Staffin, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
The sheer variety along Skye’s coastline is ridiculous.
The sheer variety along Skye’s coastline is ridiculous.
Basalt columnar cliffs? Billion-year old boulders? White sand? Knife-edge sea stacks? Waterfalls? Sea caves? Skye’s got it all.
And—at An Corran, Staffin—there is the “Jurassic coast”.
As I’ve mentioned on this site before, Staffin’s An Corran gained national attention in 2002 when a local couple walking along the coast noticed a large three-toed lizard-like footprint in a slab of rock. Further exploration uncovered additional dinosaur footprints. Turns out that were likely produced by a creature akin to a Megalosaurus. These fossils are estimated to be around 160 million years old, which makes them the most recent dinosaur relics found in Scotland.
This is the main draw of An Corran. But for us, we were more interested in the cliffs and the coastline.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Staffin, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Below the cliffs at An Corran, the rocky coastline is dotted with giant boulders, often situated on top of raised platforms. Millennia of coastal and wind erosion have carved them into fantastic shapes.
As the tide was out, we were able to fully explore the revealed geology of An Corran’s coastline. I enjoyed myself immensely, a veritable playground of geometry, leading lines, light and subjects to play with.
Beautifully sculpted and layered formations give a glimpse of time way before the dawn of humans. In the distance, Staffin island is bathed in golden light.
Picking my way around slippery slabs, moss, and seaweed, I lined up this composition of the raised boulder, with the basalt cliffs in the distance.
Even closer to the boulder, I was able to obtain a reflection of sorts in a rock pool.
This particular boulder I find amazing. No human intervention whatsoever. A chunk of rock broke off the nearby cliffs, rolled down onto the coastline. Over the course of aeons, water and wind washed and carved the surrounding rock, leaving this boulder sitting on its protected pedestal.
Amongst all the ankle-breaking fist-sized pebbles, this arrangement of stones caught my eye.
Further towards the northwest side of An Corran, the rocky coastline gives way to sand. I carefully navigate around, seeking a composition of these embedded boulders in the sand.
At the far northwestern edge of the beach, a crackin’ view of the Quiraing opens up. I relied on the sensor stabilisation of my camera to slow down the shutter as much as possible at f/22, whilst still getting a relatively sharp image. The result came out alright.
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The Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
It’s so hard to ignore the Quiraing when you’re on Skye.
It’s so hard to ignore the Quiraing when you’re on Skye.
Comprising the northernmost aspect of the Trotternish peninsula landslip, the Quiraing is a true marvel. It features sheer cliffs 150 m tall, emotive and otherworldly geological formations such as the Prison, the Needle, and Table, as well as individual peaks formed from ancient landslips such as Cleat and Bioda Buidhe.
We approached the Quiraing from two separate sides. On one day we took the short and steep route into the Quiraing via Flodigarry, the eastern side. On another day we returned and hiked the more conventional tourist route. Both offer equally astounding scenes.
One day, we’ll be able to walk the entire Quiraing, in all its treacherously steep glory.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC and Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime lenses. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
The Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The Quiraing from Flodigarry
At Flodigarry you can find a small car park, fit for 5 or so cars. From here it’s a simple walk to the first loch you’ll come across, Loch Langaig. Above the loch are the block-shaped crags known as Fingal’s Pinnacles, which includes Leac nan Fionn, or “Fingal’s tomb”.
Beyond Loch Langaig, the trail starts to quickly ramp up and you soon arrive directly beneath the impressive Fingal’s pinnacles. Below the pinnacles is Loch Hasco, which I cautiously clambered down to for this breathtaking composition.
We returned to the trail as it began its steep pull towards the cliffs of Meall na Suiramach, the highest peak of the Quiraing. From the side, the Pinnacles reveal a more slender profile that I couldn’t ignore.
Above Loch Hasco and beneath the cliffs of Meall na Suiramach, we took some rest and explored more fascinating rock formations. I found this weird nubbin of rock as the sun crested above the cliffs of the Quiraing.
The conventional Quiraing route
The more “tourist-friendly” way around the Quiraing has seen a lot of infrastructure improvements over the years, including a new car park at the top and better road surfacing. There’s also a new viewing platform, giving people an easy way to get these views.
Along the trail north, chunks of the edge of the Quiraing have been cordoned off due to unstable cliffs and to protect rare flora. From one vantage point, as the sun emerged, I nabbed this composition looking straight down to the valley floor, a mountain sheep looking back at me.
One of the classic views of the Quiraing. It’s been done numerous times, of course, and often better than what I can manage. Nevertheless, I refuse to let another opportunity pass by. It’s such a wonderful scene.
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Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Autumn
Alongside the Storr, the Quiraing is one of those places on Skye that ignites your imagination and takes your breath away.
Alongside the Storr, the Quiraing is one of those places on Skye that ignites your imagination and takes your breath away.
Much like the Storr, the Quiraing is part of the Trotternish landslip, the longest such feature in the British Isles. Whilst the Storr marks the highest point of the Trotternish landslip, the Quiraing marks the northernmost summit at Meall na Suiramach (543 m/1,781 ft). The Quiraing is also, unlike the Storr, still slipping; apparently the road at the bottom of the Quiraing near Flodigarry requires repair every year as the land continues to move.
The name comes from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings: Kví Rand, which can be translated as “round fold”. This could refer to the fold just below the summit of Meall na Suiramach, which hides a flat plateau known as The Table (roughly around here), where cattle could be hidden. In fact the Quiraing is home to quite the variety of weird and wonderful rock formations and their characterful names, such as The Needle and The Prison.
Lisabet and I woke up nice and early to get to the Quiraing for sunrise. We knew there’d be fewer people, as the Quiraing is quite accessible and very popular, but we were also expecting rain after sunrise. As a result, we were treated to a wonderful light show as the sun rose over the sea, not long followed by a weather system that moved in and completely drenched us.
Worth it.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with both the Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
Both being significantly fitter now, we decided upon arrival to start hiking up the southern edge of the Quiraing that leads towards Dùn Dubh (396 m/1,299 ft). Pink pre-dawn light starts to appear in the sky.
As dawn breaks the sunrise light show gets better and better. This image is made of 6 landscape photos shot on a 35mm/f1.2 lens, stacked top to bottom and merged into a “bokehrama”. The hill on the left is called Cleat (336 m/1,102 ft).
My lovely Lisabet capturing the wonderful sunrise.
As we clamber back down the ridge we cross a meandering little stream, which I use as a leading line towards the northern section of the Quiraing. Those rock formations just don’t seem real.
Now following the northeastern ridge of the Quiraing, we found a lovely load of heather still largely in bloom. I composed this ultra-wide view of the Quiraing as I liked the way the curving cliff mirrored the curve of the road below.
A well-known and famous composition of the Quiraing, yes I admit it. But when I spotted that little tree growing out of the side of the cliff I couldn’t resist a photo. Also, the light on the Quiraing was so good.
At this point of the hike the sunlight was getting stronger and stronger, casting intense golden light on the land. When composing this shot on my Laowa 9mm I noticed that at certain angles the lens would flare quite drastically. Rather than avoiding it, I decided to deliberate include flare for this photo of the path through the Quiraing.
The sun had finally escaped above the bank of cloud that clung to the sea, drenching the Quiraing in intense golden light.
When I turned back for a composition of the route we had taken, I saw this storm moving in behind the Quiraing… so we decided to turn back and head towards the car. 5 minutes after shooting this photo we promptly got soaked.
Check out my Isle of Skye portfolio while you’re at it.
The Quiraing Of Skye: A Series
The Quiraing of the Isle of Skye. Just an otherworldly place.
The Quiraing of the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Just an otherworldly place. Shot with my Fujifilm X-T2 using a Samyang 12mm ƒ/2.0 lens.