The wonderous island of Staffa
THE LURE of Fingal’s Cave has drawn thousands of people to the tiny island of Staffa for centuries. Lying in the Atlantic west of the Island of Mull and about six miles north of Iona, Staffa has won as much acclaim as any other natural feature in the world.
The name goes back to the time of the Vikings. It comes from two old Norse words: ‘Stafr’ – pillar or post and ‘ey’ – an island. Hence ‘pillar island’, from the lofty hexagonally-jointed basaltic columns on the south side of the island, reminding them perhaps of their own houses, which were built from vertically placed tree-trunks.