Inside the UK's ghost island abandoned nearly 100 years ago before three plane crashes

Off the coast of Scotland lies an abandoned island, known for its sheer cliff faces, rugged terrain – and the fact that every person living there asked to be evacuated nearly a century ago. Hirta, the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, is one of Scotland’s six World Heritage sites.

The island boasts nine miles of beautiful coastline, and reaches a size of around six km2. But turbulent seas surrounding it make it difficult for ships to approach the mysterious island, Daily Record reports.

While it is now home only to wildlife and tourists, evidence suggests people used to live there, living off its freshwater springs as well as birds and sheep.

Archeological records indicate it was populated for over 2,000 years, with Iron Age pottery found on the island. Some shards even appear to come from the Bronze Age.

The largest settlement of the island was known simply as The Village. It was home to over 180 people in the late 17th century. 

But in more recent centuries this number has dwindled. A census in 1861 reveals the population was as low as 71. 

It was around this time that 16 single-storey cottages, with chimneys and slate roofs, were built for the area.

Disease, migration, and the death toll of the First World War further reduced the number of people in Hirta, with just 36 left in 1930. 

At this time, only thirteen adult men and ten women lived on the island.

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At this time, those few who remained on the island requested to be evacuated to the mainland, and in August of that year, the HMS Harebell carried them to Scotland.

However, the island did not remain untouched by war for long, as three planes crashed into it during the Second World War.

In every instance, all those on board the planes died.

And on the small island of Soay, right next to Hirta, the wreckage of a plane crash was discovered in 1978 – but the RAF has not been able to identify where it was from.

The last surviving resident of Hirta, Rachel Johnson, died aged 92 in 2016. 

She was just eight when she fled the island with the other residents in 1930, and only returned to the island twice – once for a documentary and once at the invitation of the Army to see how the area had changed.

St Kilda is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Alexander Bennett, trust’s general manager for countryside and islands north, said: “It is a sad day and truly an end of an era to learn that the last if the native St Kildans has passed away.

“I was privileged to have met Rachel on a number of occasions. She was intensely private but extremely kindly.

“On behalf of the NTS and all who care for St Kilda, we offer our condolences to her family and friends.”