Discover Skye & the Islands - Discover Scotland: Experience the Best of Scotland - page 496

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Isle of Staffa & the Treshnish Isles
Felix Mendelssohn, who visited the uninhabited island of Staffa in 1829, was inspired to compose his Hebrides
Overture after hearing waves echoing in the impressive and cathedral-like Fingal's Cave . The cave walls and sur-
rounding cliffs are composed of vertical, hexagonal basalt columns that look like pillars (Staffa is Norse for ʻPillar
Island'). You can land on the island and walk into the cave via a causeway. Nearby Boat Cave can be seen from the
causeway, but you can't reach it on foot. Staffa also has a sizable puffin colony, north of the landing place.
Northwest of Staffa lies a chain of uninhabited islands called the Treshnish Isles . The two main islands are the
curiously shaped Dutchman's Cap and Lunga . You can land on Lunga, walk to the top of the hill and visit the
shag, puffin and guillemot colonies on the west coast at Harp Rock .
Unless you have your own boat, the only way to reach Staffa and the Treshnish Isles is on an organised boat trip
from Ulva, Fionnphort or Iona.