Would you like to own your own private Scottish Island?  In this episode, I'll talk about a small undeveloped island that's recently come up for sale. 
Transcript
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode, I’m your host Jenni and today I’m talking about something that actually causes a lot of pronunciation difficulties for English language learners. Islands or land surrounded by water.  Many learners actually pronounce it island for logical reasons as that is how is is pronounced so it seems right to assume that island would be the same, but that’s not right, I think the best way to remember is to think of some other words pronounced in the same way: ice cream or idea or even Ireland!
Anyway, in Scotland as you may know,  we have quite a lot of islands, around 790 in total I think, but not all are inhabited.  Some are surrounded by the sea and others are in a loch, Loch, for those of you who don’t know is a Scottish word for lake.  We refer to most lakes in Scotland as Lochs.  Another word that can be tricky to pronounce because of the ch at the end.
I must confess I love small  islands and take every opportunity to visit one when I can. Island visits are great for escaping from city life, perfect for adventure and completely addictive!  Every island has its own character and atmosphere!  I can tell you that when travel is safe again, one of the first places I’ll be visiting is a Scottish island.
So what do you think about owning your own private island? You may think this is only a dream, something available just to the very wealthy but not necessarily.  Every so often here in Scotland, one of our little islands is put up for sale. Right now, There’s a lovely little island called Deer island for sale through an  online auction.  The bids started at just £80,000 that’s  $110,000  and while it will probably sell for much more than that, it sounds like a good deal to me,  it seems it is possible to own a little bit of Scottish paradise for the same price as a small house in Glasgow or Edinburgh. .
Deer island is a loch island in the West Highlands, it’s 11 acres, no one lives there and according to reports it’s been owned by the same family for 500 years.  It’s completely undeveloped with no buildings, no amenities and it’s covered in woodland, with this little island you’d be starting from scratch, limited only by your imagination, finances and of course,  Council planning regulations!
But what an amazing opportunity to create your own little world!  You may be wondering how accessible it is?  Well, it’s around 45 miles from The nearest town, Fort William and not too far from the Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous more recently in the Harry Potter movies. A nearby island has self catering holiday accommodation which is accessible by a 15 minute speedboat ride from the mainland and of course there’s wonderful wildlife all around the area, red squirrels, seals and the occasional dolphin! The perfect spot for some peace and quiet.
According to some reports, sales of private islands around the world have tripled since the pandemic, I guess it really is the perfect place to isolate, enjoy a bit of solitude or some much valued privacy.What would you do with your own private Scottish island?  Leave me a voice message on Anchor, I’d love to hear your ideas!

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