Interesting news this week from St Kilda, which should be celebrating this year's record number of cruise visits but is instead dismayed to discover that cruisers are apt to walk off with anything that is not screwed down.
Apparently the island, in the Outer Hebrides, has had more than 5,000 cruise ship visitors this year from 24 vessels - up from 16 last year.
"To the popular cruise ship island ports of call like St Kitts, St Lucia and St Martin, you can now add St Kilda," says the press release. Well not quite, but guess that's quite a lot of folk for the Western Isles.
Anyway, seems the joy at having all those tourists has been short lived as quite a few are taking a bit of St Kilda back home with them.
Susan Bain, National Trust for Scotland Western Isles manager, said the code of conduct drawn up for cruise ship visitors asks that they do not litter, disturb the birds, chase the rare Soay sheep or put anything they find in their pocket.
"Some people are tempted to behave in an unsocial way. We do know, sadly, that certain island artefacts have been liberated."
Oh the joys of mass-market tourism!
Jane Archer
