The Mistress Stone
Cleits and Main Street , Village Bay ( inset : cleit )
Two cultural interludes
We had two opportunities to stop in Village Bay and explore the evidence of human activity on Hirta , and we made the most of them . Impressively in such a remote spot , there ’ s an obvious tourist trail , past the church and along the ‘ main street ’ ( there seems to be only one ) with traditional homes which date back to 1830 .
A clutch of more modern buildings tell of a military installation , which is no longer permanent . Poster boards in houses on the main street recount the fascinating history over the centuries . It certainly wasn ’ t an easy life here – there were several changes and crises , provoked by epidemics , natural disasters , the shock of incomers seeking to bring schooling and new religion and culture . Ultimately the encroach of civilisation via tourism , which lured villagers away from St Kilda until the population was no longer viable and the final St Kildans left in 1930 . The highest ever recorded population was 180 in 1697 : tiny in comparison to the regionally significant seabird colonies .
Walking along the grassy hillside , it ’ s impossible to ignore the cleits or ‘ St Kildan fridges ’, circular rocky installations with turf rooves used for storage of fishing nets , hay and food stores through winter . These dot the sloping green landscape all the way up to the rocky ridges . We were also delighted by the Soay sheep which for our April visit were almost all nursing lambs .
We walked along the shoreline as far as the Mistress Stone , or Lovers ’ stone . Legend has it that St Kildan lads would climb to this stone and perform a tricky yoga move ( my words , not theirs ) on the very edge of the stone to demonstrate their sincerity and , presumably , dexterity . It was certainly an incredible view and a privilege to walk these significant shores , but , eventually we headed back to the boat .
Main Street , Village Bay
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