Staffa National Nature Reserve

West of Mull

About the island
Despite being only half a mile long and quarter of a mile wide, and completely uninhabited, Staffa has been a source of inspiration for countless visiting artists over the centuries. The island is famous for its distinctive stepped basalt columns, created when the lava from volcanic eruptions cooled many millions of years ago. These columns form the cathedral-like structure of Fingal’s Cave, immortalised by Mendelssohn in his celebrated Hebrides overture. Other famous visitors to the island have included Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the artist J M W Turner, and poets and writers Keats, Wordsworth, Tennyson and Sir Walter Scott.