St Kilda is an Island group that consists of 4 islands and is situated of the North West coast of Scotland. It is about 40 miles off the coast of the outer Hebrides. It is desolate, lonely and beautiful. One of those places on your bucket list or your to do list. But what is the plan, what can you see, and what makes it so special?
Wikipedia can give you all the information on the islands, their earlier inhabitants and their function now.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Kilda,_Scotland
“The entire archipelago is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It became one of Scotland’s five World Heritage Sites in 1986 and is one of the few in the world to hold joint status for its natural and cultural qualities. Parties of volunteers work on the islands in the summer to restore the many ruined buildings that the native St Kildans left behind.”
The information on Wikipedia goes on describing the rise and fall of the villages throughout the centuries, until they were abandoned in 1930. What was left were the ruins of the houses and the wildlife. On the islands now, you will find one of the worlds biggest bird colonies. Puffins, Northern Gannets, Fulmars and Petrels, have now taken over the island. Other then birds, there is the Soay Sheep, believed to be one of the earliest sheep, left on the island after the people left.
World Herritage
On the website of the World Herritage website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/387/ you will find a beautiful description of the value of the islands in our world heritage.
“ St Kilda is of exceptional natural beauty and supports significant natural habitats. It is unique in the very high bird densities that occur in a relatively small area which is conditioned by the complex and different ecological niches existing in the site. There is also a complex ecological dynamic in the three marine zones present in the site that is essential to the maintenance of both marine and terrestrial biodiversity.
The cultural landscape of St Kilda is an outstanding example of land use resulting from a type of subsistence economy based on the products of birds, agriculture and sheep farming; reflecting age-old traditions. The built structures and field systems, the cleits and the traditional stone houses of the Highlands bear testimony to over two millennia of human occupation of distant land in extreme conditions.”
On the website for St Kilda itself (https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/st-kilda) you will find more pictures of the islands. You will find more local information. One of the nice reads is the blog of the local Ranger.
Your voyage on board Tecla
The Tecla will visit St Kilda between the 16th and the 29th of April. We have arranged a meeting with a ranger on the island and if weather and schedule (both theirs and ours) permit we will spend the day on the island with a tour and some local activities.
After setting sail from Oban, it will take us at least 3 or 4 days, with beautiful stops in the meantime to get to, first the Outer Hebrides and then onwards to St Kilda.
http://www.tecla-sailing.com/nl/st-kilda/
village bay over view
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