The Queen’s baton reached its most westerly point in its tour of Scotland with a 90 minute visit to St Kilda yesterday (Tues).
Arriving by helicopter, the baton’s journey to the island some 41 miles off Benbecula thrilled the 90 or people who were on the island on the same day.
They cheered as bearer Colin Macleod of Stornoway emerged from the helicopter. In 2012, Colin was the skipper of the Minch Swim team which relay swam the 50 miles across the Minch between Ullapool and Stornoway to raise almost £23,500 for RNLI lifeboats.
Whipping out their cameras to take snaps, the tourists almost forgot they were there to view St Kilda‘s stunning scenery and unique wildlife.
They were joined by the 23 Qinetiq radar station crew and National Trust of Scotland (NTS) staff, all eager to watch the action.
Clutching the baton, Colin walked up the ancient village street, astonishing one
group of daytrippers inside one of the preserved stone-
St Kilda seabird officer Gina Prior said: “There was a nice community atmosphere. People took lots of photos and were able to actually hold the baton, which was nice.”
Colin said: “It was absolutely fantastic. There were loads of people there all wanting to touch the baton.”
He added: “I’m dedicating my stint with the baton to my family and friends, especially my wife Donna, who are great support and help a lot with the background work in the charity activities I was nominated for.”
