St Kilda will still weave its magic

SIR, – For those unable or unwilling to make the sea journey to St Kilda, the proposed new visitor centre, whether it is built in the Uists, Lewis or Harris, will be welcome (Press & Journal, August 18).

By 2020, technology will doubtless allow visitors to remotely explore the island, but no matter how good it is, it will not convey its unique atmosphere.

More importantly, it must not be used by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) or the MoD as a convenient tool to prevent visitors from going there altogether.

St Kilda is significant for its former human occupation and to a lesser degree, its wildlife.

There is already a worrying element of as far as visitors are concerned.

It would be quite wrong of NTS to fall into step with Unesco's ‘global best practice example of remote access story-telling' – whatever that may be – to the detriment of the three local businesses which convey people to and from the island in fast RIBS or the St Kilda Club who have a presence on the island and each year raise substantial sums of money for important preservation work. ‘preciousness' Iain Thornber, Morvern, Argyll.