Tag: sea

  • The Village – St Kilda

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    The first four or five cottages have been renovated and scientists or work parties live in them while working in St. Kilda. The scientists watch and record the local sheep, for example, all the sheep living in Kilda are wild, don´t get fed and are called Soay sheep.

    They are pretty tiny and curious like all sheep are. Find here more about “The Soay Sheep Project”

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    One of the cottages houses a small museum, showing how the cottages used to look and some artefacts and memorabilia.

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Signs tell us who used to live in a cottage.

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    It was fun walking through the village, meeting the anniversary ladies and it felt somehow like discovering three different timelines – the 1930ies – fifty years ago, hearing the stories the ladies tell about their time in Hirta in the 70ies – and then today.

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    A lot of the cottages still have the remains of the old blackhouses next to them.

    The village as we see it today was laid out by the Reverend Neil Mackenzie in the 1830s and consists of a crescent of houses with associated cultivation plots, all within a head dyke. The houses built in the 1830s were typical Hebridean blackhouses – single-roomed, with the cattle being accommodated inside them in winter. In the 1860s new houses were built. These were of a standard Hebridean design with an entrance lobby, small closet behind, and two main rooms. (National Trust for Scotland)

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Every morning the men of St Kilda met and held “parliament”, meaning they talked about what had to be done and who would do it. Have a look at this photo here, showing the men of St. Kilda.

    The people of St Kilda, a Gaelic-speaking population, lived under their own form of democracy with an informal meeting held every weekday morning in the village street. It was known as the ‘St Kilda Parliament’ and consisted of all the adult males on the island. There were no set rules, no chairman and the ‘members’ arrived in their own time. Once assembled the ‘parliament’ considered the work to be done that day according to each family’s abilities and divided up the resources according to their needs. Everything was done for the common good. Women had their own informal meeting. (ambaile)

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Village Life

    The Kildians worked the land, but the main staple of their diet was seabirds. Fulmars, gannets and puffins were being eaten for most daily meals – even breakfast! Every part of the bird was used, including the meat, oil and feathers. Fish was rarely eaten even though the sea around the islands are full of them, but the Kildians preferred the birds and disliked the taste of fish.

    The St Kildan had developed a unique existence, based entirely around what was available to them in and around Hirta. Each life-giving element in this subsistence lifestyle provided a crucial link, supporting a delicate balance of survival, with each part giving strength to the next. Ultimately, what these well-meaning incomers did, was unravel an age-old system of living. (Shetland with Laurie)

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    From the 19th century, St Kilda was visited by tourists in the summer months. The islanders offered their tweeds and also bird eggs for sale.

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta
    cementery

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, HirtaWalking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

    Walking through the village in St Kilda, Hirta

  • Arriving in St. Kilda

    There was also a surprise waiting for us in St Kilda, it actually is inhabited – there is a military station right on the beach. When we were visiting in 2021 there were almost finished with building the new houses, which were more in line with the landscape.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    This tiny hut is older though, there are more than thousands of these little shelters and storage spaces in Hirta.

    Arriving was an adventure in itself, we had to climb into a tender and landed with that one on the beach. But no worries, all is very safe and according to our skippers, nobody ever landed in the sea.

    Having arrived in Hirta, the largest island of the St Kilda archipelago, we were greeted by Sue, one of the three National Trust of Scotland rangers who live in Hirta during the summer months.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    After a bit of an introduction to the island and especially to the wildlife living in St Kilda we were free to roam around the island.

    This building used to store the feathers and other goods were kept to pay the rent to the Landlord, collected by the Factor.

    The School

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    I started in the former school/church building which also houses a little museum and (honesty) gift shop. This is the “new” kirk built next to the manse in 1830, there is not a lot left from the two older ones in the village.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    Daily life for St Kildans was similar to elsewhere in the Hebrides – they were Christian, spoke Gaelic, kept sheep and cows, grew cereals and vegetables, and fished, but their remote location resulted in some unusual customs. (National Trust for Scotland)

    From the 18th century on ministers or missionaries were sent to the islands on a more regular basis. After the manse and the church were built there was a resident minister, and a school followed from 1884 on.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    The school was restored to look like seen in pictures from the 1920ies.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    It was time to go back outside again!

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    Another view towards the storage house and the canon from the first World War.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    The manse and the kirk from the outside. The three rangers from the National Trust for Scotland are living and working in the manse from April to September – they tell us more about life and work in St Kilda on their blog.

    The canon

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    Early on during World War I, the British Navy erected a signal station on Hirta and daily communications with the mainland were established for the very first time on the islands.

    On May 15 1918 a German submarine arrived in Village Bay and (after a warning) started shelling the island. The wireless signal station was destroyed, and the manse, kirk and storehouse were damaged, but nobody died, except one lamb.

    It wasn’t what you would call a bad submarine because it could have blowed every house down because they were all in a row there. He only wanted Admiralty property. One lamb was killed… all the cattle ran from one side of the island to the other when they heard the shots. (Memories of an St Kildian)

    After this incident, a very prominent canon was installed overlooking the bay, but never fired.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    View of our boat and the tender taking a break in village bay.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

    arriving on the island Hirta, in St Kilda - Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

     

  • Dreaming of St. Kilda

    Dreaming of St. Kilda

    Early morning in Harris

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    It was a very. very early morning for me, but it was so worth it! I was lucky enough to go on a day trip to St. Kilda – the magical island in the Atlantic ocean I had read so much about.

    This was the important phone call I had to climb a hill for the day before, the weather was fine, there was an open spot and I could join this boat trip.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    St. Kilda is a group of islands about 50 miles from Harris, in 1930 the remaining 36 people living in Hirta (part of the St. Kilda archipelago) were evacuated, leaving the islands behind for the bird colonies. Today St Kilda is the only place in the UK holding two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Today the National Trust for Scotland cares for the islands.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    But let´s start with my early morning. I booked my tour with Kildacruises and we were leaving from Leverburgh at 8 am. It was around a one-hour drive from my accommodation to Leverburgh and it was such a stunning morning. The roads were empty, the light was magical and I stopped so many times to admire the views!

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Leverburgh

    At the harbour in Leverburgh I met some of the other travellers admiring an eagle, but I was kind of too excited getting on the boat to really give the eagle my full attention.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    There are a few boats going to St Kilda, two tours from Harris and I also think one from Skye. The drive from Harris took around 3 hours and it was an adventure itself. We had the most amazing weather, the sea was calm and we were just sitting on the outside of the boat admiring Harris going by and then the wide emptiness of the Atlantic sea.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Our boat was arriving to pick us up.

    The boat trip

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Bye Harris for, we drove by islands, gorgeous beaches and the Harris mountains.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    We were a group of 12 people and started to get to know each other during the journey to St Kilda. And we were in for a surprise, the four ladies, who were admiring the eagle before, were actually celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first time going to St. Kilda.

    50 years ago their schools organized “Work Parties” and the teenagers and students were staying for a few weeks on Hirta helping to restore the cottages and other buildings.

    Oh, the stories they told us!

    It is still possible to work as a volunteer for a few weeks in St Kilda, these programs were just paused during Covid.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Arriving in St Kilda

    After about 2 and a half hours we go our first glimpse of St Kilda.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Stac Lee to the Left and Hirta to the right.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Driving towards the beach of Hirta and the landing zone.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    To my surprise there was quite a lot going on in St Kilda – in my head, it was uninhabited with just a few National Trust rangers and scientists in the summertime. But there is also a military base in St Kilda and they were building new buildings that blend in with the landscape.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Boattrip to St Kilda in the Hebrides.

    Back on land, watching the weekly helicopter arrive.

    TBC