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 Staffa
means "Pillar Island", which only begins to describe the breathtaking
formations of columnar basalt. It is an island of caves, of which the
best known is Fingal's Cave, a full 227 ft (69 m) deep and 66 ft (20 m)
high.
One name for Staffa meant "melodious Cave" in deference to the echoing
waves and the sound of the gulls. Most visitors will know Mendelssohn's
overture Fingal's Cave, also known as The Hebrides, which
he composed in 1829 after a visit to the island. Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert landed on Staffa in 1847, the queen recording the visit in her
diary. Other visitors include Sir Walter Scott, Keats, Wordsworth and
the artist Turner, who in 1832 exhibited his Staffa: Fingal's Cave
at the Royal Academy. It was sold to a buyer in the United States.
Several operators run boat trips from Mull or Iona during the summer
season and in favourable weather landing is possible. These days, of course,
you are taken there in a rather more up-to-date craft that the one shown
in our picture, which is taken from a postcard published early in the
20th century.
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