St Kilda


St Kilda is an isolated archipelago in the North Atlantic. Human habitation here probably goes back at least 2000 years, but has likely never exceeded 200 people. A 1764 census described a daily consumption by the 90 inhabitants of “36 wildfoul eggs and 18 wildfoul” (i.e. seabirds). Fishing was not done due to the unpredictable seas. The island was abandoned in 1930 as being inhabitable and everybody was evacuated. The ruins of the ancient stone structures remain. The island chain is home to tens of thousands of local birds and wild sheep. The island has the highest cliffs in the UK and we hiked up to the top of the hill here to confirm this.

A row of the old homes, one of which is now a small museum.
The names of the inhabitants for one the houses here. Note that 1930 is the last date shown.
These structures are called cleits and were used for storage of meats and other food.

The stone rings were used as sheep pens.
One of the local St Kilda lambs. They are a type of sheep that have lived here since the Stone Age.
All these white dots are birds, thousands of them.
A northern gannet flying over the ship.
A mom and baby fulmar.
One of hundreds of northern gannets in the waters here.