St. Kilda trip to meet the Soay sheep
In mid May, I was very lucky to get a trip out to St Kilda with Gotostkilda. The weather was perfect and I was able to sit out on deck all the way watching diving gannets and keeping a look out for the enigmatic St Kilda islands as they slowly rose out of the horizon.
Other than the excitement of landing on an island so steeped in history, I was particularly looking forward to meeting the relatives of our Hebridean sheep – the Soay. Both breeds share genetic ancestry with the Northern short-tailed breeds that include Shetland, North Ronaldsay, Manx Loughtan, Icelandic and Nordic sheep. They have in common the physical traits of short tails, darker and coarser hair, a moulting coat and the potential for both horned males and females.
Since the 1950s the Soay flock on the island of Hirta, the main St Kilda island, has been left feral. The flock has been monitored by scientists and it is a strictly closed flock without any animal husbandry intervention. Population crashes occur when the flock exceeds its carrying capacity but winter weather conditions and intestinal parasites also have an impact.
It was a good time to visit Hirta, just after lambing. On the whole, the Soay breed is smaller and lighter coloured than the Hebrideans with particularly cute faced lambs.
Soay lamb.
View along Village street.
Iron Age souterrain on the edge of the village.
View back down to Village bay with gathering pens.
Clouds flooded in across Village bay engulfing me in drizzle as I climbed to the summit.
Just below the summit I realised I was not alone as nesting pairs of Arctic Skua surrounded me.
One of the many cleits used for drying and storing food and peat.
A beautifully structured cleit down in Village bay.
Back on board we were treated to a circumnavigation of Boreray island. I was surprised by the number of Boreray sheep which you can just pick out as white dots in the photo.
Boreray sheep also belong to the Northern Short-tailed sheep group but originate from the Scottish Dunface, which is why they are white with mottled brown faces. They are the rarest UK breed, classified as Category 2: Endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, with fewer than 300–500 known to exist.
A final look back at Stac Lee off Boreray as we head home. It is home to the largest gannet colony in the UK with around 60,000 nesting pairs. Thank you Derek and the Gotostkilda team for a fantastic day out.
