This film is part of Free

Off the Map

Cruise on the steamer 'Meteor' for a magical 1950s journey to the wild and remote islands of Fair Isle, Shetland, Papa Stour, Foula, North Rona, St Kilda, Mingulay, Barra and Iona.

Sponsored film 1958 27 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Scotland's Moving Image Archive

Overview

Take a cruise with the National Trust for Scotland to spend six days exploring the lonely and forgotten islands of Scotland in this 1950s travelogue. Board the steamer 'Meteor' at Leith and head to Shetland, crossing turbulent seas to Fair Isle, Lerwick, Out Skerries, Papa Stour, and Foula, one of the most remote inhabited islands in Britain. Call at the tiny island of North Rona before heading to St Kilda, Mingulay, Barra, and Iona for six days you'll remember for a lifetime.

This film was made by the National Trust for Scotland in 1958. The Trust formed in 1931 in order to protect Scotland’s heritage; it now cares for over 70 gardens and designed landscapes, 129 properties, 100,000 artefacts and 190,000 acres of land, making it the largest landowner in Scotland. The Trust acquired Fair Isle in 1954, and St Kilda in 1957, shortly before this film was made. The National Trust for Scotland has offered cruises for over 60 years, carrying 30,000 passengers on ten different ships. It continues to offer cruises to Scottish Islands, but now extends its journeys to destinations such as Ireland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.