There are few words to describe the experience of a visit to the Shiant islands.  The Shiants are a small group of islands in the Hebrides, in North West Scotland, four miles or so off the coast of Lewis and 12 from the northern tip of Skye, which lies almost due south of them. These islands are home to many species of birds and the hills and rocks are just teeming with them.  We set out from the harbor in Tarbert on Harris on the boat the Hurt, captained by Peter MacDonald with Kenny MacLean acting as guide.The islands are one of the most important breeding colonies for seabirds in Europe – around 10 per cent of UK puffins and 7 per cent of UK razorbills breed there every year.

We climbed into the rubber dingy and went over to the shore so we could walk around and get close to the birds.  It was a most amazing experience to be surrounded by these seabirds flying all around us.  My favorites were the puffins – how can you resist those faces?  We spent about 3 hours just hanging out on the shore and walking around the hills. It was pure magic!