2 Jul 2025

From the edge of the world 2025 – part 2

Four people sit on a rock, their backs to the camera, looking out across a calm Village Bay on St Kilda. A small boat bobs in the water in the harbour.

Admiring the view over Village Bay

Our St Kilda ranger shares an update on the (sprout-filled!) 2025 season so far.

Where has the time gone? There has been a bit of respite this week, as the weather has closed in and we are experiencing high winds and rain, meaning that we have to snatch every chance to do our monitoring work of island structures and seabirds during the best parts of the day. Perhaps this is the island’s way of ensuring we take a break!

No boats have landed for the last five days and it seems hard to believe that the rest of the UK is experiencing such high temperatures. Hopefully this weather system will soon pass, and we will continue with what has been a very enjoyable and busy season so far.

Looking across the mirror-like blue sea towards the small island of Boreray, with the cliffs of Hirta to the right. The sky is also a deep blue.

Beautiful Boreray – we’d like this weather to return please!

Over the past few months, we have welcomed back old friends and new, in the guise of drystane dykers, specialist builders and ranger volunteers. The ‘feel’ of the island changes from week to week as different people come and go. Our island community takes on many forms through the course of one season. The emphasis changes as we concentrate on different aspects of island life – whether this is carrying out building repairs, monitoring returning seabirds, supporting seabird researchers or welcoming visitors.

Not surprisingly, mealtimes are very important throughout, and we frequently cook communally. We pride ourselves on never wasting food and have a healthy lack of over-scrutiny of sell-by dates! The bar was set very high this year when I was presented with an array of fresh fruit and veg (including 10 kilos of sprouts) from a well-meaning visiting ship! We were delighted, and surprised ourselves at how inventive we became at producing sprout-themed meals!

Two people stand in a kitchen, over a cooker, peeling and chopping sprouts into a bubbling pan.

A woman pours sparkling wine into glasses on a wooden counter. The glasses all have a sliced sprout perched on top.

Cruise ship season has reached its pinnacle and is now declining, as many of the cruises go further north at this time of year. We limit the numbers to 30 per season for conservation reasons, and I have now welcomed 25 of this year’s quota. One minute I’m getting the shop and jetty ready for visitors; the next, I’m zoomed into a glitzy world of sparkle and chrome! As this is my sixth season, I know many of the expedition teams, and it’s a pleasure to welcome back good friends.

Seven people sit at the end of an inflatable RIB in Village Bay, all looking very happy. They all wear red life jackets. The weather looks lovely.

I’m always so grateful to have the support of volunteers, and I’m fortunate to have had a ‘rolling stock’ of them from the beginning to the end of the season. Their support means we can crack on with the mundane tasks of cleaning etc, whilst being efficient at providing visitor welcomes to all who come to the island.

A few weeks ago, we were delighted to welcome Jeremy Warren and Trevor Thompson from Thornbury Sailing Club, who sailed for 9 hours through the night in a Wayfarer dinghy. This is an incredible achievement – sailing 40 miles across the North Atlantic with no engines is certainly not a feat to be undertaken lightly.

The crossing had been planned for last year but the weather had other ideas, and so it was fantastic that they finally succeeded. Like many others, I first learned to sail in a Wayfarer and I had misgivings when I initially heard of their plans. However, with their high level of experience and meticulous planning, they managed a safe passage and were able to relax and explore once ashore.

We also welcomed back four members from a 2019 work party, who camped for a few nights. Sandy, Chis, Veronica and Ian have kept in touch with all the members of their group, and it was great to have them back. Ian kindly led a moving memorial service in the kirk, remembering the servicemen who lost their lives at three separate crash sites on the archipelago.

A small sailing dinghy with a red and white sail makes its way across the sea, the island of Boreray in the distance.

Two men sail a small dinghy with a white sail. Both wear life jackets.

Four smiling people stand by the railings on a jetty at St Kilda. All wear life jackets, and a couple carry binoculars and cameras.

We carried out our annual beach clean last month, assisted by helpers from the National Trust for Scotland and our neighbours QinetiQ. This involves covering the full length of the bay – from the boulders beyond the front of Featherstore to the far end beyond the beach. As usual, a lot of discarded rope and fishing net was found, as well as one or two more unusual items!

The time-consuming part of the clean is to categorise and weigh everything and then meticulously record it. It makes for a long but satisfying day, although we all wish that there was no need for it in the first place. It is sobering that even on our remote archipelago, seabirds can suffer from human thoughtlessness.

A pink and yellow spotty wheelbarrow is parked on a concrete slab, overlooking the blue calm waters of Village Bay.

Three smiling people stand by a trailer, attached to the back of a truck and parked on a concrete slipway. It is filled with junk retrieved from a beach clean. A sandy bay lies behind them.

A man stands on a rocky shore, holding up a white toilet seat to frame his smiling face! Another man looks on, holding a black bin bag.

Our shop is undergoing an external transformation as well. Part of the conditions laid out by Historic Environment Scotland, in agreeing that we could have a temporary container on the island, is that we have to paint it dark green. Thanks to a small team of volunteers, this work is currently ongoing; already it has dramatically minimised the visual impact of the container. Many thanks to Norrie, Kate and Laura for their willing assistance.

A large shipping container stands by a shore. Its end panel has been painted dark green; the long side panel is a sky blue. A tray of paint with a roller sits on a red work stool nearby.

Two people dressed in blue overalls paint a large shipping container dark green.

The solstice was marked by a trip to listen to and watch the petrels and Manx shearwaters. Unfortunately, no pictures can do justice to these ghostly birds, as they only return to their nesting burrows at the darkest point of the night. This was a truly unforgettable and magical experience!

Equally unforgettable was a Zodiac trip to Boreray, on what must have been one of the calmest crossings ever. As there was so little swell, we were able to explore the caves and marvel at the reflections of the stacs … quite the opposite of the weather we’ve just been experiencing!