Croft

Shetland

32 reviews • Updated 6 months ago

We have lived on Papa Stour (population 8) for 52 years,, gradually building our house and Croft from an old stone ruin and raising a family. We have hosted Conservation Volunteers and WWOOFER’s from all over the world since the 1980’s, resulting in many enduring friendships. Our Croft (small farm) is on the island of Papa Stour, which is in the Shetland group of islands, approximately 200 miles north of the Scottish mainland. We have a 40 breeding ewes, mostly Texel / Cllyn crosswhich are located both on the Croft . Also a small flock of Shetland sheep on the ‘apportionment’ on the remote uncultivated side of the island. Lambing is usually one of the highlights of our year and is from late April into May. We have several walled garden areas in which we grow a variety of vegetables, all according to Organic and Permaculture principles. We also rear and breed our own chickens .Finn is our working sheep dog. The property itself is adjacent to the sea, with its own beach and with various spectacular cliffs and caves nearby. We also manage our own native woodland eco burial site. Tasks on the Croft varies according to the seasons; Anything from lambing, clipping, butchering (we eat our own produce, including lamb), egg production, composting, veg growing, fencing, cutting weeds, collecting seaweed, dry stone walling, hay making and peat cutting. We have a number of rooms available in the main house, including a double en-suite. We also have a self contained wooden cabin for a couple. We are very sociable and main meals are usually taken communally. We hope you will be prepared to take a turn of the cooking requirement. For further information on Papa Stour please visit https://www.papastourhcg.org/ Ben Fogul Scotlands Sacred Island Series. Certifications: Not certified due to cost of getting inspection in Shetland Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Poultry farming

Sheep or goat farming

Seed saving or production

Meat processing

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Bakery

Food justice / sovereignty

Mechanics / tools / technology

Methods or systems

Biological pest control

Holistic management

No-till farming

Permaculture

Regenerative agriculture

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

89 Hectares | 220 Acres

Accommodation

3 WWOOFers

Bedroom

Cabin / Mobile-home

Children not accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Length of stay

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Andy & Sabina

Member since 2010

Languages spoken: English Response rate: 99% Response time: typically within 3 days

December 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Shetland

Overnight NORTHLINK ferry from Aberdeen on Scottish mainland to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands or 'plane: Aberdeen/ Sumburgh: Bus to ferry toWest Burrafirth: Ferry to Papa Stour.

Reviews

Claudia

United Kingdom • October 2025

Andy and Sabina were very generous with their time, sharing of information and knowledge. They are extremely passionate about their purpose which translates to the work they do and what they give back to the land, their animals and community (both local community and WOOFers). They explained all the tasks clearly and we had a good mixture of work. The location is very special and worth the journey getting there. The shared meals with Andy and Sabina and the other woofers were a great opportunity to come together and share delicious food (thank you Sabina) and varied conversations. Thank you for looking after us so well.

Benjamin

United States • October 2025

Phenomenal experience. I can’t say enough great things about Andy, Sabina, and the Croft. Great conversation and food everyday. Work was always interesting and clearly outlined. The island is very beautiful. It was a real pleasure to stay here.

Nicole

Switzerland • September 2025

This Croft on the wild island of Papa Stour is impressive. It is the result of a long history of a visionary and courageous couple. They always have interesting projects in the pipeline, such as creating a pond. They themselves are now older and need help. So expect to work hard. In concrete terms, I was given my working hours five minutes after I arrived in the Croft : 9am to 12.30pm, then 2.30pm to 5pm, plus feeding the chickens and washing up at lunchtime and in the evening. So well… around 7 hours per day ( no break proposed), Saturday included. I worked on my own, just sometimes with a friendly dog for company, and every day at 6:30 p.m., the hosts retiree to their private apartment. In fact I saw them only at mealtimes - which, it should be noted, were always delicious. There is also no community life on the island, which has only 18 inhabitants. So to come here, you have to love wild landscapes, solitude and have strong shoulders. Maybe come with a friend and if you are socialist, from an immigrant background, LGBTQ+ or simply different, come as a steadyfast and tender peacemaker. I left a little earlier than planned so that I would still have some free time, since their very nice son had arrived and could provided the needed help. I’m not sure that we had a misunderstanding.

Reply from Andy & Sabina

Dear Nicole, I am saddened to hear you had such a difficult time with us, .After nearly 40 years of hosting people from many countries, and of different political perspectives, you are the first to find our conversations disturbing. Often when trying to stimulate exchanges of ideas , irony is used, and I apologise if we did not take the cultural/language differences into account.As members of the “Free Speech Union” we are used to the free exchange of ideas. We would have been more than happy if you could have felt free to express yourself at our table. Hope you are enjoying the Hebrides. Sabina

Sarah

Australia • August 2025

I spent a great 3 weeks with Andy and Sabina at [Host]. Some of my time there overlapped with other wwoofers, which was nice for company. I did varied tasks - whatever needed doing really, working in the garden, working in the fields (turning hay, mowing thistles and grass) and helping cut up meat for the freezer, plus the daily chores like feeding chickens and cleaning up after meals. I loved having Finn the dog accompany me while I did my jobs. Andy and Sabina were very welcoming and happy to explain and share knowledge. The meals were delicious and plentiful. I was there during summer and was lucky to experience some wonderful weather. Papa stour is a wonderful island for walking and seeing birdlife. I’d highly recommend a visit to experience this unique place.

Tanya

New Zealand • July 2025

We loved our stay with Andy, Sabina, Finn the dog and family on Papa Stour, and like many before us, our only complaint is that we couldn't stay longer. We host Wwoofers ourselves in NZ and it was great to be on the other end of the partnership. We were well cared for (thanks Andy for the magical cave tour), well fed (the fresh, homemade food was delicious - thank you Sabina) and enjoyed working in someone elses garden/land and hearing/learning about their story. Papa Stour is a very special place and it grows some very special people.

Stephanie

Canada • June 2025

My time at Sabina and Andy's croft was magical! This was my first WWOOFing experience, and couldn't have been happier with my first being at the North House. I was there during lambing season, which was a highlight! When not looking after the lambs and checking for births and labours, the tasks were varied and included fixing fences, planting trees and vegetables, and tending to the garden. I felt completely at home at the North House. Sabina was an incredible cook and baker; the food was hearty and healthy and always hit the spot after a day's work. All meals were ate communally, which I enjoyed. The property is beautiful and there is lots of time to explore different parts of the property and the island. I particularly enjoyed my evening beach walks with their dog, Finn. Would highly recommend the North House as a WWOOFing experience!