Stunning ocean, amazing wildlife and blissful quiet… could this be the best doctor’s job ever?

DAILYMAIL.COM • 51m ago

By JOHN PAUL BRESLIN, WEEKEND NEWS EDITOR – SCOTLAND 19:04 14 Nov 2026, updated 19:32 14 Nov 2026

As office views go, you’d be hard pressed to find one as stunning as that enjoyed by Dr Susan Bowie.

A number of sea mammals including orcas, humpback whales and Risso’s dolphins can often be spotted from the coastline.

The area is also home to otters and seals as well as a variety of seabirds, coastal birds and breeding waders.

Panoramic views aside, her life in Shetland and the job that makes it possible is surely a tempting prospect for fellow medics seeking a quiet island life.

And now that chance has arrived as Dr Bowie – one of the most northerly GPs in the whole of the UK – looks for a replacement to take on the role she has filled at Hillswick Health Centre for decades.

Not only will the successful candidate be part of a close-knit community and working in one of the most picturesque locations in Scotland.

They could also land themselves a £10,000 ‘golden hello’ payment for taking on the post.

The rewards are both personal and professional. Dr Bowie and her journalist husband Tom Morton have raised their family on the island.

Their three children attended the local primary and secondary schools and have gone on to great things, working as doctors and software engineers.

You may well remember her GP son James who rose to fame as a contestant on The Great British Bake Off in 2012.

Meanwhile, her career has allowed Dr Bowie to get to know her 800 patients in a way other medics cannot.

As she explains: ‘The important thing for the practice is longitudinal care.

‘I think that’s what’s the really great thing for me, because I know my patients quite well.

‘They come in and you think, “Oh, they’ve lost weight” or you think their colour has changed and they look jaundiced.

‘That’s the most satisfying thing about being at this practice – being able to properly look after the patients from start to finish.

‘There’s one family I’ve looked after for five generations.’

Born in Glasgow, Dr Bowie had worked in a fish factory in Lerwick over several summers while she was a student, usually weighing cod or making kippers.

She made friends and grew to love the area.

So, when she heard there was a job going as the ‘relief practitioner’ in Shetland in the 1980s she went for it.

She worked in different practices across the islands for the next four years before eventually opening her own small practice at Hillswick in 1988.

Describing what potential candidates can expect if they end up taking on the role, she said: ‘The practice is lovely with the right amount of very nice patients to be busy but not usually too busy.

‘There’s also good support from the Lerwick and Aberdeen consultants and a very good district hospital nearby.’

Another tempting prospect is the fact there is a house available nearby, which can be rented or bought.

Living nearby has definite benefits. Unlike other GPs who have to sit amid the fumes of rush hour traffic on their way to work or travel long distances on public transport, Dr Bowie’s commute is far more serene.

She said: ‘It’s a lovely, five-minute walk. There’s a pond that I pass with lots of ducks and there’s usually loads of seabirds there and some pheasants as well.

‘Sometimes I walk along the beach to work.’

There are also clubs and groups to get involved with, with Dr Bowie saying she personally enjoys taking part in a knitting club and a dancing group.

For Dr Bowie, who retires in April, it’s a no-brainer.

She said: ‘It’s a good life and my three children have had a good life growing up here as well.’

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