How do you reach the islands of St Kilda

How do you reach the islands of St Kilda

A question asked by many is how do you reach the islands of St Kilda. No, not the town in South Australia or Suburb in Melbourne, but the UNESCO double world heritage site lying out in the Atlantic off the Western Isles of Scotland. In some ways jumping on a flight to Australia may be easier than trying to reach the offshore islands.

The archipelago of St Kilda, lies around 65km from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, but most places you can take a boat from are further, for example our trip from Barra is around 125km. Which at around 20knots speed takes around 3 hours 15min assuming suitable sea conditions. There is no shelter on the journey, it’s pure open Atlantic Ocean, so not only do you need calm winds but also low swell. You do need to make a lot of prayers to the sea gods! This all might seem unlikely but it does happen. You couldn’t have wished for better conditions during our trip in 2023. You cannot fly there so any journey needs to be on the water, incredibly people have also made the journey via kayak & sup.

What’s so Special About St Kilda

In modern times the islands are revered for the amazing nature that inhabits them, along with the spectacular scenery. The islands are said to hold around a million seabirds, in addition to all the surrounding marine life and megafauna such as whales, dolphins, & sharks. Hirta has the highest sea cliffs in the UK of 427m and the nearby sea stacks of Stac Lee & Strac an Armin are also the UK’s tallest at 196m and 172m. The islands are owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

You can  listen to our podcast (episode 4) with the marine & archaeological rangers here.

However the human story is also one which attracts people. The previous islanders became famous for the hardy lifestyle, living off the abundant seabirds, scaling the impossible looking cliffs and sea stacks for their quarry. Without modern communication, they adapted an idea of a wooden model of a boat and sheepskin bladder to take messages to the main islands using prevailing winds & currents. Of course this is just a fraction of the amazing history of St Kildans.

St Kilda had a permanent civilian population for around 2 millennia until the islands were famously evacuated in 1930 ending the permanent occupation. These days there is a ranger presence who look after wildlife & archaeology on the islands along with all the caretaking duties and some scientists. This is in addition to the military personnel who work on the islands base for missile testing.

The remains of the village area have some houses which have been turned into museums. The rest of the main island of Hirta’s landscape is covered in cleits. These stone structures were used for preserving all sorts including a variety of food stuffs & peat which was used as fuel. The abundant wind was used in the process instead of smoking or salting. This amazing history is what forms part of the cultural world heritage site along with other for beauty & nature

What can I see on Hirta, St Kilda

One visit is never enough and time is always precious during a visit. There is a vast array of houses, monuments & human occupation to explore and ponder. However the views and wildlife are also one main drawcards – you will struggle to get round them all so chose your time wisely if you are lucky enough to make it out there.

Main Street, Village Bay

This is area with most the intact buildings and structures, the Main Street was the most recent area of occupation with some of the houses converted into museums with details on the previous occupants, their occupations and how they lived. The area also has a huge number of cleits, there is the visitor centre, church and gun emplacement from WW2 to visit. Everyone will usually visit this area, but how much time you spend here depends on how far you want to explore round the island.

Sea Cliff of Conachair

Directly up from the village to the obvious bealach is the main route to reach the sea cliffs with views of Boreray and the stacks. It’s around 160m ascent and just under a km walk to reach this point. For those of basic fitness it would be possible on a day visit taking your time and the view here of both village bay and to the stacs, are highly worth it. From here you can retrace your steps back down to the village or continue on to the summit of Conachair.

It’s around another 270m of ascent up a steep grassy slope with around another km walk to the summit, passing a plane wreck on the way. This will take you to the highest sea cliffs in the UK. Along with being near the infamous bonxie nesting area – be prepared to duck these pirates in the sky. Top tip is to walk with a stick above your head, they aim to swoop this rather than the top of your head!  From here you can continue along the ridge, linking up with the main road which works its way back down to the village. This is the main loop people would do and the total distance is around 6km and 460m of ascent. It is a reasonable hill walk and one you should build up to before going.

Lovers Stone

Another curiosity of the culture that developed in the islands. As the men were the ones that did all the climbing then there was a rite of passage for created. The lovers stone is a giant stone slab that sits above a steep cliff, the young men had to stand at the end of the precipice on one leg whilst clasping their hands underneath. The feat was designees to test their mettle and balance, to demonstrate they had what it took to climb the cliffs and catch seabirds & eggs, thus being to provide for a family and be a suitable husband.

Not one for the feint hearted and one for a fine settled day where the rock is nice and dry. Even standing up there close to the edge strikes fear in all but the most courageous.

The Tunnel

A tricky part to find but a stunning natural arch tunnel which cuts through the headland at Glen Bay. Again, this one involves a bit of a scramble and the rocks can be slippy. This should be attempted in dry conditions and with a clear plan after leaving details with the rangers. Even twisting an ankle here would involved a serious effort to rescue someone.

You can take a steep grassy descent from Conachair or the more gentle, longer route down Gleann Mor. Upon reaching the top of the cliff, make your way down through the rocks to arrive at the large slab. Further towards sea level, the spray has allowed algae to grow and grip is very limited. So be very careful if you make your way down there. You can see Boreray & Stacks through the arch and it’s a spectacular view.

Wild Swimming

For those keen on swimming, village bay is the most sheltered place and there is a sandy/pebble bay in which to enter the water. Close to shore there aren’t currents to worry about if it’s very calm. However even during the best weather there still can be residual swell peeling round into the bay along with boat traffic so be very careful when undertaking this. Ideally we would use the boat to follow any swimmers and deploy our boarding ladder for easy egress from the water. A bucket list swim destination! For the more adventurous you can endeavour to swim across the bay and there are numerous snorkeling options near the caves and stacks of Dun. However there are far more trickier conditions to deal with here, which is why we would run these as guided sessions from the main boat.

Sea Stacks & Boreray

No visit to St Kilda is without a boat trip around the stacks of Stac Lee & Stac an Armin and the incredible classic views of Boreray. This is where the main gannet colony lives and the skies are filled Europe’s largest seabird. The spectacular cliffs and deep water make for unforgettable views and usually a visit here comes just before the journey back home.