Travel – Staffa

This is an excerpt from my book Travels through History : Ten Scottish Islands currently on sale at a discount.

Staffa is famous for two reasons. The first is Fingal’s Cave, a sea cave known for its natural acoustics. The National Trust for Scotland owns the cave as part of a National Nature Reserve. It became known as Fingal’s Cave after the eponymous hero of an epic poem by 18th-century Scots poet-historian James Macpherson. In Irish mythology, the hero Fingal is known as Fionn mac Cumhaill, and Macpherson rendered the name as Fingal (meaning “white stranger”). The legend of the Giant’s Causeway has Fionn building the causeway between Ireland and Scotland.

Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn visited Staffa in 1829 and wrote an overture, The Hebrides, Op. 26, (also known as the Fingal’s Cave Overture), that was said to be inspired by the weird echoes in the cave. Mendelssohn’s overture popularized the cave as a tourist destination, and soon poets and painters such as William Wordsworth, John Keats, and JMW Turner were visiting. 

Staffa is also famous because of the basalt columns that remind visitors of The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Staffa is entirely volcanic in origin and comprises a lowest layer of tuff, underneath the columns of a black fine-grained basalt, above which is further lava. Slow cooling of the second layer of basalt resulted in the pattern of predominantly hexagonal columns which form the faces and walls of the principal caves and the cliffs near Fingal’s Cave.  

Lunga is about 30 minutes from Staffa. Lunga is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area. and Special Area of Conservation. The boat picked up a floating jetty in a sheltered bay, which allowed the passengers to reach the rocky beach. There are a few ruined blackhouses on the island, but the island is now deserted, at least of human beings. For birdwatchers, the entire island is of interest and botanists would appreciate the many rare and endangered plants native to Lunga, including birdsfoot trefoil, sea campion, sea pinks, yellow flags, and tormentil. There are paths all around, though some can be closed if the wardens believe that by using the path, walkers might disturb birds in their nests. The biggest feature is the Harp Rock, a sea stack that was covered in guillemots. The smell is awful. 

Razorbills were sitting on the edges of the cliffs, though it was the puffins who were receiving the most visitors. A blue cord on the ground showed the line that photographers should not cross. The puffins were happily going about their business without appearing too flustered by the lenses being pointed at them. Indeed, it’s believed that the smaller birds appreciate visitors as it keeps the larger birds, such as eagles and the murderous bonxies (Great Skuas) away. Kittiwakes, petrels, and shearwaters also call Lunga home. Corncrakes live here too, but are very elusive.