St Kilda
Approximately 45 miles west of the Outer Hebrides, St Kilda was once home to Britain’s most isolated community. In 1986 St Kilda was designated by UNESCO as Scotland’s first World Heritage Site and in 2005 St Kilda was awarded dual World Heritage Site status for its natural and cultural significance
We have a very high success rate in reaching, and landing guests upon, St Kilda. The history of St Kilda, its remoteness and amazing wildlife make the islands an exceptionally desirable destination for anyone interested in natural history. Please note, however, St Kilda is never a guaranteed destination.
Skildir?
Strangely, there was no Saint Kilda. It is possible that the name evolved from “Skildir,” an old Norse word meaning “shields,” as this could suffice as a visual description of the islands – Hirta, Dun, Soay and Boreray plus sea-stacks such as Stac an Armin and Stac Lee – from a distance. The islands and stacks are probably the remains of an extinct volcano.
During Spring and Summer it is home to nearly 1 million seabirds and the second largest Gannet colony in the UK with over 60,000 pairs. Although Gannets may have impressive numbers, St Kilda has 60,000 pairs of Fulmar representing the largest colony of that species in Britain. Most remarkable of all, 25% of the British Puffin population- an incredible 150,000 pairs! – nest on St Kilda, as do 90% of Britain’s Leach’s Petrels some 45,000 pairs. Not forgetting an endemic subspecies of Wren; aptly named ‘The St Kilda Wren.’
Hirta
The first signs of habitation on Hirta (the largest island in the archipelago and the only one you can really land on) are thought to have occurred c. 600 AD. The islanders’ harsh and often tragic life is recorded in books up to the point of their evacuation in August 1930. Upon his death in August 1956 the Marquis of Bute bequeathed St Kilda to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). They accepted the task in 1957, the same year that the RAF began work on a tracking station on Hirta. The following year the Royal Artillery moved in and a radar station was established.
All that remains today is the ghostly buildings of an abandoned village where some of the houses are still relatively intact and lots of stories and folklore about life on St Kilda has been preserved. Today the islands are all uninhabited, with the exception of a few defence personnel, scientists and the NTS summer staff.
