The archipelago of St Kilda is one of the most remarkable places on Earth. It has probably had more words written about it per acre than anywhere else on the planet. It is a double UNESCO heritage site, both for its natural and cultural significance qualifying on five criteria (see UNESCO listing here
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The archipelago consists of four islands, three major stacs, several smaller stacs and numerous skerries and outlying rocks.
People lived on Hirta, the largest of the islands for at least 2000 years, and probably from prehistoric times, but the resident population permanently evacuated the island in 1930. However, an RAF base has been in operation and manned for many years and NTS (National Trust for Scotland) personnel along with archaeologists and naturalists often stay for extended periods living in the former manse.
The houses that remain along the village street of St Kilda on the island of Hirta are now mostly roofless though a few towards the eastern end retain their roofs and are used by NTS personnel with one of them being a museum.
The houses themselves are not that old, dating from about 1862 when they replaced blackhouses that had been built just a few decades earlier, these themselves replacing a mediaeval village near Tobar Childa further up the slopes of Conachair. This mid-Victorian period also saw the building of the Factor's House, the church and the manse, all these latter buildings still standing and in good condition.
Surrounding the village and particularly ascending the slopes of the surrounding hills however are hundreds of 'cleitean' (the plural of 'cleit') - well over a thousand on Hirta alone. These remarkable stone-built turf-roofed structures span centuries with some dating back to mediæval times. They were used by the islanders to store food, mainly cured fish, lamb, eggs (preserved in peat ash), potatoes, seabird carcasses and grains (wheat, barley & oats). They were also used to store non-edible essentials such as feathers, hay, peat, fishing gear, ropes and manure. These cleitean were not only found on Hirta but on all the other islands and even the stacs, in these remote locations doubling up as bothies where the hardy St Kildans would shelter when visiting these outliers in search of food.
As I have said, there is a vast amount written about these islands and this is only the briefest of summaries - for more information you could start with the Wikipedia entry here
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There is a huge amount of information on the Canmore website here
Link and there are dozens of books available for in-depth information.
Apart from the fascinating cultural heritage here, there is also the phenomenal natural environment which teems with wildlife. The cliffs of Hirta are the tallest in Britain and amongst the tallest in Europe with the north face of Conachair plunging 427m (1,401') directly to the sea. Boreray achieves 384m (1,260') and Soay 378m (1,240') while the stacs, an Armin and Lee, are 196m (643') and 172m (564') respectively, making them the tallest sea stacs in Britain.
The statistics for the archipelago are:
Total area: 8.5km² (3.3 sq. miles)
Highest point: Conachair 430m (1,410')
Population: 0 (but see note above re RAF station and NTS)
Evacuated: 29th August 1930 (36 residents)
The individual component islands and stacs:
ISLANDS:
Hirta (Hiort)
Area: 670ha (1,656 acres or 2.59 sq.miles)
Highest point: Conachair 430m (1,410')
Soay (Soaigh)
Area: 99ha (245 acres, about ⅖ sq.mile)
Highest point: Cnoc Glas 378m (1,240')
Boreray (Boraraigh)
Area: 86ha (213 acres or about ⅓ sq.mile)
Highest point: Mullach an Eilein 384m (1,260')
Dùn
Area: 33ha (81 acres c.⅛ sq.mile)
Highest point: Bioda Mòr 178m (584')
MAJOR STACS:
Stac Levenish (Leibhinis)
Area: 2.42ha (6 acres)
Highest point: 62m (203')
Stac an Armin
Area: 6ha (14.8 acres)
Highest point: 196 m (643')
Stac Lee
Area: 2.3ha (5.7 acres)
Highest point: 172 m (564')
See David Purchase's excellent article on St Kilda and Rockall here:
Link
... and 11 more images.