Varun Patel
Nowadays, we often tend to ignore the boons of modern life: from ready-to-eat meals to automatic washing machines which make life way simpler. However, things weren’t as simplistic before. The Welsh television series, ‘The 1900 Island’ takes this premise and makes four families go through daily life as if they were living in the 1900s.
A fishing village is recreated as if it belongs to the 20th century. Then, the four families are made to live on four cottages, with the men tasked to bring food by fishing and the women handed duties of running the home and looking after the children.
Some of the challenges that the families face include bad weather that makes fishing difficult, sewing and washing clothes without modern technology and surviving competition from more advanced businessmen. The women also face difficulty in finding work and being reduced to gender roles due to the limited number of opportunities for them on the island.
The four families that participated in the first season of ‘The 1900 Island’ were the Powers family with five members, the young couple: Arwel and Kate, the Davies family with seven members and the experienced Clive Barker with his wife.
The 1900 Island Filming Locations
Escaping the modern world and living life on an island as if it were the 1900s surely sounds like an adventurous trip but actually surviving such circumstances can be quite harsh, as the families on ‘The 1900 Island’ will tell you. What you might not hear, however, is how tough it is for the production team to recreate a setting that cuts its contestants off from the contemporary age on a tiny, remote island.
Many of you might be wondering where the island in ‘The 1900 Island’ is situated. Is it actually as ancient as it is made to appear? The Welsh television show takes four families to a fishing island which although picturesque, is quite barren. Continue reading to find out where all the action of this unique television show takes place.
Llanddwyn Island
Filming for ‘The 1900 Island’ is carried out on the tiny island of Llanddwyn. “Island” is actually a misnomer for the place since it stays connected to the mainland via a narrow stretch of land for most parts of the year. It is only in times of high tide that the connective piece of land disappears under the sea, making “Ynys Llanddwyn” surrounded by the water on all four sides.
When it comes to the precise location, LLanddwyn is situated off the coast of Anglesey in Northwest Wales in the United Kingdom. A part of the Newborough Warren National Nature Reserve, the Llanddwyn Island boasts of some magnificent sand dunes and various historic places.
Dydd Santes Dwynwen hapus I pawb. Happy St Dwynwen's day to all 😍#Llanddwyn #Anglesey #Love #The1900Island #Welsh #NorthWales #Wales pic.twitter.com/xKBCJG6kd9
— Davies Family 1900 Island (@davies_1900) January 25, 2020
Alexis Girardet, the series producer/director for ‘The 1900 Island’ says that working on this show had been one of her toughest tasks ever, despite having worked in numerous remote and demanding locations previously. To begin with, arrangements for four families to stay on the island of Llanddwyn had to be made. The cottages where the families resided had to be constructed in 20th century style.
Moreover, as many as twenty-one expert contributors needed to be cast and dressed in authentic 20th century gear. Apart from obtaining permissions for these 21 contributors, fishing boats and equipment also needed to be procured. Four shooting teams needed to be managed and these were just some of the challenges.
To avoid excessive logistical troubles, the shooting style had to be kept minimal. The crews were small and self-shooters were used wherever possible. The authenticity of living as if it were the 1900s was achieved by filming in natural light. This proved to be challenging, especially when it came to filming at night.
Since the show captures the actual, un-staged, living experiences of each of the four families, several unforeseen circumstances had to be dealt with. For instance, there were a couple of storms that obstructed fishing. However, despite all the difficulties, the cast and crew pulled through to provide an authentic 1900s experience. While the island of Llanddwyn might be a great place to visit, we aren’t sure that you might want to make the trip in 20th century style.
