Fingal's Cave
Uamh-Binn - The Cave of Melody
Useful Information
| Location: |
On the island of Staffa off the west coast of Scotland, near Mull and Iona.
 Location by UK Streetmap
|
| Open: |
no restrictions
|
| Fee: |
Cave free.
Fee for boat trip.
|
| Classification: |
 Sea cave
in Tertiary basalt.
|
| Light: |
none. Not necessary.
|
| Dimension: |
L=85m, H=23m.
|
| Guided tours: |
|
| Bibliography: |
Martin Mills (1994):
Fingals Cave,
GSG Bulletin, Volume 3 Number 1, March 1994
Donald B. MacCulloch (1975):
Staffa,
4th edition, North Pomfret, Vermon 1975
Jeanne K Hanson (2007):
Caves,
142 pp, 16 colour and 30 B&W photos. Chelsea House, New York.
pp 69-74
|
| Address: |
There are several operators running trips to Staffa:
Turus Mara, Penmore Mill, Dervaig, Isle of Mull, PA75 6QS, Tel: +44-1688-400242, Free: 08000-858786.
E-mail: 
Inter Island Cruises, Ardroich Farm, Dervaig, Isle of Mull, PA75 6QR, Tel/Fax: +44-1688-400426.
E-mail 
D. Kirkpatrick, Tigh-na-Traigh, Isle of Iona, PA76 6SJ, Tel: +44-1681-700358
|
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/10/09 18:30:14 $ |
History
| | |
| AUG-1772 | discovered by Sir Joseph Banks while on a natural history expedition to Iceland. |
| 08-AUG-1829 | Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy visited the cave. |
| 1859 | visited by Jules Verne. |
Description
 |
| Image: Die Fingals-Höhle, engraving from Mayer's Koversationslexikon, Germany 1905. |
Fingal's Cave is a
Sea cave
formed within Tertiary basalt lava flows which have cooled to form
hexagonal columns.
This place and Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland are the most famous sites of
basalt columns in Britain, and maybe in the whole world.
And the two places are connected by a legend, as even the Celts 2000 years ago
mentioned their similarity.
See
for more info.
Staffa is a tiny uninhabitated island, only 1.2km long and 400m wide, 46m high
at its highest point.
The name Staffa means "Pillar Island", much of its 2.4km circumference is
cliff line, composed of the basalt of an old lava flow.
The typical octogonal pillar structure of the rock is mostly vertical, which
gives the fantastic look of a palisade.
Fingal's Cave has been discovered by Sir Joseph
Banks who landed on the island in August 1772 while on a natural history
expedition to Iceland.
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy is blamed for misnaming
Uamh-Binn (The Cave of Melody) into Fingal's Cave.
But he increased the popularity of the cave with his Hebridean overture
which was inspired by this place.
During Victorian times paddle steamers landed 300 people a day on the island.
Famous visitors in this times were Sir Walter Scott,
John Keats, William
Wordsworth, Joseph Turner, and of course Queen
Victoria.
 |
Image: Joseph Turner (1775-1851): Staffa, Fingal's Cave
1832. |
In 1832 Joseph Turner made a painting called Staffa,
Fingal's Cave.
It shows the the cave from the south during rather windy or stormy weather, with
a steam boat close to the cave.
This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the same year and was cited
as "one of the most perfect expressions of the romanticism style of art".
It was his first painting to go to the United States but remained unsold for 13
years.
James Lenox, who bought the painting through a broker,
expressed his disappointment with this purchase by saying the painting was
"indistinct" in its execution.
When Turner heard this his reply was "You should tell him that indistinctness
is my forte".
As Martin Mills said in an article in the
GSG Bulletin, Volume 3 Number 1, March 1994:
"...Fingal's Cave has to be the most famous but least visited cave in the
world!".
This needs some further explanation.
Many people visit the cave by ship, it is the highlight of every trip from
Oban to Iona, but none of them sets a foot on staffa.
The island is not visited any more, and people seem to be satisfied by seeing
the cave from some distance.
Only a few boat trips land on Staffa, typically from Mull, just opposite of the
cave.
There are no trips to the cave from Oban or Iona.
Once on the island, there is a path into the cave on one side which involves
stepping from the top of one basalt column to the next.
It is not particularly difficult to visit the cave, but good walking shoes and
appropriate clothes are a good idea.
The island has two more similar caves, which are smaller and less impressive.
See also
