Last orders for the pub at the end of the world
IT is the most remote pub in Scotland, with only a handful of regular customers.
Now last orders are being called on the Puff Inn on the main island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago.
It is to be demolished to make way for a new Ministry of Defence base.
The bar sits a distance of 40 miles – or at least two-and-a-half hours by boat – from North Uist.
It is due to be pulled down after more than 50 years as the MoD, which has a missile tracking system on the westernmost island of the Outer Hebrides, rebuilds its base, set to open this autumn.
The Puff Inn stopped serving tourists more than a decade ago. In 2005, tourists and day trippers were banned amid security concerns.
Since then it has been largely used by the MoD but visiting construction workers and conservationists may drink in the bar.
For decades, the cosy watering hole was the focal point of social life on St Kilda, which is owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
It provided a lively atmosphere with a pool table, quizzes and even discos.
The names of customers who have visited the premises over the years are scribbled on its ceiling, while flags representing the adventurers, scientists and sailors who have reached the pub hang from the walls.
Julie Hunt, chairman of the St Kilda Club, described the closure as ‘sad times’. She said: ‘It really is the end of an era for St Kilda.
‘There is nothing like spending the day digging a hole, or clearing some drainage, and then you can go to the pub and chat and relax with a drink. It is the social hub of the island.’ A spokesman for the MoD said: ‘The Puff Inn is relocating as part of a new accommodation block that will open this autumn.
‘The original 1950s facility that was built by the RAF continues to evolve.’
St Kilda, whose last permanent inhabitants were evacuated in 1930, is a UN-designated World Heritage site and one of Britain’s geographical marvels. At Conachair, it boasts the highest, most vertiginous sea cliffs in the British Isles, standing more than 1,400ft tall. In addition, Stac an Armuinn and Stac Li are the country’s highest sea stacks.
St Kilda houses the most important seabird community in Europe and has the world’s largest colony of gannets.
And, as the pub name suggests, it is home to an important collection of puffins.