Gannet with nesting material
Blue skies over Village Bay , Hirta islands - Hirta , Boreray , Soay and Dun - and sea stacs , all once forming the rim of a volcano in this far-out Atlantic spot . To get here you must travel 41 miles west of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides .
It ’ s hard to imagine when making the daunting crossing or looking out across the expanse of open ocean from St Kilda , but these islands were inhabited for at least 4,000 years , until finally the last 36 islanders were evacuated in 1930 . The hardy St Kildans relied heavily upon the gannets , fulmars and puffin colonies to provide for all their need : food , clothing and warmth .
These birds still dominate ; St Kilda is Europe ’ s most important seabird colony , a major breeding station , and Boreray and the sea stacs host the world ’ s largest colony of gannets . Other wildlife is worth watching out for ; the St Kilda fieldmouse and St Kilda wren are endemic sub-species , and the hardy and successful Soay sheep originated in ( you guessed it ) Soay here . I was lucky enough to visit the archipelago at lambing season and can confirm that they are gorgeous .
I ’ ve already written in this magazine about my first , unsuccessful , expedition to
St Kilda : we managed the Minch but never made it as far as the renowned Atlantic island group . Of my party , one had tried six times over the years and been successful three . These days , with Bob Anderson ’ s hardy dive vessel Clasina ready to brave the crossing , I ’ d expect chances to be a little higher ( as long as you ’ re not afraid of an ocean swell or several ). This time , I got lucky . The crossing was blissfully seasickness-free , and we were treated to three full days of diving around St Kilda and a couple of visits to Village Bay .
If you ’ re planning a trip to St Kilda then I ’ d advise to have a Plan A , B , C , and well , you get the idea . You are very much at the mercy of the weather in such an exposed location . But then , there are so many options , you won ’ t be disappointed , and you may find yourself in virgin territory , never dived by mankind before . I ’ ve previously praised the excellent work of Gordon Ridley and his BSAC Expedition parties in creating ‘ St Kilda a submarine guide ’, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s . Having visited now myself , I ’ m even more in awe of the work involved in creating the guide of 185 dive sites . Here are six from me .
Stac Lee , Boreray and Stac an Armin
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