Plans to mark St Kilda with visitor centre

The inspirational story of one remote community’s ambition to build a world-class visitor centre for St Kilda is coming to our screens.

BBC ALBA is to screen St Kilda Centre – Edge of Hope (Ionad Hiort – Oir an Dochais), which reveals their bid to build on the very edge of a cliff, in Uig, Isle of Lewis to celebrate the history of St Kilda.

The local community has come together to try and make this building project a reality.

It will be built on a site once used as a radar station, looking out towards St Kilda and the Atlantic Ocean. They need an outstanding design, funding, and enough patience to see them through a ten-year struggle.

St Kilda is located 40 miles away from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, and was abandoned by its population in 1930. St Kilda became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

This documentary follows the creative everyday challenges that this community faces, at a time when public funding does not always favour those living on the very edge of Europe.

Living in remote communities brings many challenges and the determination shown by the people of Uig, in trying to create an iconic landmark, is a real human story worth following.

Australian born composer and musician Jessica Danz produced the highly evocative piano and vocal soundtrack for the programme, which was inspired by the emigration story of 36 St Kildans who left the islands bound for South Australia in 1852. Only half of them survived the journey.

It will be shown on Tuesday, 3 March, on BBC ALBA, from 9-10pm.

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