Stac Levenish

Stac Levenish, or Stac Leibhinis, is a 62-metre sea stack in the St Kilda archipelago, lying about 2.5 kilometres off Village Bay on Hirta. It is part of the rim of an extinct volcano, along with Dùn, Ruaival and Mullach Sgar, and it is the first part of St Kilda that many visitors see up close as they arrive from the east. Seen from that direction, its north cliff looks like the profile of a human face.

Landscape

Stac Levenish rises steeply from the Atlantic, a dark tower of volcanic rock surrounded by the open ocean. The skerry of Na Bodhan lies to the north-east, and a smaller unnamed rock to the south-west. Behind it, the cliffs of Dùn and Hirta rise around Village Bay, with the old village street and its stone houses on the slopes above the shore.

History

Stac Levenish has never been lived on, but the St Kildans knew every stack around their islands, climbing them to gather seabirds and eggs. In the early 1900s, the stack also attracted recreational climbers: in 1900 Norman Heathcote described a moderately difficult ascent, as part of an expedition that also climbed Stac Lee. The St Kildans themselves left Hirta in 1930, when the last 36 islanders asked to be taken to the mainland.

St Kilda is one of very few places in the world with dual UNESCO World Heritage status, for both its natural and cultural heritage.

More about Stac Levenish

St Kilda is one of very few places in the world with dual UNESCO World Heritage status, for both its natural and cultural heritage. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and managed as a National Nature Reserve, and its seabird colonies are the largest in the UK.

Visiting

There is no landing on Stac Levenish. In summer, day trips sail to St Kilda from Harris and Skye, weather permitting, passing Stac Levenish on the way into Village Bay. You can collect Stac Levenish as a sighting in your Island Passport.

Wildlife and area

Look out for Gannet, Fulmar, Puffin and great skuas, and for Grey Seal and Common Dolphin. Other islands nearby include Dùn, Sgeir Cùl an Rubha, Hirta, Mina Stac, Bradastac and Soay Stac.