India, Sept. 29 -- Most of us have daydreamed about escaping to a quiet place. Two sisters actually did it. The Cornwall Wildlife Trust says Evelyn and Babs Atkins bought Looe Island, off the Cornwall coast, in the 1960s and lived there for decades. The island later passed to the trust, which now runs it as a nature reserve.

Island life often isn't as easy as it might appear on your social media feed. According to the trust, the island runs without mains water, grid electricity or shops. That's a far cry from a one-tap delivery life. The island has self-sufficient fruit and vegetable plots that help keep it fed. The gardens are managed for wildlife, so even the vegetable patch has a job to do.

Look closer, and the island isn't really em...