however, interest has soared among people keen to visit and, perhaps surprisingly for a remote spot with no car ferry, school, shop or roads, to set up home.

Recently a survey by the North West Mull Community Woodland Company Ltd, which as a result of last year’s community buyout owns Ulva, revealed its population could balloon by 6,000 per cent if all applications to become its newest residents were accepted.

More than 350 people have lodged their interest in living on the island: a challenge, given there are currently just a handful of residential properties and no infrastructure other than a single restaurant – The Boathouse – to support them.

There are, however, big plans. And the arrival of the Highland cattle, says Ms Reid, are just the start.

By next summer, the six residential properties are expected to have been fully refurbished. The plan includes the restoration of a Thomas Telford-designed manse, built in the 1820s and long abandoned, and there have been hints that its neighbouring church could one day become a music venue.

Further ahead, there has been talk of a proper campsite, mini-hotel and hostel for tourists who want to extend their visit, an oyster farm and shops. It’s been suggested that within a decade, Ulva could be home to at least 30 people, rising to 50 by 2040.

Certainly, there is a major rise in interest: visitor numbers have boomed from around 4,500 a year to over 7,000 over the course of the past year, raising questions over the tiny island’s ability to cope with the additional footfall.

“There has been a significant increase in the numbers of people coming across to visit,” says Ms Reid. “It will lead to pressure on infrastructure on the island, but we are working on a number of things to manage it and to give visitors a more diverse experience

“We are very aware of the impact of more visitors and we don't want the island to be overwhelmed.”

Those who made the short journey from Mull during recent weeks may have noticed subtle changes. For a start, volunteers have tackled the overgrown walled garden at Ulva House which, until the buyout, was the fine B-listed mansion home to the Howard family.

Plans for the house are said to include refurbishing half to become a high-quality self-catering property which would fund the running of an interpretation and educational centre in the other half.

Further plans are understood to focus on the development of infrastructure to support house plots for sale and self-build and for the construction of rented accommodation.

If the cattle’s recent arrival signifies a giant leap towards the return of an agricultural sector on the island, there is another sign of a new era.

Sheila MacFadyen was a dairy maid for the Clark family, Ulva’s owners until the mid-20th century. The last resident of a row of humble cottages, she left for Mull in the 1950s.

She died in 1959, but her blackhouse remained to become a crucial part of island heritage and destination for visitors curious to discover more of the islanders’ basic way of life.

Work on its restoration is now complete. Even "Sheila" – a mannequin which has sat huddled in a corner of the tiny home – has had a revamp, and become another highly visible sign of change on Ulva.

“The mannequin had become quite spooky, she was looking tired and ragged,” explains Ms Reid.

“We have had a donation of Harris Tweed for a new skirt, and volunteers in Mull are giving her a bit of a new look. Once she’s had her makeover, she’ll sit at a spinning wheel that has been done up along with information boards and maps.”

Sheila’s Cottage, she adds, will remain at the heart of island life – a vital link with times gone by and a bright new future.

“There has been a huge amount of effort behind the scenes, processes and paperwork and consultations that people can’t see.

“The re-thatching of Sheila’s Cottage and the arrival of the Highland cows is very symbolic; people can see things happening.

“We are planning to announce a number of major plans in the new year.

“We are on the cusp of a new start.”