Episode 7: ‘Island on the Edge’ – St Kilda
Is St Kilda as remote and wild as they say? This episode of Wild for Scotland travels to the islands far out on the edge of Scotland, to investigate.
‘Island on the Edge’ is a story that looks into one of the remotest locations in Scotland – or is it? St Kilda is a place of lore and legend, life and mystery. The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years until the remaining islanders asked to be relocated to the mainland and were evacuated in 1930.
Today, the island is home to a military base, researchers and conservation workers and thousands of sea birds, who come here every summer to nest and raise the next generation.
After the story, I share some of my top tips to make a day trip to St Kilda happen for you – because visiting islands that are 40 miles into the Atlantic ocean is not as straight forward as island hopping closer to the coast.
It’s an island on the edge, after all!
Now, let’s travel to Scotland!
Reference & helpful links:
Plan your trip with my St Kilda guide.
Book a trip with Kilda Cruises.
Read more about the sunfish here.
Find out about St Kilda from the National Trust for Scotland, incl. camping info.
Read this story in The Guardian about camping on St Kilda.
Credits
Written, hosted and produced by Kathi Kamleitner. Additional support by Fran Turauskis.
Cover Art illustrated by Lizzie Vaughan-Knight. Musik by Bruce Wallace.
Additional sound effects from Zapsplat, Pond5 and SoundBoard.
All photographs by Kathi Kamleitner.
Season 1: Islands
The first season of Wild for Scotland is all about the Scottish isles. Each week, we travel to a different island and spend some time exploring their nooks and crannies, history and landscapes.
Images from St Kilda
Arriving at St Kilda The captain’s station My view on board
St Kilda’s “main street” Village ruins from the wat up to The Gap A fulmar chick in a cleit Cleits = stone huts for storage
St Kilda in one picture: Views, ruins, cleits and a happy day tripper
Cliffs of St Kilda seen from the Gap – spot the boat in the water! Sitting on the edge View of Boreray and the sea stacks of St Kilda “View” of Conachair hiding in the clouds
Flowers on the edge Happy on the edge
Even happier on the edge The peaceful gully I discovered rambling
Sitting by the pier, waiting for our boat to pick us up Soay sheep action shot
A little fish that had latched onto the rubber dinghy – don’t worry, we put it back in the water! A cup of coffee for the first mate Puffins flying over Dun, one of St Kilda’s islands A gannet colony on a sea stack Stac an Armin Stac Lee
My last glimpse of St Kilda
