Everyone chooses how to live: someone only dreams of adventures and exploits, and someone makes their dreams come true. Almost every person wants to leave behind something that will be remembered, but, alas, only a few manage to achieve this.

Brandon Grimshaw is among the people who managed to break out of the usual framework of the daily routine, were not afraid to take risks and make their dreams come true. This Englishman, almost 40 years old, moved to live on the island he bought, where for many years, before the arrival of Grimshaw, no man had set foot.

Brandon's haven was Moyen, a small island (about 9 hectares), which belongs to the Seychelles group.

A man under the age of 40, leaving his job and usual life, moved to the island, which at that time could hardly be called a comfortable place to live. Brandon loved nature and was ready to make every effort to ennoble his new offspring.

When Brandon bought Moyenne, the island was so overgrown that there was literally nowhere for a coconut to fall. But Grimshaw put it in order, worked tirelessly, planted trees, took care of giant turtles, thanks to him birds appeared on the island (Brandon had to look for them on a neighboring island).

Living on a desert island, he faced all the "Robinson hardships" that most of us have only read about in books.

Brandon found himself an assistant, Rene Lafortin (an aborigine who once lived on the island). Rene helped Brandon improve the island, get food, take care of birds and turtles, and plant trees. During the decades of their stay on the island, they planted about 16,000 trees. There were also several thousand birds that Brandon gave a home to.


The birds that Brandon had attracted from a nearby island immediately flew home. But then a couple of birds returned. The new Robinson began to feed them, and over time, the number of birds on the island became more and more.

In 1996, Brandon Grimshaw published his autobiography, Particles of Sand. The story of one man and an island.


In addition, a documentary was made about Brandon (unfortunately, without Russian subtitles).

In 2008, the island became a national park, and in 2012 Brandon Grimshaw passed away. Today, the island attracts many tourists: in addition to the fact that Moyen is famous for Grimshaw, there are rumors that pirate treasures are hidden there.

Brandon Grimshaw is a man who has lived a long and amazing life. Could you follow his example?

Brandon Grimshaw is a British man who bought an island in the Seychelles in 1962 and lived there alone, becoming the modern-day Robinson of his own free will.

When Grimshaw decided to buy this small island in the Seychelles in 1962, it cost £8,000. Moyenne Island was the name of his new property, which then, in the early 1960s, was not at all adapted for human life. A couple of nameless pirate graves, and more than a hundred skulls - that, in fact, was all that could be found on a deserted island overgrown with lush tropical vegetation.

Moyenne Island is located in the Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean), it is one of the 115 Seychelles, which is considered perhaps the most spectacular and amazing islands on the planet. At the time of purchase, the island was so densely overgrown with vegetation that even the coconuts that fell from the palm trees did not reach the ground and stuck to the branches. Brandon needed help - he invited Rene Lafortune with him, who became a kind of Friday for the British Robinson. Together they managed to adapt the island for life, together they planted mangoes and papaya, together they built a dwelling and, in general, turned Moyenne from uninhabited to inhabited.

Brandon Grimshaw was already 86 years old when he died. Until the last moment, he was broad in the shoulders, athletic and incredibly flexible - life on the island left no chance of getting fat or losing shape.

For the past 50 years, Brandon has lived in the company of sea turtles, which live in abundance on the beach, and a huge number of birds. By the way, Grimshaw assured that there were no turtles on the island when he first bought it, these curious animals arrived later. Brandon also had several dogs, which he specially brought to the island.

He first visited this island in the very late 1950s, Grimshaw was then restless and could not stop looking for adventure after working for several years as a journalist in Africa.

Brandon's assistant, René, died a few years before him, and so later Brandon was left all alone. By nature, he was not a hermit, he was very happy with the visitors who arrived on his island, and he also regretted that he had not married at one time.

He died in July 2012, at the age of 87. It is known that these days he was offered a lot of money for the island, but Brandon did not agree - this place has become for him something much more than just property.

Rumor has it that somewhere on Moyenne a pirate treasure worth more than 30 million pounds is buried, and Brandon had a secret hope one day to find it. Whether there is a treasure on the island or not is unknown, but it is known that Brandon Grimshaw, alas, failed to find it. And it is also known that more than 200 years ago, this island really served as a refuge for pirates.

I must say that while Brandon Grimshaw was alive, no one was particularly interested in him, and only shortly before his death, journalists suddenly showed interest in the modern Robinson. So, a documentary was shot about him, after which people learned about Brandon and became interested in his life on the island.

He claimed that he never intended to turn his island into a national park or anything like that. This island had simply been his home for a long half century, and all the improvements that Brandon and his assistant had made on Moyenne were made only to make their home comfortable.

"The only reason anyone would want to buy this island is to build a big hotel here," he said.

When asked if he had ever been lonely, Brandon once replied: "Only when I lived in an apartment in London. I was unhappy there, but never here."

A Grain of Sand: The Story of One Man and an Island is the title of Brandon Grimshaw's autobiographical book, published in 1996.

It's not often you hear a story about a man who was able to turn a deserted island into a beautiful national park. It is about such a person that we decided to tell you. His name is Brandon Grimshaw. While still in the prime of his life, Brandon decided to get away from the bustle of the city and go to live on an absolutely uninhabited island. At that time, Brandon bought an island in the Seychelles for $ 13,000 and it was on him that he moved to live.

By the time Brandon arrived on the island of Moyen, there had been no person on it for more than half a century. In order to somehow settle down on the new island, Brandon found himself a companion - Rene Lafortin. Together they built a house and developed the area around it. René Lafortin did not live on the island permanently. He came periodically to help Brandon equip the island. Brandon didn't leave the island for years. When Brandon was asked if he was bored living alone, Brandon replied: "When I lived in London, I felt lonely all the time."

In almost 40 years of working together, Rene and Brandon have been able to plant over 16,000 trees. They also managed to lay about 5 kilometers of paths and paths. Unfortunately, in 2007, Rene died and Brandon had to be left without a partner.

At the time of Rene's death, Brandon was already 81 years old. For more than 40 years of hard work on the island, he managed to attract several hundred turtles to it (which, by the way, were under the threat of extinction), about 2000 different species of birds. In general, about 2/3 of the entire fauna that exists in the Seychelles now exists on Brandon Island.

The island attracted the attention of the prince of Saudi Arabia, who offered Brandon $ 50 million for this island of paradise. Brandon refused, because. I did not want this island to become someone's property. Instead, Brandon proposed to make his island a national park so that everyone could visit it and enjoy the nature of these places.

In 2008, Brandon's proposal came true - the island was made a national park! To this day, this island attracts a really large number of tourists from all over the world.

Brendon Grimshaw passed away in 2012.

Another person who was able to create a reserve alone is. Also, we talked about who was able to restore vegetation in the desert! We recommend reading.

An interesting story about a man who created his own paradise. It was 50 years ago when Brandon Grimshaw decided to quit his job and bought an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean called Moyenne. Brendon Grimshaw bought his island while on holiday in the Seychelles in 1960. One boy asked him if he would like to buy an island for himself, Brandon thought, why not. At the time, the island was only worth £10,000.

Having moved to the island, it needed to be transformed for life. And then he took a local resident René Antoine Lafortune as his assistant, and together they began to transform Moyenne, planted a large number of trees and partially created amenities. This photo was taken in 1996:

He told about the island that it was an impenetrable jungle, it was possible to get to different parts only by swimming. Therefore, the first problem he faced was to lay paths through the jungle of the island. Together with Rene, they planted more than 16,000 trees, thereby attracting many thousands of birds to the island, and also contributed to the prosperity of giant tortoises. Not a single turtle was around when the island was first purchased.





Since then, Brendan was offered $ 50 million for the island, but he refused this money, saying that he wanted to make the Seychelles National Park here, and this happened in 2008.

Brendan Grimshaw's book, "Particles of Sand - The Story of One Man and an Island", was published in 1996 and tells about life on the island and the difficulties one has to face. He died on July 3, 2012, just three weeks before his 87th birthday. Brandon owned the island for 50 years.

Title page of Brandon's book:


The book also has illustrations, this is a map of Moyenne Island:

During Brandon's life, no one was particularly interested in his life and activities, and only half a year before his death, in 2012, they learned about him and shot a 75-minute documentary prepared by Joseph Johnson.


Joseph Johnson recounted his meeting with Brandon: "Surrounded on all sides by a coral reef, Moyenne looked very wild and uninhabited, but after I saw a wooden house through the trees, I realized that Brandon lives here. I was very kindly greeted by a tanned elderly man in in shorts and a T-shirt. Oddly enough, he still spoke with an accent, although it didn't fit with the exotic scenery. Together we climbed the rock-cut steps to Brandon's one-story wooden house. Here he took care of his 120 giant tortoises. Giant turtles live in the Seychelles, however they are almost extinct in other islands.Brandon gave them names such as: Alice, Florita, etc. His house was a little old and shabby, but it was filled with American gifts and souvenirs.


Which of us in childhood did not read D. Defoe's novel, dreaming at least for a moment of finding himself on a desert island and experiencing a small part of the adventures that befell Robinson Crusoe? Brandon Grimshaw, an Englishman from Yorkshire, knows that dreams must come true. About 40 years ago, he settled on the island of Moyen in the Indian Ocean and has since devoted himself to nature!

Brandon Grimshaw lived 40 years on a desert island

The dog is a faithful companion of Brandon Grimshaw

In the early 1960s Brandon, on one of his business trips, first came to the Seychelles and realized that he wanted to stay here to live. Then the laws allowed you to buy entire islands (now only long-term lease is possible), and an enterprising Englishman bought the island of Muaen, which was unsuitable for life at that time! After moving, Brandon set out to find those who used to live on this island. He managed to find the Creole René Lafortune, who lived on Moyene until the age of 10. The newly-minted Friday was so carried away by communication with an Englishman that he left his wife and children and returned to live in his historical homeland!

Brandon Grimshaw lived 40 years on a desert island

Brandon and Rene have made every effort to protect and increase the flora and fauna of the island. Both planted approximately 16,000 trees each. In addition, Brendon purchased several endangered giant tortoises from a nearby island, and there are now 120 tortillas on Moyene. Each of them has a red mark on the shell, which helps to track their movement, and also protects against poachers. But the main achievement of Robinson is the birds! During the time that he and Friday live on the island, about 2000 of them appeared here: in order for the birds to settle here, Brandon spent water on Moyen!

Giant tortoises farmed by Brandon Grimshaw on a desert island

Brandon's efforts were appreciated: the island acquired the status of a national park in 2008. Today, a lot is written and known about Grimshaw, a large number of curious tourists come to Moyen, and the island becomes inhabited again. Of course, modern Robinson gets tired of visitors, but he founded a charitable foundation to which money is transferred to maintain the island. But a reminder of that wonderful time when the robinsonade just started, there was a book written by Brandon himself "The Story of a Man and His Island" with a touching dedication inscription: "Rene Antonio Lafortune, more than just Friday."

Muayen Island in the Indian Ocean