| St
Kilda
Please note that there
are a lot of photographs on this page and it may take some time
to download - if you are interested in St Kilda then it should be
worth the wait!!
Various operators run
to St Kilda please feel free to contact me for the best advice on
getting to this magical place.
Neither words or pictures
can ever truly paint the incredible image of Village Bay - you have
to see it with your own eyes and let your imagination run to a bygone
era.
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As
we look back from St Kilda, we can see the main island Hirta
in the distance. Dun is the rocky ridge to the left, with
village bay in the middle, overshadowed by the cliffs of Oiseval
(293 meters high).
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The sad history,
the isolation and the unique wildlife make St Kilda one of
the most sought after places to visit in the world, indeed
it is now a World Heritage Site. During the first world war,
the villagers had access to a radio, and one evening a German
submarine entered Village Bay (the main and really only safe
anchorage) and shelled the houses. Everyone took to the hills
and only minor damage was done, although the radio was destroyed.
Later a gun was fitted to overlook and guard the bay. Needless
to say, the Germans never came back and the gun has never
fired a shot in anger! Here you can see a Russian owned cruise
ship on anchor with the cliffs of Dun behind.
After the inhabitants
voted in the 1930's to leave, the island was deserted until
the army took it over as part of a weapons testing range.
Missiles are still fired from the base on Benbecula and their
progress is monitored by radar from St Kilda, although now
by civilian contractors.
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For many years fishing
boats have entered village bay to take advantage of the shelter. |
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village bay, among the most obvious things you notice are the
military installations both around the village and on the hilltops.
The base is now run by a civilian company, who provide a lot
of welcome help to visitors and National Trust for Scotland
staff. |
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However even this
intrusion cannot radically alter the magnificence of the bay.
In this image you can see the full extent of the anchorage,
with the village itself in the foreground and the island of
Dun in the distance, sheltering the bay from the southerly
swells.
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| To our great surprise
on one of our visits to Kilda, the "Discovery" an
enormous cruise ship arrived in the bay intent on landing 600
passengers!! Low water at the pier prevented them landing and
they settled for tours around village bay, for which we were
very thankful. |
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The
landing itself can be something of a trial if the swell is
anything other than slight and many of the visiting cruise
ships fail to make a landing.
My
uncle was on the team that constructed this new pier in the
70's he has retired now and lives just outside Stornoway and
has regaled some interesting stories of his time on the island.
With
Hebridean Wildlife cruises, not just a landing must be made
in order for the trip to be called a success. In fact, our
normal routine is to arrive in time to spend an evening looking
around the village; then a full day spent exploring Hirta
on the following day. Lastly we try to cruise around the whole
archipelago, including the stacs and Boreray, before we leave.
On the last fourteen consecutive trips we have been successful
on twelve of them, due I am sure to the fact that we have
twelve days in which to get the right weather!!!!
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The
National Trust for Scotland looked after the island for many
years but it is now in the hands of Scottish Natural Heritage
who keep a warden there during the summer months. Volunteers
are able to stay on the island for two weeks when they help
to repair and reconstruct some of the village.
Once
ashore, the warden will come along and give a briefing on
the various safety rules and of course a few instructions
in how to behave while on the island. The cliffs can be dangerous
and there is no mountain rescue team on the island so care
is needed when exploring! Visitors are requested not to go
outside the village perimeter alone.
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One of
the many tasks facing the warden is to continue with the research
being done on the indigenous sheep. Not only are the Soay sheep
which run wild on Hirta and Soay of interest, but also the Black
faced sheep which are totally feral on Boreray. They are counted
with the help of a spotting scope from the "Gap". |
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After the introductory
talk we are able to take a walk through the village, past the
reconstructed houses and perhaps into the museum. |
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The ruined houses
can have a profound effect on visitors and there is a great
feeling of sadness about the village which seems to permeate
every stone |
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The
cemetery has graves dating right up to recent times, containing
those who departed these shores but wished to return here
to be laid to rest. |
Opposite
the village, on the flanks of Ruaival, at what was thought
to be the site of St Brianan's (St Brendan- a contemporary
of St Columba) chapel, archaeological excavations are under
way. It now appears likely that the site, formally thought
to be religious, is more likely to be an agricultural dwelling! |
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After
looking around the village area, a walk over the bealach (pass)
to Glenn Mhor is next. The path is steep, and looking back
it is possible to see just how intrusive the modern buildings
are. |
From
the top, the view down into the big glen makes all the puffing
and panting worthwhile. This was where the original village
was before the inhabitants moved over the hill to village
bay. Glenn Mhor has several very ancient remains well worth
a visit. |
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Walking
around the edge of the glen, it is worth taking care to avoid
getting too close to the nests of the many great skuas. These
"bonxies" are quick to dive bomb any intruders.
Holding a stick overhead usually prevents them making contact. |
At
this point, the famous lovers stone can be seen on the western
slopes. In earlier years when the island was inhabited by
the true St Kildans', young men, who wished to marry, were
required to walk to the very edge of the stone and stand there
holding one foot at waist level. Perhaps the drop of some
700ft might have made one or two contemplate a life of celibacy. |
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Further
along the ridge of the Cambir, after quite a difficult and
rocky walk, a plateau, which overlooks the sound of Soay makes
a great place for lunch with a fantastic view. Looking over
the cliff, the drop of several hundred feet to the raging
seas below is most impressive. |
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Looking
east, there is a great view over to Boreray and the stacs,
with the great cave under Gob na H-Airde in the foreground.
It is possible to scramble down the cliff and enter the cave.
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After
a day around the island of Hirta, we try to cross over to
Boraray, Stac Lee and Stac an Armin. Very often the seas are
turbulent, but it is worth it to see the spectacular colonies
of seabirds particularly the gannets. |
Stac
Lee with Stac an Armin behind photographed from the Gap on
Hirta. A very large lens was needed to get the shot, but it
is possible to make out individual gannets in the full image
despite the distance of three miles.
The
white guano covered rock shine out and the stacs can be seen
from miles away at sea. You can make out the narrow ledges
along which the St Kildans would crawl in total darkness to
harvest the young gannets.
Gannets
on Stac Lee.This is a section of the image above, showing
more clearly the gannets nesting on Stac Lee. They pack together
on any flat (or even flattish) surface, keeping just out of
beak range of their neighbours.
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 The
edge of Boreray is like a jagged knife, best seen, as here,
from the north, with Stac an Armin in the foreground. |
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It
is possible to cruise right underneath the cliffs of Boreray,
close to the gannet colonies, - the sights, the sounds and
especially the smells are quite astonishing. It is one of
the great sights and experiences of the natural world. |
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However, here are a few photos of the wildlife of St Kilda:
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This
is a typical shot of a great skua, or "bonxie" soaring
over what are the highest sea cliffs in Britain.
They come
a lot closer, and in fact can be quite threatening if you
get too close to their nest site.
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Although
if you are careful, you can get very close, with only the
reaction of a beady eye to contend with. |
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There
are several hundred great skuas nesting on Hirta, but also
there has been a pair of arctic skuas nesting on the route
up to the Gap. The profile of the arctic skua is far more
streamlined than that of the bonxie allowing them to show
a talent for manoeuvrability that is quite astonishing. |
Many
birds use these islands as a convenient staging post when
on migration, among them these brent geese, photographed as
they flew over the landing ramp in village bay. |
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The
St Kilda wren is a particular favourite, here peeping out
from the stones of one of the cleits. It is considerably bigger
than the mainland variety, as well as being much less timid.
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The
Monachs
Either going to or returning
from St Kilda, we often stop off for a day at the Monach Isles,
which are on the exposed west side of North Uist.
These
islands are themselves jewels in the crown of the Scotland.
Going ashore is
like being on one of the Pacific islands. As well as fantastic beaches,
there is a great selection of wildlife including eider, little terns,
golden plover, grey seals and lots and lots of superb flowers. Like
St Kilda, the Monarchs were abandoned and are now deserted except
for the odd visiting fishermen and the even odder naturalist. However
they do often provide us with welcome shelter on our way to and
from St Kilda, and are a fantastic place to visit in their own right.
Want to
know more?
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an exclusive charter to the Western Isles with unrivalled luxury
then click on the picture below.
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