St Kilda is also home to the ghostly remains of a village on the island of Hirta.

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There are facilities on Benbecula, North and South Uist and a radar station on Hirta in St Kilda.

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From this index the researchers concluded that the winters on Hirta are getting shorter and warmer, and that may be because of climate change.

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The main island, Hirta, once supported Britain's most remote community, with the inhabitants surviving for centuries on the seabird population, subsistence agriculture and eating dishes such as baked puffin.

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The tugs are expected to arrive on Saturday at the Village Bay inlet on the east coast of Hirta, the main island in the group, 50 miles west of the Outer Hebrides.

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