How Farm on the Orkney island of Sanday has been home to seven generations of the Sinclair family, a testament to enduring dedication and adaptation.
However, after decades of farming, Malcolm and Jackie Sinclair have decided it’s time for change. Both their livestock farms, How and Backaskaill, are now on the market, with a combined asking price of £4.2 million.
“There used to be lots of little family farms, with 20 or 30 cows and some sheep. They all vanished a long time ago,” says 64-year-old Malcolm Sinclair.
“When I left school at 16, we had five shops on Sanday, there were two garages to fix the machinery and tradesmen and builders based here on the island. Now, we still have two good shops but we are much more dependent on goods and services coming from the Orkney mainland, and beyond.”
The changes in farming practices across rural Scotland have seen small farms amalgamated into larger, more economically viable units. Most farm jobs have become mechanized, allowing one worker to complete more in a day than the combined effort of a whole community in the past.
This shift has been particularly evident in Sanday, where Malcolm and Jackie Sinclair have farmed 400 cattle and 600 sheep, while also running a haulage business and a community shop.
Their son Fraser, now 21, was the last baby born on the island, and neither of their boys lives there anymore. The Sinclairs have already sold the shop and haulage businesses, and now, with their decision to sell the farms, they are diversifying into tourism. “You can’t go on forever,” Malcolm said.
“Our boys don’t want the farms. We’ve cut back what we are doing and now there’s a grand chance for somebody to come in and take this on. You can buy a lot more acres here than you can in the south, and once they are here there are plenty of opportunities.”
How Farm is on the market for £2.2 million, and next door, Backaskaill Farm is offered for £2 million. Together, they cover more than 1,200 acres of the island, famed for its dramatic sweeping beaches and crystal blue seas.
In recent years, the decline in Sanday’s population has been halted, with many older people moving there attracted by the natural environment and relatively cheaper property prices.
The latest census figures show Sanday’s population fell by 7% between 1981 and 2022, but the decline slowed to just 1% over the last census period, stabilizing with 491 residents in 2022.
Despite the stabilization, the age profile of the community mirrors trends seen in many other island communities: there are too few young people and residents are getting older. In Sanday, 42% of the population is over 60 years old, while only 14% are aged between 18 and 39.
Prof Michael Anderson, emeritus professor of economic history at the University of Edinburgh, notes that while Orkney’s mainland population has been increasing, more outlying islands like Sanday must work harder to attract and retain a working-age population.
Malcolm’s wife Jackie, who moved to Sanday from Edinburgh in the 1990s, sees potential in catering to the growing tourism sector.
“We started our self-catering business out of Covid, and it’s still growing. We’ve recently bought two more properties and we’re developing another as high-end retreats.”
The Sinclairs plan to split their time between Sanday and the mainland, ensuring that the island will always be home.
