New Trust ambassador shares her love of the sea

Transcript

The Treshnish Isles, famed for their raw beauty, fascinating history and abundant wildlife. They lie just a few miles off the Isle of Mull, surrounded by the Sea of Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. Uninhabited for the last 150 years, they're remote and wild.

The Treshnish Isles are the newest place to come into the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The conservation charity has been caring for some of Scotland's most special places since 1931, including nearby Iona, Staffa, Canna, the Bishop's Isles and, 40 miles out into the Atlantic, St Kilda.

And I'm here to explore this amazing chain of islands from my favourite vehicle: a stand-up paddleboard.
I'm Cal Major. I'm an ocean advocate and adventurer and an ambassador for the National Trust for Scotland. I am so excited to share this magical place with you. Let's go check it out!

The Treshnish Isles are known for their distinctive silhouettes in the seascape and for their internationally significant nesting seabird populations, including 20% of the UK's storm petrels.
The entire archipelago is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the sea around the islands is part of the wider Sea of the Hebrides Marine Protected Area.
They're also home to a large number of Scotland's breeding Atlantic seals.

This island is called Fladda, which means flat, and it's renowned for its large numbers of shags which nest here.
I'm actually going to stay quite a way away from the cliffs and from the boulders where they nest because I don't want to disturb them. If I get too close and they fly away, they can leave their chicks, which are then vulnerable.

The first islands I've come to are Cairn na Burgh Mor and Cairn na Burg Beag, which are right at the top of the island chain and a home to the ruins of a medieval castle, which is also a Scheduled Monument.
Unfortunately, the clouds have just come over but it kind of adds to the mystery of it so we're going to go check it out.
So, this island's really cool actually.
The whole island itself is a fortress and the parts where there aren't big, sheer rock cliffs the previous inhabitants have built big wall fortifications that stop anyone getting in.
So, we're going to go and try and find somewhere where we can get in and go and check out the castle remains.

First mentioned in the 13th century in the Haakon Saga, this castle has seen everything from clan wars to Jacobite uprisings.
The vegetation on each of the islands here in the Treshnish Isles is quite noticeably different, and on this island in particular there are lots of nettles, which are a sign of previous human inhabitation.
Nettles thrive on nitrogen-rich soil, which would have been formed from human's middens and also from human waste.
It's so cool to see that these stories, this piece of history, has been preserved here on this tiny island.
And I know that the National Trust for Scotland's expert archaeologists are desperate to get out and explore for themselves.

As the weather cleared, I headed to the opposite end of the Treshnish Isles, to Bac Mor, locally referred to as the Dutchman's Cap due to its distinctive outline.

This island does have some sheer cliffs, so I just need to find somewhere to land now.
Wow! Look at this! I'm sat right on the top of the Dutchman's Cap, the very, very top of Bac Mor, and from here I can see all the Treshnish Isles in the different directions and I feel like I'm on top of the world.
It's such an amazing view; it's wonderful.

And finally, for me the jewel in the Treshnish Islands' crown: Lunga.
We've saved the best 'til last. This has to be my favourite of all the Treshnish Isles.
The bird colonies here are astounding and they're so used to human visitors that they've become habituated to our presence.
But, it's still really important not to disturb them while they're all here raising their chicks, so we're keeping a really close eye on their behaviour and making sure that we're not affecting it and being extremely careful everywhere on the island where we're placing our feet so that we don't accidentally trample on burrows.

Undoubtedly, one of the stars of the show on Lunga are the puffins.
Despite their cute appearance, puffins are incredibly hardy seabirds, spending two-thirds of the year -- including the entire winter -- out to sea, only coming back to land for a few months each breeding and nesting season. They can swim up to 60 metres underwater, hunting for fish, and the distinctive growl you can hear from puffins in their burrows is only audible while they're on land.
During those months on end at sea, they're completely silent.

Razorbills and guillemots are members of the same auk family as puffins, and over the summer months we can see this year's chicks on the water, with their parent, learning to fend for themselves.

From May to September each year, the Treshnish Isles host 50,000 nesting seabirds, many of them setting up home on Lunga.
Shags, kittiwakes, Manx shearwaters, storm petrels, razorbills, guillemots, puffins, and three different types of large gull, all nesting amongst each other in this special ocean ecosystem.

And of course, the birds here rely on a healthy ocean to thrive. I couldn't resist a quick dip to see the underwater world here for myself.

That was absolutely beautiful. I can see now where the puffins are getting all their food from.
There's so much life underwater! There's kelp, there's beautiful big patches of seaweed, and it's really fun to swim amongst it and see what I can see.
I saw a big fish, and there's a seal out there too.
It was lovely; I want to get back in! But I won't because it's actually quite cold. (chuckles)

For such a remote chain of small islands, the Treshnish Isles have so much to boast, from internationally important seabird colonies to phenomenally beautiful nature and a fascinating history that you can really imagine coming to life out here in the Sea of Hebrides.
Exploring these islands has felt like a huge privilege; it's been truly unforgettable.
There's a real beautiful, rugged wildness about them that I think is so hard to find nowadays.
There's a sense of spaciousness but also of connection -- our own connection to the big picture -- from the history and the wildlife that makes these islands so magical.

These islands are so full of life that it can be easy to forget just how much work goes into keeping them this way.
The National Trust for Scotland cares for these places in such a way that everyone can experience their nature, beauty and heritage.

I'm a proud supporter of the National Trust for Scotland and I am beyond delighted to have been asked to be their ambassador.
It feels like such a privilege to be part of a community of people who care just as much as I do about Scotland's wildlife and heritage.
Developing personal connections to nature through first-hand experiences of its powerful impact are a core part of my work in ocean conservation.
I hope that through my love of the sea, I can help the National Trust for Scotland to do even more to protect these special places and to inspire more people to support the work they do, for the love of Scotland.

You can donate to help the National Trust for Scotland carry out its important work to care for its beautiful islands, the habitats and the wildlife that lives there.

Please visit nts.org.uk/islands

Thank you.