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It was Mendelssohn who perhaps
came closest to capturing the magic of Staffa in
the
Fingal's Cave overture, which he wrote in
1832, having visited Staffa three years before.
Modern visitors often start excursions to the
island from Fionnphort on the Mull mainland,
though boats also leave regularly from the Iona
pier. The voyage along the coastline of
south-west Mull is spectacular, with views of
the precipitous cliffs of Ardmeanach and the
Wilderness of Burg.
The fantastic precision of
Nature's work in building up the basaltic
columns on Staffa is due to the steady cooling
of flows of lava as they came into contact with
a colder bedrock and were exposed to the even
more chilling effects of the weather of northern
Scotland on the outer surfaces. By some fluke of
contraction on cooling the result is perfect,
mainly hexagonal, columns. Curves in the columns
were caused by the shape of the underlying rock
over which the lava flowed. Sometimes close
inspection of the columns will reveal whitish
deposits between the joints, almost as though
they were cemented. In fact this is caused by
salts such as calcite which were squeezed out of
the basalt by the immense forces of contraction
as the rock cooled.
 The
approach to Staffa by sea is breathtaking, great
basalt columns flanking the deep caves which
have inspired so much praise. Since all the
caves face south-east (with the exception of
Clamshell which faces due east) they are best
seen by morning light. If you are fortunate with
weather conditions you will be able to land and
explore the natural wonders of Fingal's Cave
(230 ft deep, 60 ft high, and 50 ft wide at the
entrance); or Clamshell Cave (130 ft deep, 30 ft
high, and 17 ft wide) where the columns are
intricately curved and distorted; from the mouth
of this cave you will see a strange rock just
offshore, almost the shape of a pyramid: this is
called Am Buchaille ('the Herdsman').
Staffa attracted the attention
of many of the great figures of the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The
island became an accepted venue on the cultural
grand Tour of Europe. Its marvels had first been
made known after the visit of the naturalist Sir
Joseph Banks in 1772, when he was en route to
Iceland. Banks wrote:
'Compared to this what
are the cathedrals and palaces built by men!
Mere models or playthings, imitations as his
works will always be when compared to those
of nature.'
Shortly afterwards Johnson and
Boswell made their celebrated excursion to the
highlands and islands, but could only view
Staffa from the sea as it was too rough to land.
When Mendelssohn returned to the mainland after
his visit he immediately made for the piano to
try out the theme that had been inspired by the
cave. He had hardly laid a finger on the keys
when he was brusquely interrupted by his
Scottish host who reminded him that it was
Sunday and therefore music was out of the
question.
Excursions to the island
became more and more popular, and a piper was
employed to play in the depths of Fingal's Cave
to give additional 'atmosphere'. Scott, Keats
and Wordsworth all wrote about their visits in
verse, the latter lamenting that he had to share
the experience with 'a motley crowd….hurried and
hurrying, volatile and loud'. In 1853 Tennyson
echoed these sentiments when he found Staffa 'as
interesting as it could be with people
chattering and forty minutes to see it in'. This
problem hadly affected Queen Victoria in 1847,
though her retinue was large enough. In her
journal she wrote of her visit:
As we rounded the
point, the wonderful basaltic formation came
in sight. The appearance it presents is most
extraordinary; and when we turned the corner
to go into the renowned Fingal's Cave, the
effect was splendid, like a great entrance
into a vaulted hall: it looked almost awful
as we entered, and the barge heaved up and
down on the swell of the sea. The rocks,
under water, were all colours - pink, blue
and green - which had a most beautiful and
varied effect. It was the first time the
British standard with a Queen of Great
Britain, and her husband and children, had
ever entered Fingal's Cave, and the men gave
three cheers, which sounded very impressive
there…
In the rather severe words of
The Nature Conservancy it is a "spectacular
example of columnar jointing in Tertiary plateau
lava flow". In 1973 it was declared a Site of
Special Scientific Interest.
About 60 million years ago
intense volcanic activity in the area and,
specifically, on Mull, led to a blanket of lava
being fed far out into the Atlantic. Most has
been eroded and dispersed, but Staffa, the
Treshnish Islands, and other small islands
have remained as stubborn outcrops. This is, of
course, a gross simplification of a complex
geological story which is still unfolding.
 Staffa
consists of three layers of rock of different
types, covered with a surface of rich soil and
lush grass. The lowest layer is tuff, compressed
volcanic ash and dust; the middle layer is
composed of the basaltic columns;and the
uppermost is made up of jumbled and fractured
columns, and volcanic debris. The whole
structure is best appreciated from the sea a
little way off the south of the island. The
slant of some four degrees downwards from west
to east, caused by disturbance deep down after
the columns had been created, is apparent. The
lifting of the tuff above sea-level on the
western portion provided the opportunity for the
sea to exploit areas of weakness and so create
the three main caves there.
The columns were formed within
a single, massive flow of lava as it cooled and
solidified in a very gradual, controlled manner.
As the material cooled its volume shrank
slightly and the narrow spaces which separate
the columns were created. Theoretically, every
column should be perfectly hexagonal in section
if the cooling process had occurred uniformly;
but there would have been a multitude of minor
variations in the rock itselt and in its pattern
of cooling, leading to the considerable variety
in column size and form that we can readily
detect.
The diverse pattern of soil
types on Staffa, arising from the basaltic
lavas, allows a great range of plant communities
to flourish. The 150 different higher plants
constitute an unusually rich flora for so small
an island.
 Despite
this wealth of plant life, there is almost no
bracken; and no heather, trees or shrubs.
However, plentiful colour is provided by the sea
campion, thrift, buttercup, and by the rich
lichens on the south-facing colonnade near the
major caves.
Thus, while the exceptional
geological features are recognised as being of
outstanding importance, the whole island's
ecosystem which embraces its rock, soil,
climate, topography, and the influences of its
marine location, is precious.
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