The wind is so strong here that trees refuse to grow.
The abandoned Village Bay, on the island of Hirta, St Kilda.
Photo credit:CaptainOates/Flickr
St Kilda was inhabited continuously for some 4,000 years.
The windswept island was not suitable for farming.
The sea was too rough for fishing, so the islanders didnt eat fish.
Their favorite food was birds, and there was plenty of them on the island.
According to one report, each person on St Kilda ate 115 fulmars every year.
In 1876 it was said that the islanders consumed more than 89,600 puffins.
Catching the birds were not easy, but the islanders had mastered the art.
The birds were available for only half the year.
During autumn and winter they headed out into the Atlantic Ocean.
From the middle of the 19th century, the islanders started receiving tourists and they themselves ventured overseas.
But for the first time in history, there were regular deliveries of mail and food.
When these services were withdrawn at end of war feelings of isolation increased.
Food shortages became more acute and more frequent.
The lack of medical care was sorely missed.
After that incident, a collective decision was taken to leave the island for good.
A petition signed by twenty islanders was written to the government requesting evacuation.
They stated that the population of the island was decreasing and several more men had decided to leave.
Thousands of tourists visit the island of Hirta today to explore the abandoned town.
Petition to the Secretary of State for Scotland requesting assistance to leave St Kilda, 1930.
St. Kildans sitting on the village street, 1886.
A group of tourists watching an islander spin.
St Kildans evacuating the island in 1930.
