Editing St Kilda, Scotland (section)

==21st-century tourism==
[[File:Village, Hirta, St Kilda.jpg|thumb|Village Bay (St Kilda Village), Hirta; 2010]]
Visits to St Kilda were encouraged until facilities closed due to the worldwide [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020 but it has since reopened. 

The National Trust for Scotland has improved the village on Hirta over the years. "They have reroofed the cottages on the main street, restored the church, and re-stacked stones that years of gales had toppled from the cleits, or bothies, that dot the volcanic landscape".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/nov/10/st-kilda-volunteering-working-holiday-scotland|title=Volunteering on St Kilda is all about DIY and clearing ditches. Yay!|first=Jay|last=Sivell|date=10 November 2017|website=The Guardian|access-date=20 August 2021|archive-date=5 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505204211/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/nov/10/st-kilda-volunteering-working-holiday-scotland|url-status=live}}</ref> One cottage, #3 on "The Street" has been more extensively restored and turned into the museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/the-collection-at-the-edge-of-the-world|title=The collection at the edge of the world|first=Deirdre|last=Mitchell|date=18 August 2018|website=National Trust for Scotland|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118150111/https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/the-collection-at-the-edge-of-the-world|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst90671.html|title=St Kilda Museum from The Gazetteer for Scotland|website=scottish-places.info|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503154034/https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst90671.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, a full restoration of the other cottages is not expected.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://barefoot-backpacker.com/st-kilda/|title=Why you should visit St Kilda|first=The Barefoot|last=Backpacker|date=17 July 2020|access-date=12 February 2021|archive-date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120192306/https://barefoot-backpacker.com/st-kilda/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.abandonedspaces.com/towns/hirta-island-of-the-st-kilda.html |title=DAY TRIP TO ST KILDA |date=9 December 2017 |work=Abandoned Spaces |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118195659/https://www.abandonedspaces.com/towns/hirta-island-of-the-st-kilda.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/st-kilda-travel-guide-holiday-review-572972 |title=St Kilda travel guide 2020: Visit the magical Scottish 'island on the edge of the world' |date=6 August 2020 |work=iNews |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503154034/https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/st-kilda-travel-guide-holiday-review-572972 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The Historic Environment Scotland website states that "the plain, two-bay church, with the schoolroom added to its north west in 1898" was "restored as they might have appeared in the 1920s." The site also explains that the "arrangement of St Kilda Village along a curving street is the result of mid-19th century improvement ... Distinctive drystone storage structures, known as cleitan, are scattered throughout the landscape. There are around 1,370 cleitan known throughout the St Kilda archipelago, but they are concentrated in the area around the village".<ref name=canmore>{{cite web |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/9668/st-kilda-hirta-village-bay |title=Stories from St Kilda |date=11 January 2008 |work=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503184138/https://canmore.org.uk/site/9668/st-kilda-hirta-village-bay |url-status=live }}</ref> 
[[File:A Cleit On St Kilda - geograph.org.uk - 1379478.jpg|thumb|A Cleit (storage shed)]]

The National Trust for Scotland suggests that there is a great deal of interest in diving in the area as well as viewing of seabirds in "Europe's most important seabird colony, and one of the major seabird breeding stations in the North Atlantic.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/st-kilda |title=ST KILDA WORLD HERITAGE SITE |date=15 January 2021 |work=NTS |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927021335/http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/55/Details/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Before the closure, day trips for tourists were readily available, by boat, leaving from Stein Jetty, Skye.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitscotland.com/info/tours/day-trip-to-st-kilda-f9877071 |title=Day trip to St Kilda |date=15 March 2020 |work=Visit Scotland |access-date=10 February 2021 |quote=Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice. |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301064654/https://www.visitscotland.com/info/tours/day-trip-to-st-kilda-f9877071 |url-status=live }}</ref> A review of St Kilda, written before facilities closed, warned that landing at the pier can be difficult in rough seas.<ref name="auto1"/>