Peter Hollett with his wife, Lynnette, and children, Ross and Bethany. (0629344)

The island’s previous head gardener Peter Hollett and his wife, Lynnette, returned to Herm for a visit for the first time since leaving in 2006.

The Holletts lived in the island for 16 years and were popular with both residents and visitors. Many guests have asked about them over the past two seasons and may be interested to know about their new lives in the UK.

Along with their children – Bethany, 10, and Ross, five – Pete and Lynnette now live in St Austell, Cornwall.

‘I’ve been working as a pastry chef in a hotel,’ said Lynnette, who worked in the White House Hotel for much of her time in Herm. ‘Recently, though, I decided to leave and spend more time with the children.’

This is partly due to Pete’s booming new business, Hollett’s Horticulture, which specialises in garden maintenance, landscaping and landscape design.

‘It started quite slowly,’ said Pete. ‘But now it’s really full-on. I’m getting to the point where I’m almost too busy and may have to take someone else on or turn business away.’

The children have adapted quickly to life away from the island they grew up in. One of their reasons for leaving was that Bethany had outgrown the Herm school and wanted more extra-curricular activities.

‘Bethany is doing really well,’ said Lynnette. ‘She does athletics, swimming, dancing, choir and cross-country. She adjusted straight away to a large school and is happy to have girls her own age to play with.’

Ross, who was the only preschooler in the island before he left, is also flourishing at his primary school.

Pete was head gardener when Herm celebrated its 2002 Britain in Bloom win and has a lot of respect for his successors.

‘Brett and James have obviously worked hard. I can see a lot of growth around the island and the trees we planted are already quite substantial.

‘The self-catering courtyard and the plant sales area are looking especially nice. I think they have a good chance of winning again.’

After a week of catching up with old friends and colleagues, the family felt as though they’d never been away.

‘I’ve enjoyed being a tourist for a change,’ said Lynnette. ‘It’s been so nice to go to the beach and not have to worry about rushing back for work.’

Pete said: ‘It’s been lovely to come back and see our friends. It’s just a shame we didn’t have time to catch up with everyone and we’d like to give our regards to everyone who remembers us.’