St Kilda (work party 3) June 2006 Day 12

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Monday and start of the working week!Alice,Diana,Tina and myself were given the task of repairing the turf roof on cleit 113 which had become eroded.A compost mixture of soil,rubble and sheep shit was mixed and applied to the eroded roof, having first secured fallen stones.On to this mud, turf was then put in place which was cut from the base of the diesel tanks.Jute netting was then put over the turf, wire staples were then used to hold this down, the theory being that the Jute would rot once the new turf had taken hold.
The weather was brightening and Hugh had told us that we would be knocking off after lunch and going for a walk to "the Cleit at the end of the world",the cleit that was situated on a promontory on the cliffs behind Connacher.As we set off behind the village to the gap the clouds were breaking up, blue skies and sunshine were with us again! giving great views over the sea to Boreray.To reach the cleit it was necessary to scramble down the cliff and those with no head for heights gave it a miss but once down it was a magical place where we sat a while watching Puffins returning to their burrows with sand eels,which was a good sign as it might point to a successful breeding season.
After acsending back up the cliff we drifted away in dribs and drabs.I sat at the top of a cliff gully and watched the ariel acrobatics of the sea birds for an hour and half, a wonderful experience that I shall never forget.It was eventually time to make tracks and head back to the village,I decieded to back via the summit of Osiaval and was once again dived bombed by the Bonxies but was recompenced by watching a pair of Ravens.
An exhilerating, day making it back to the village just in time for dinner where Susan Bain had joined us.

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