Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Isle of Eigg
POP 70
The Isle of Eigg made history in 1997 when it became the first Highland estate to be
bought out by its inhabitants. The island is now owned and managed by the
Isle of Eigg
Heritage Trust
(
www.isleofeigg.org
)
, a partnership among the islanders, Highland Coun-
cil and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Activities
The island takes its name from the Old Norse
egg
(edge), a reference to the Sgurr of Eigg
(393m), an impressive minimountain that towers over Galmisdale. Ringed by vertical
cliffs on three sides, it's composed of pitchstone lava with columnar jointing similar to
that seen on the Isle of Staffa and at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.
Sgurr of Eigg
The climb to the summit (4.5 miles round trip; allow three to four hours) of the Sgurr of
Eigg begins on the road that leads steeply uphill from the pier, which continues through
the woods to a red-roofed cottage. Go through the gate to the right of the cottage and turn
left; just 20m along the road a cairn on the right marks the start of a boggy footpath that
leads over the eastern shoulder of the Sgurr, then traverses beneath the northern cliffs until
it makes its way up onto the summit ridge.
On a fine day the views from the top are magnificent - Rum and Skye to the north,
Muck and Coll to the south, Ardnamurchan Lighthouse to the southeast and Ben Nevis
shouldering above the eastern horizon. Take binoculars - on a calm summer's day there's
a good chance of seeing minke whales feeding down below in the Sound of Muck.
HIKING
CAVE
Uamh Fraing
A shorter walk (2 miles; allow 1½ hours round trip, and bring a torch) leads west from the
pier to the spooky and claustrophobic Uamh Fraing (Massacre Cave). Start as for the
Sgurr of Eigg, but 800m from the pier turn left through a gate and into a field. Follow the
4WD track and fork left before a white cottage to pass below it. A footpath continues
across the fields to reach a small gate in a fence; go through it and descend a ridge to-
wards the shore.
The cave entrance is tucked inconspicuously down to the left of the ridge. The entrance
is tiny - almost a hands-and-knees job - but the cave opens out inside and runs a long way
back. Go right to the back, turn off your torch, and imagine the cave packed shoulder to
