St Kilda - Tuesday 25 June

The last few days, we have been walking, visiting various parts of the island, and getting used to the meaning of “vertical”. When we walked to the Gap (600', c 200m above sea level), sadly the low mist meant we did not get the view, however, Ken was able to throw a stone out and watch as it fell, and fell, and fell... falling in to the sea 600' directly beneath us. That is vertical!

On our first visit to Ruival, and standing on the Mistress Stone, we paused on the way back to see how many could stand on an rather exposed boulder – we did quite well as can be seen from the picture.]

Yesterday, we went off to the Cambir  at the NW corner of Hirta. ON the way we paused at the Lovers Stone.  Traditionally, the story is that a St Kildan man, before he was allowed to marry, had to show his ability as a cragsman by standing on this stone on one foot with the toe over the edge. He then put the heel of his other foot to the toe, and leaned down to put his first to the toe of the outer foot.  The fact that St Kildans went on getting married is probably becauise this was a story designed to extract money from tourists by posing at the Stone. This would have come from the 1880s, when St Kilda slid from a barter to a money based economy.

 

The Cambir is an excellent place to get views of a) Hirta and looking the other way, of Soay

Hirta from the Cambir - wide angle lens!

 

 

 

 

 

Soay from the Cambit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch at the Cambir, then off to the Amazons House and the Tunnel. 

Derek and Ken - what on earth is Derek doing to his boots?

 

 

 

 

 

Jo contemplates her lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the Cambir to the Tunnel (Jana, Ken and Alison)

Standing at the entrance to the Tunnel

The latter is a fantastic place – as we sat on a ledge just above the water, we had seals playing below us, and Eiders with chicks swimming in the surging seas.

 

 

The Amazons House (in Gaelic - House of the Women Warriors) - what cartographic vandal translated this to English so that it is now on all our maps?

 

The group is getting on very well and bonding nicely. Derek had seen the George Washington Wilson photographs of the St Kildans taken in 1886, and decided to make himself a St Kildan beard!

Dishes - what a team!