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Caption: STAFFA
Scotland 2017
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Caption: I always wanted to visit Staffa which is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. I had read up on the island and had seen magnificent photos of it in Scottish Travel books. I believe even queen Victoria visited here.
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Caption: I had read that Vikings gave Staff this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from vertically placed tree-logs - I can see why!
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Caption: This unique island is 33 hectares (82 acres) and the highest point is 42 metres (138 ft) above sea level. Much bigger than I had originally thought and I was surprised to read that it used to be inhabited previously.
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Caption: There are boat trips from Oban, Ulva Ferry and Fionnphort on Mull, and Iona which allows visitors to view the caves and the puffins that nest on the island between May and July. I visited this island in June 2017 with a boat from Ulva which promised a puffin therapy.
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Caption: I was surprised to see the pyramidal rock - islet of Am Buachaille ('The Herdsman'), a pile of basalt columns seen fully only at low tide. Not something I had imagined I would see in this island.
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Caption: This is the landing place used by the tourist boats just north of Am Buachaille, but disembarkation is only possible in calm conditions. The boat ride was early morning/afternoon.
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Caption: We walked to the famous Fingal's Cave known for its natural acoustics. I was told that It became known as Fingal's Cave after the eponymous hero of an epic poem by 18th-century Scots poet-historian James Macpherson.
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Caption: Fingal's Cave is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns within a Paleocene lava flow.
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Caption: The National Trust for Scotland now owns the cave as part of a national nature reserve. I met few volunteers in the island who were repairing the paths.
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Caption: Standing in front of Fingal’s cave the “Cathedral of the Sea” I don’t have a head for heights and it was jaw dropping at sections.
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Caption: “This superb monument of nature, which in regard to its form bears so strong a resemblance to a work of art, though art can certainly claim no share in it." Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond wrote
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Caption: Tourist taking it all in...
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Caption: I was lucky to visit it in glorious sunshine and we spotted dolphins on the way there.
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Caption: They followed the boat for ages.
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Caption: Time in at the island flew past quickly. I could have easily stayed another 2 to 3 hours. The hour and half didn’t seem enough to take in all it’s beauty.
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Caption: As promised by the caption of the boat - we saw some puffins- puffins are definitely nature’s best therapy.
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Caption: The end.
#myfavoritetrips
