随着燃料价格达到俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来英国最高水平，苏格兰岛民正比大多数人更切肤地感受到这种痛苦。根据英国皇家汽车俱乐部（RAC）的数据，在英国本土，柴油价格已飙升至每升200.01便士的历史新高，一辆普通家庭用车加满油的费用已超过110英镑。自2月底伊朗战争爆发以来，汽油价格已上涨三分之一，平均为每升174.71便士，在高速公路服务区的价格则升至195.64便士。
s fuel prices reach the highest level in the UK since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Scottish islanders are feeling the pain more than most. On the mainland, the price of diesel has soared to a record high of 200.01p a litre, bringing the cost of filling an average family car to more than £110, according to the RAC. Petrol has risen by a third since the start of the Iran war at the end of February, averaging 174.71p – increasing to 195.64p in motorway service areas.
在赫布里底群岛和设得兰群岛，加油站的油价上涨得更加迅猛，在初期涨价期间，一些加油站柴油价格甚至超过每升220便士。
In the Hebrides and Shetland, prices at the forecourt have jumped even higher, with some fuel stations selling diesel for more than 220p a litre during the initial rise.
尽管欧洲各国政府似乎成功阻止了可能导致油价进一步上涨的美国出口禁令，但在设得兰群岛，由于缺乏竞争以及向偏远地区运输的成本高昂，这里已成为英国燃料价格最高的地方。这对岛上居民的生活带来了立竿见影的影响。
While European governments appear to have staved off a US export ban that could have sent prices even higher, in Shetland the lack of competition and the cost of shipping to remote areas have made it the most expensive place in the UK for fuel. The ramifications for island life have been immediate.
43岁的亚当居住在外赫布里底群岛的北尤斯特岛，他表示岛上的柴油价格已达到每升2.28英镑，这使得他每天往返45英里的通勤格外昂贵。他和妻子都开着柴油车，这些车是他们工作和接送三个孩子所必需的。
Adam, 43, who lives in North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, said diesel had reached £2.28 a litre on the island, making his 45-mile round commute particularly expensive. He and his wife have diesel cars that they need for work and transporting their three children.
“你已经接受了这里物价更高这一现实，尤其是食品，因为运输距离更远，而且我们离配送中心也更远。物品配送也是如此，因为需要行驶更长的路程。但当柴油价格像这样飙升时，它对这里居民的影响确实比英国其他地方更严重，”他说。
“You accept that things are more expensive, especially food because there’s more distance to travel and we are further from distribution centres. Same with getting things delivered here because you have to drive more miles. But when something like the price of diesel skyrockets, it really hammers people here more than other places around the country,’” he says.
亚当表示，在工作和接送孩子、妻子之间，他们确实要跑很多路。为了削减开支，亚当说，由于食品价格也取决于运输公司支付的柴油价格，他们不得不购买最便宜的食物。
In between work and dropping children off with his wife, Adam says they really rack up the miles. To cut costs, Adam says the family is having to buy the cheapest food they can, given that food prices are also dependent on the price of diesel that haulage companies pay.
“过去一周左右，油价确实有所下跌。我从未想过自己会抬头看到柴油价格高达2.18英镑，然后心想：‘哦，快，我得赶紧加油了。’情况真的很糟。虽然人们觉得这里非常小，但人们几乎总是待在自己的车里。我平均每年开1.5万英里，我妻子开的更多，因为她是一名健康探访员。她的行驶里程和苏格兰中部地区健康探访员差不多，但我们却要付更多的钱，”他说。
“It’s come down a bit in the last week or so. I never thought I’d look up at a £2.18 diesel price and think: ‘Oh, quick, I better fill up now.’ It’s really bad. Although people think of this place as really tiny, you’re in your car all the time. I average 15,000 miles a year, and my wife does even more because she’s a health visitor. She gets the same mileage as someone who’s a health visitor in the central belt, yet we pay a lot more,” he says.
外赫布里底群岛约有2.6万人居住，主要集中在最大的两个岛屿——刘易斯岛和哈里斯岛。亚当表示，物价上涨也影响了公共服务的可及性，而这些服务对于岛民来说本来就难以抵达。
About 26,000 people live in the Outer Hebrides, mainly on the largest islands of Lewis and Harris. Adam says rising prices have also hit accessibility to public services, which are already difficult to reach for islanders.
“苏格兰政府声称希望帮助这类地区重新吸引人口，但实际上并没有提供多少实际支持。例如，我女儿需要去看儿科医生做听力测试，所以我不得不带她去斯托诺韦。这包括预订渡轮、开车超过100英里以及住酒店。虽然我们可以通过患者交通补贴计划报销部分费用，但他们只给40到50英镑的酒店补贴。由于前往那里的成本太高，国家医疗服务体系（NHS）实际上已不再是‘即时免费’的，因为我们无法在当地接受治疗，”他说。
“The Scottish government say they want to help repopulate places like this but in reality, they are not offering much practical support. For example, my daughter had a referral to a paediatrician for a hearing test so I had to take her to Stornoway for that. It involved booking ferries, driving more than 100 miles and staying in a hotel. We can claim some money back from the patient travel scheme but they only offer you £40-£50 for a hotel. Because of the costs getting there, the NHS stops being free at the point of use because we can’t be treated locally,” he says.
住在设得兰群岛的邮递员鲍勃表示，这个北海群岛的居民对不断上涨的燃料价格感到沮丧，尽管这里也是石油和天然气产业的重要中心。
Bob, a postman who lives in Shetland, said that people in the North Sea archipelago were frustrated by rising fuel prices while also being a hub for the oil and gas industry.
“你只能接受现实。这里一直比其他地方稍微贵一些，所以你必须接受这些价格。你能怎么办呢？燃料贫困问题在这里一直存在。从某种意义上说，这很讽刺，因为我们靠近北海石油和天然气的主要产区，但我们的价格却比任何人都高。风力发电场也是如此，”他说。鲍勃表示，岛民通常别无选择，只能开车出行，尤其是在通勤时。
“You are resigned to it. It’s always been slightly more expensive than everywhere else, so you have to pay the prices. What can you do? Fuel poverty has always been an issue up here. It’s ironic in a sense given we are near where a lot of the oil and gas arrives from the North Sea. Yet, we are paying higher prices than anyone else. It’s the same with the windfarms,” he says. Bob says that islanders often have no other choice but to drive, especially when getting to work.
“大多数工作都在勒威克，所以除非你住在镇上，否则就得开车。虽然有公交车，但上班的人不太坐，因为很难配合他们的工作时间，”他说。“我开的都是小车。我有一辆菲亚特500，所以还好。但这里很多人因为天气原因都开着大型四驱车。柴油价格会给他们带来很大影响。”来自外赫布里底群岛本贝库拉岛的25岁瑞安表示，飙升的燃油成本让许多岛民不得不削减开支。
“Most jobs are in Lerwick so unless you live in town, you need to drive. There is a bus service but people who work don’t use it much because it’s difficult to make their hours,” he says. “I only ever drive small cars. I have a Fiat 500 so it’s not too bad. But an awful lot of people have big 4x4s up here because of the weather. Diesel prices will be having a big impact on them.”Ryan, 25, from the Isle of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, says the soaring costs mean many islanders are having to cut back.
“这里很多家人和朋友都比平时少出行了，除了工作之外。对很多人来说，生活就是上班和购物。就连这些行程也不短。西设得兰群岛绵延130英里，仅南尤斯特岛从南到北就要开大约一个小时。我们很多人每个月轻轻松松就要消耗好几箱油。这里很大一部分开销都花在油上了，”他说。
“A lot of family and friends up here are taking fewer journeys than they would normally outside work. For a lot of people, it’s a case of just going to work and going to the shops. Even those journeys are not short. The Western Isles span 130 miles. South Uist itself is about an hour top to bottom. A lot of us easily get through a few tanks a month on fuel. It’s a lot of the money that’s getting spent up here,” he says.
瑞安在附近的一家酒店工作，工资接近最低工资标准。由于几乎没有任何公共交通，他表示，因为这里地处偏远，他必须开车上班。通勤成本让他不得不放弃一些和女友喜欢一起做的事情。
Ryan works in a nearby hotel and is paid close to the minimum wage. With almost no public transport, he says he needs to drive to work because of how rural it is. The cost of his commute has meant sacrificing some of the things he likes to do with his girlfriend.
“我和女友喜欢去稍微远一点的餐厅，大概要开车半小时。但我们已经很久没这么做了。我觉得可以肯定地说，燃油成本会影响商家，因为他们的顾客会越来越少，”他说。
“Me and my girlfriend like to go to restaurants that are a bit of a distance away, around half an hour drive. We’ve not done that in a while. I think it’s safe to say that the cost of fuel will be affecting businesses because they’ll be getting fewer customers,” he says.
瑞安表示，随着燃油成本上涨，岛民们已经开始带着油桶到大陆去储备更便宜的燃料，哪怕每升能省几便士。通常，这些油桶会在冬季使用，用来在强风和汹涌海浪导致岛屿补给中断、加油站油料耗尽时储备燃料。
As fuel costs rise, islanders have started taking jerry cans to the mainland to stock up on cheaper fuel, even to just save a few pennies a litre, Ryan says. Normally, the cans are used in the winter to stock up when high winds and choppy seas disrupt deliveries to the islands and pumps run dry.
“柴油价格达到2英镑并不常见，更不用说现在2.17英镑或者具体多少了。每当有人说要前往大陆时，他们都会说：‘如果我们被允许的话，一定会带上备用油桶，’”他说道。“即使在斯凯岛，汽油和柴油的价格也比其他地方便宜大约20便士。因此，很多人实际上会利用去大陆的机会，尽可能多地储备燃料。”但即便面临生活成本的压力，瑞安也没有考虑离开。他说，在最新的通货膨胀浪潮中，人们正团结在一起。
“It’s not often that diesel hits the £2 mark, let along £2.17 or whatever it is now. Whenever people say they’re going to the mainland, they say: ‘We’re going to make sure we will take our jerry cans if we are allowed,’” he says. “Even in Skye, the price of petrol and diesel is about 20p cheaper. So, a lot of people actually take the opportunity when they go down to really stock up on fuel whenever they can.”But even with the cost of living pressures, Ryan is not considering leaving. He says that people are pulling together in the latest surge of inflation.
“人们对岛屿有一种浪漫化的看法，认为那里是一个宁静的天堂，可以真正远离一切喧嚣。但岛上的生活其实相当艰难，尤其是在成本大幅上涨的情况下，”他说道。“不过，这里是一个充满社区归属感的好地方。我认为正是这一点让人们能够挺过当前的困境。大家正共同面对这一切。”
“People have a romantic view of the islands as being this quiet paradise where you can really get away from it all. But island life is quite hard, especially when costs are rising so significantly,” he says. “But it’s a nice place with a communal feeling. I think that’s what’s getting people through the situation. Everyone is in it together.”