Sula

Once a year men from Lewis spend two weeks on a remote rock in the Atlantic where they harvest 2000 gannets - the guga. In this text, John Beatty - one of the few outsiders to have been allowed on the island of Sula Sgeir to witness this event - offers an account of this centuries old tradition.

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Once a year, in the utmost secrecy, ten chosen men from Ness in Lewis spend two weeks on a remote rock in the Atlantic where they harvest 2000 gannets - the guga - part of a tradition that has existed for over four centuries. After the abandonment of St Kilda, this is the last remnant of a great tradition, and until recently, carried out in an open boat. In 1954 the men of Ness were specifically exempted under the Protection of Birds Act. The tradition is handed down from father to son and only if there is a break in the chain is a new member chosen. John Beatty, the landscape photographer, is one of the few outsiders in living memory to have been allowed on the island of Sula Sgeir to witness the catching, plucking and salting of the birds prior to their being shipped back to Lewis. He lived with the men, sleeping inside a centuries old beehive dwelling, eating food cooked on peat fires and listening to daily reading from the Gaelic bible.