'We swapped London to run UK's most remote pub - people come from all over the world'

A couple who ditched bustling to run Britain's most remote say customers travel thousands of miles every year to grab a pint.

Rachel Devine, 46 and wife Jhennia Leipert, 44, relocated to Eastdale – the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides in , home to just 60 people and zero roads. They now run The Puffer Bar, which was named the 'most remote’ in the UK, according to a recent study.

The pair made the decision to leave their former home in London to embark on a life-changing journey post-lockdown, which saw them purchase The Puffer from its previous owners of 10 years. Rachel said: "We have to take everything over on a small boat and then we have to use wheel barrels to go around the island. It is a really kind and friendly community. It is quite empty in the winter because of the boats - a lot of people don't want to come over when the it is a bit rougher.

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"We are kind of left to ourselves so it is a nice time to chill and for the locals and to use the pub - of course, during the summer it gets crazy busy with tourists. Everybody does know each other quite well. The pub is a real meeting place and everybody feels a bit of ownership of the pub who does come in."

Visitors continue to travel from across the globe every year to enjoy a pint and a bite to eat at the pub. The quaint building once boasted a display of money from around the , where tourists would pin a note of their currency to the ceiling. Last year, The Puffer Bar underwent a makeover by interior designer Banjo Beale for the series Designing The Hebrides. Rachel admitted feeling “very worried” that the new look wouldn’t be a hit with regular islanders.

She said: "[The pub] had originally been styled like an old puffer boat - they were like black and red, they were dark and looked like a designed of a boat. Banjo came in and we lightened it up - he kept the boat motif with the bar. It looks very different than it did a year ago but the islanders were great.

"Some of them were a wee bit sad that we were doing it but I think most people have really taken to. It brings a new life into the pub and it reset it for us as new owners." She added: "There is money from Thailand, America, Brazil, Nigeria, . I think for a lot of people is a really fun thing to do to visit us and being on a carless island that makes it feel remote because we are so used to vehicles all the time."

Every September, the pub is filled with guests attending the World Stone Skimming Championships - an event which challenges participants to skim a stone as far as they can across a flooded quarry. Rachel said: "We are the only café and restaurant in the island and suddenly visitors go from 100 to 200 a day to 1500 to 2000 on a very busy stone skimming. The pub gets packed and there's people in every corner queuing for beer."

She explained how the last boat that leaves the island on new year's eve stops at 7pm - leaving no other way to get off the island for two days. Rachel said: "The pub just started come into life for Hogmanay and then everybody on new year's day goes to play this massive game of football on the green side next to the pub. Then they all go for a cold water dip into the sea and then the next stop is the pub for whisky just to get warm and to dry off after the dip."

Despite not regretting their decision to take over the business, Rachel reflects on how 'challenging' it can be at times. She said: "Sometimes we definitely say to each other 'what on earth were we thinking' but on the whole we have loved most every moment of it.

"It is really hard - it is much more work then we realised and we thought it was going to be a lot of work. But it is remote in the sense of just even trying to get food and drink to do the pub and takes a lot of effort. During Stone Skimming we had to drive 200 miles just to pick up some scallops and drive back again."

The Puffer Bar serves up an array of fresh food and drink, and while the restaurant is currently closed, the pub is open from 6pm between Thursday and Saturday.