Hirta (Hiort in Scottish Gaelic) is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean on the western edge of Scotland. Getting to the islands is quite an experience, seas are usually very rough and the tour boat is pretty small. Hirta was continuously populated from prehistoric times until 1930, when the remaining inhabitants were evacuated. On 29 August the 36 inhabitants were removed to Morvern on the Scottish mainland at their own request. All that is left now are ruins and birds, heaps of birds. The St Kilda islands were bought in 1931 by the ornithologist John Crichton-Stuart, 5th Marquess of Bute. In 1957, following his death, they were bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland and were designated as Scotland's first World Heritage Site in 1987.

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