The only reasonably protected anchorage in St. Kilda is Village Bay, off the main island of Hirta. Protected on the south-east (left) by the island of Dun, and to the north by the hills Conachair and Oiseabhal (right). The small village was established on the lower slopes facing the bay. The islanders had a tough life, and survived by exploiting the thousands of sea birds living on the islands. There are a large number of cleits, huts used for storing dried sea birds, fish, hay and turf. The present village was set out in the 1830s above Village Bay, but in the 1880s some of the population left for Australia, and the remaining inhabitants were finally evacuated in the 1930s because of hardship and storms that had cut off the islands for weeks. The island was bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland in 1957 and was designated as Scotland's first World Heritage Site in 1987.

Date: 07 August 2013
Location : Atlantic ocean, aboard The Wylde Swan
Canon EOS 5D MkII, Tamron 24-70mm @ 24mm , 1/400s f10 ISO 200
Image reference : StK11 © Angus Bruce, Ullapool