Staffa - The Pillar Island
Visiting Staffa was an added bonus on our day of Puffin Therapy.
A quick trip to the ‘Pillar Island’ (from the old Norse) was barely enough to appreciate the sheer awesomeness of this otherworldly landscape.
The hexagonal pillars that skirt the island were formed via the same type of rare volcanic eruption that created the more famous Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
Old Gaelic folklore tells stories of Scottish and Irish giants leaving these pillars – in both locations - in the wake of a feisty battle. The lore feels almost real when amongst the remarkable tessellating tiles of island’s shores.
The hexagons are all assembled so tightly together. Straightly yet swirling, warped but unwavering. They are a magnificent sight which ever way you look.
The island has been a tourist destination for more than 200 years, since Sir Joseph Banks wrote of its beauty. Queen Victoria, Jules Verne, Wordsworth and Keats are among the more famous of it’s previous visitors. The poets expressed awe at the beauty but sadness at the island’s high volume of tourists.
Today, there are still thousands who visit each year, so we feel lucky that we are there on the last boat of the day when the island is mostly empty. We first raced to the top to enjoy the vista, then headed down among the hexagons to find Fingal’s Cave
Named for the aforementioned giants, Fingal’s Cave is a truly enchanted place. The sound of the waves crashing over the hexagonal pillars echoes through the space. Pink, yellow and green algae grasps tight on the jet black honeycomb amongst the blue splashes of waves. Knowing ourselves the fastest of our group, we hung back to the end to experience the magic of this place on our own.
We sit on our couch every day, drinking tea, watching gameshows, telling stories, in our little Glasgow flat. We sit under a portrait of an island ringed with tall golden pillars shining in the Scottish sun. We were in the middle of the sea when learned that island is Staffa. Even amongst the stormy deep blue seas, tall black columns standing strong on this grey day, it is an unmistakable sight that it seems we were destined to see.
