Those following this blog last year may recall our visit to the Giant’s Causeway on the north coast of Ireland. Tradition has it that the Scottish giant Fionn MacCool created a causeway from Scotland to Ireland. The Scottish end is on the island of Staffa, which is largely composed of these basalt hexagonal columns. A number of caves have been formed out of them, most notably Fingal’s Cave [Fingal being the Gaelic form of Fionn].
On the Saturday we sailed out to Staffa and back to Iona. There is no anchorage at Staffa and only very fine settled weather made it possible for us to anchor in open sea near the island and launch the dinghy to explore the cave. We were able to enter right into the cave, despite a slight swell running in. The cave has inspired many over the years, notably Mendelssohn who wrote his Hebrides Overture Die Fingalshöhle in 1829. It is, indeed a remarkable sight, as you will see from the photos below.
From Iona we sailed for the mainland. We were becalmed for a while, during which time we enjoyed one of the cream teas and Tony baked bread.
We have negotiated the tricky entrance to Loch Feochan, where we are spending a couple of days before heading for Oban. There we will enter a marina to catch up on laundry and maintenance tasks, while awaiting the arrival of Ynskje’s son Nick and Becca on Monday.
Tony & Ynskje
xxx