View source for Staffa

{{Short description|Island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland}}
{{Other uses|Staffa (disambiguation)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
|coordinates = {{coord|56.43|-6.33|display=inline}}
|Image=STAFFA ISLAND - aerial view.gif
|ImageCaption=Aerial view of Staffa, with The Colonnade in the foreground and Am Buchaille to the right
|location_map=Scotland Argyll and Bute
|caption=Staffa shown within Argyll and Bute
|GridReference=NM323355
|celtic name= Stafa
|norse name= stafi-oy
|meaning of name= Old Norse for 'stave or pillar island'.
|area= {{cvt|33|ha|sqmi|frac=16}}
|area rank= 0
|highest elevation= {{cvt|42|m|ft|0}}
|Population= Uninhabited since 1800
|population rank=
|main settlement=
|island group= [[Isle of Mull|Mull]]
|local authority=[[Argyll and Bute]]
|references=<ref name= Smith>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 124&ndash;27</ref><ref>Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 First Series (1976) Sheet 48</ref><ref name=MacT/>
}}

'''Staffa''' ({{langx|gd|Stafa}},<ref name=MacT>{{Gaelic Placenames}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php?facal=Staffa&seorsa=Beurla&tairg=Lorg&eis_saor=on|title=Staffa|website=[[Sabhal Mòr Ostaig]]|access-date=2020-08-25}}</ref> {{IPA|gd|ˈs̪t̪afa|pron}}, from the [[Old Norse]] for stave or pillar island) is an island of the [[Inner Hebrides]] in [[Argyll and Bute]], [[Scotland]]. The [[Vikings]] gave it this name as its columnar [[basalt]] reminded them of their houses, which were built of vertical logs.<ref>Murray (1973) p. 44</ref>

Staffa lies about {{convert|10|km|mi|0|abbr=off}} west of the [[Isle of Mull]]; its area is {{convert|33|ha|acre|0}}<ref>This is Haswell-Smith's estimate. Keay (1994) states {{convert|28|ha|acre}}.</ref> and the highest point is {{convert|42|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} above [[sea level]].

The island came to prominence in the late 18th century after a visit by [[Sir Joseph Banks]]. He and his fellow-travellers extolled the natural beauty of the basalt columns in general and of the island's main sea cavern, which Banks renamed '[[Fingal's Cave]]'. Their visit was followed by those of many other prominent personalities throughout the next two centuries, including [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Felix Mendelssohn]]. The latter's ''[[Hebrides Overture]]'' brought further fame to the island, which was by then uninhabited. It is now in the care of the [[National Trust for Scotland]].<ref name=Keay/>

==Geology and pre-history==

In prehistoric times ([[Pleistocene]]), Staffa was covered by the ice sheets which spread from Scotland out into the [[Atlantic Ocean]] beyond the [[Outer Hebrides]]. After the last retreat of the ice around 20,000&nbsp;years ago, sea levels were up to {{convert|125|m|ft|0}} lower than at present. Although the [[isostasy|isostatic]] rise of land makes estimating post-glacial coastlines a complex task, around 14,000 years ago it is likely that Staffa was part of a larger island, just off the coast of mainland Scotland, which would have included what are now Mull, [[Iona]] and the [[Treshnish Isles]].<ref>Murray (1973) p. 69</ref>

Steadily [[sea level rise|rising sea levels]] then further isolated this little island, which is entirely of [[volcanic]] origin. It consists of a basement of [[tuff]], underneath colonnades of a black fine-grained [[Tertiary (period)|Tertiary]] [[basalt]], overlying which is a third layer of basaltic lava without a crystalline structure. By contrast, slow cooling of the second layer of basalt resulted in an extraordinary pattern of predominantly hexagonal columns that form the faces and walls of the principal caves.<ref name=Smith/> The lava contracted towards each of a series of equally spaced centres as it cooled and solidified into prismatic columns, a process known as [[columnar jointing]]. The columns typically have three to eight sides, six being most common. The columns are also divided horizontally by cross joints.<ref>Mitchell, Colin and Mitchell, Patrick (2005) ''Landform and Terrain: The Physical Geography of Landscape'' Brailsford Press. {{ISBN|1-904623-56-5}} [http://www.brailsfordpress.com/chapters%201-3.pdf 3.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407142126/http://www.brailsfordpress.com/chapters%201-3.pdf |date=7 April 2008 }}</ref> These columnar jointed sections represent the tops and bottoms of individual lava flows. Between these sections lie regions of much more chaotic jointing, known as the entablature. The origin of the entablature is unknown, but could be due to flooding of the lava flow, causing much more rapid cooling, or the interaction of stress fields from the two regions of columnar jointing as they approach one another.<ref>Phillips et al. (2013) ''The formation of columnar joints produced by cooling in basalt at Staffa, Scotland'' Bulletin of Volcanology 75:715</ref>

Similar formations are found at the [[Giant's Causeway]] in [[Northern Ireland]], on the island of [[Ulva]], and at Ardmeanach on the Isle of Mull.<ref name=Keay>Keay & Keay (1994) p. 894</ref> Grooves in the roof of MacKinnon's cave indicate either a pyroclastic flow or a series of eroded ash falls in the rock above the columnar basalt.<ref>[http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/arb/gsg/news/128.html "To Staffa with Ladder"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319123058/http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/arb/gsg/news/128.html |date=19 March 2008 }} (September 2006) ''Grampian Speleological Group Newsletter'' Number 128. Retrieved 9 September 2008.</ref> The 'Staffa Group' is the name given to the series of [[olivine]] [[tholeiite basalt]]s found in the vicinity of Mull, which erupted 55–58&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>Bell, B.R. and Jolley, D.W. (1997) ''Application of palynological data to the chronology of the Palaeogene lava fields of the British Province: implications for magmatic stratigraphy''. Journal of the Geological Society. London. Vol. 154, pp. 701–708.</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Isle of Staffa Panorama.jpg|thumb|left|Isle of Staffa Panorama]]
[[File:Am Buchaille.jpg|thumb|left|Am Buchaille]]
Staffa lies about 10&nbsp;kilometres (6&nbsp;mi) west of Mull, and 9&nbsp;km northeast of Iona. It is longitudinally oriented north–south, and is a kilometre long by about half a kilometre wide. The circumference is about 3.8&nbsp;km in extent. In the northeast, the isle shelves to a shore, but otherwise the coast is rugged and much indented; numerous caves have been carved out by rain, streams, and sea. There is enough grass to feed a few cattle, and the island has a spring.

On the east coast are Goat Cave and Clamshell Cave. The latter is 10&nbsp;m high, about 6&nbsp;m wide at the entrance, and some 45&nbsp;m long, and on one side of it, the ridges of basalt stand out like the ribs of a ship. Near this cave is the pyramidal rock islet of ''Am Buachaille'' ('The Herdsman'), a pile of basalt columns seen fully only at low tide. Other outlying rocks include Eilean Dubh to the north-west and a series of skerries stretching for half a kilometre to the south-west. On the southwest shore are Boat Cave and Mackinnon's Cave (named after a 15th-century abbot of Iona), which has a tunnel connecting it to Cormorant Cave. These caves lie to the south-west and can be accessed from the bay of Port an Fhasgaidh at low tide. In 1945, a mine exploded near Boat Cave, causing damage to the cliff face, which is still visible.<ref name=Smith/> Mackinnon's Cave is 107 metres long.

Staffa's most famous feature is [[Fingal's Cave]], a large [[sea cave]] located near the southern tip of the island, some 20&nbsp;m high and 75&nbsp;m long, formed in cliffs of hexagonal [[basalt]] columns. This cliff face is called the Colonnade or The Great Face and it was these cliffs and their caves that inspired Felix Mendelssohn's ''Die Hebriden'' (English: Hebrides Overture opus 26),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060519021259/http://www.galvestonsymphony.org/composers/Mendelssohn_FingalsCave.html FINGAL'S CAVE, OPUS 26], Program Notes by Rita Junker Pickar, 2002, Retrieved 21 October 2010.</ref> which was premiered in [[London]] in 1832.<ref>[http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/mendelssohn/hebridesOv.html Program Notes: Mendelssohn: "Hebrides" Overture by Geoff Kuenning] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914101640/http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/mendelssohn/hebridesOv.html |date=14 September 2007 }} ucla.edu. Retrieved 10 December 2006.</ref> The original Gaelic name for Fingal's Cave is ''An Uamh Bhin'' – "the melodious cave" – but it was subsequently renamed after the 3rd-century Irish warrior [[Fionn mac Cumhaill|Fionn MacCool]].<ref name=Smith/><ref>Keay & Keay (1994) state that the re-naming was done by Banks, although showcaves.com states that Mendelssohn is blamed for the "misnaming".</ref><ref>Bray (1996) p. 92 notes that [[James Macpherson]]'s ''Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem'' was a "runaway bestseller" in many European countries at the time, and that Banks may later have regretted his choice when it became clear that Macpherson's claims to have translated the work from an ancient Gaelic manuscript proved to be bogus.</ref> Mendelssohn was nonetheless inspired by the sound of the waves in the cave and waxed lyrical about his visit, claiming that he arrived in Scotland "with a rake for folk-songs, an ear for the lovely, fragrant countryside, and a heart for the bare legs of the natives."<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'' (1978) Chicago. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Fingal's Cave, Staffa (18thC).JPG|thumb|Engraving based on sketches made of Fingal's Cave by [[John Cleveley the Younger|John Cleveley Jnr.]] published in 1772<ref>Cleveley accompanied Thomas Pennant on his voyage to the Hebrides in 1772.</ref>]]

===18th century===
Little is known of the early history of Staffa, although the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] town of [[Stäfa]] on [[Lake Zurich]] was named after the island by a monk from nearby [[Iona]].<ref name=Smith/> Part of the [[Ulva]] estate of the [[Clan MacQuarrie|MacQuarries]] from an early date until 1777,<ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 124</ref> it was brought to the English-speaking world's attention after a visit by Sir [[Joseph Banks]] in August 1772. ''En route'' to [[Iceland]] in the company of the painter [[Johann Zoffany]], the [[Bishop of Linköping]], and the Swedish naturalist [[Daniel Solander]], Banks (later a president of the [[Royal Society]]) was entertained by Maclean of Drummen, on the [[Isle of Mull]]. Hearing about Staffa, he resolved to visit and set out from [[Tobermory, Mull|Tobermory]] the next day. The winds were light, and they did not arrive until darkness had fallen.<ref>Bray (1996) pp. 89&ndash;90</ref><ref>Bray (1996) p. 89 suggests that Banks' companion was a Bishop of Iceland, but this seems unlikely as Cooper (1979) provides him with a name and a bishopric - see note below.</ref> Banks wrote:

<blockquote>
It was too dark to see anything, so we carried our tent and baggage near the only house on the island, and began to cook our suppers, to be prepared for the earliest dawn, and to enjoy that which, from the conversation of the gentlemen we had, now raised the highest expectations of.<ref>Pennant, Thomas (1772) ''A Tour of Scotland and a Voyage to the Hebrides''. London. Benjamin White. Quoted in Bray (1996) p. 90.</ref>
</blockquote>

They were not disappointed. Despite becoming infested with lice during his short stay on the island, he provided glowing reports of his visit.<ref name=Smith/> He confessed that he was:

<blockquote>
forced to acknowledge that this piece of architecture, formed by nature, far surpasses that of the [[Louvre]], that of [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter]] at Rome, all that remains of [[Palmyra]] and [[Paestum]], and all that the genius, the taste and the luxury of the Greeks were capable of inventing.<ref name=Keay/><ref>However, Cooper (1979) p. 26 is unequivocal in stating that this "hyperbole" was penned by The Bishop of Linköping, Uno von Troil, who accompanied Banks.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Samuel Johnson]] and his protege [[James Boswell]] visited [[clan MacQuarrie]] on Ulva in 1773, the year after Banks' visit. Perhaps aware that Banks considered that the columnar basalt cliff formations on Ulva called "The Castles" rivalled Staffa's<ref>MacNab, Peter (1993) ''Mull and Iona: Highways and Byways''. Edinburgh. Luath Press. pp. 72&ndash;73</ref> Johnson wrote:

<blockquote>
When the islanders were reproached with their ignorance or insensibility of the wonders of Staffa, they had not much to reply. They had indeed considered it little, because they had always seen it; and none but philosophers, nor they always, are struck with wonder otherwise than by novelty.<ref>Johnson, Samuel (1775) ''A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland''. London. Chapman & Dodd. (1924 edition).</ref>
</blockquote>
[[File:Scotia Depicta - Fingal's Cave -Plate-.jpg|thumb|right|Engraving of Fingal's Cave by [[James Fittler]] in Scotia Depicta, 1804]]
Amongst the first<ref>In fact, Cooper (1979) p 16 states that Faujus was the first such person to be attracted to the Hebrides, but then later (p 26) refers to a prior visit by Uno von Troil in the company of Banks. Perhaps he did not consider Swedish bishops to be sufficiently important to merit this accolade.</ref> eminent overseas visitors to Staffa were [[Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond]], a wealthy French zoologist and mineralogist, and the American architect and naturalist [[William Thornton]]. Visiting in 1784, they were suitably impressed, Faujus writing: "this superb monument of nature, which concerning its form bears so strong a resemblance to a work of art, though art can certainly claim no share in it."<ref>Faujus de Saint Frond, B. ''A Journey through England and Wales to the Hebrides in 1784'', edited by Sir Archibald Geikie (1907) and quoted in Cooper (1979), p. 17.</ref>

===19th and 20th centuries===
Subsequently, a stream of famous visitors came to view Staffa's wonders, including [[Robert Adam]], [[Sir Walter Scott]] (1810), [[John Keats]] (1818), [[J. M. W. Turner]], whose 1830 visit yielded an oil painting exhibited in 1832, [[William Wordsworth]] (1833), [[Jules Verne]] (1839), [[Alice Liddell]] (the inspiration for [[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]]) in 1878, [[David Livingstone]] (1864), [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] (1870) and Mendelssohn himself in 1829.<ref name=Keay/><ref>Cooper (1979) pp. 52&ndash;54</ref> Wordsworth, however, found the volume of tourism disappointing.
[[File:Boat Cave.JPG|thumb|upright=1.25|Boat Cave]]
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right
|quote=We saw, but surely in the motley crowd
:Not one of us has felt, the far-famed sight:
:How could we feel it? Each the others blight,
:Hurried and hurrying volatile and loud.
|source= [[William Wordsworth]], Cave of Staffa. Poems Composed or Suggested During a Tour in the Summer of 1833. No 28.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww832.html "Poems Composed or Suggested During A Tour In The Summer Of 1833 XXVIII. Cave Of Staffa"] Bartleby.com. Retrieved 3 May 2007.</ref>}}
Writing more than a century later, the writer [[W. H. Murray]] agreed, complaining that the visitors spoiled the "character and atmosphere", and suggesting that "to know Staffa one must go alone".<ref>Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. p. 109</ref>

Others were more enthusiastic, despite the presence of numerous others. [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] were rowed into the cave in the royal barge in 1847,<ref>Cooper (1979) p. 100</ref><ref>Keay & Keay (1994) state 1836, which is unlikely.</ref> and ''The Times'' correspondent recorded:
{{Blockquote|
As the Royal Squadron cleared out of the Sound of Mull, and round the northern extremity of the island, a noble prospect lay before it, the steep and barren headlands of [[Ardnamurchan]] stretching away into the Atlantic on the right, on the left the precipitous cliffs of the Mull coast, and far away and embosomed in the ocean, the fantastic and varied forms of the adjacent islands. The horizon toward the north was a good deal obscured by haze, but, notwithstanding, [[Skye]] was distinctly visible... The deserted and solitary aspect of the island was brought out with a strange and startling effect by the presence of so many steamers; and as Her Majesty's barge with the Royal Standard floated into the cave, the crew dipping their oars with the greatest precision, nothing could be more animated and grand than the appearance which the vast basaltic entrance, so solemn in its proportions, presented.<ref>''The Times'' correspondent writing in the ''Illustrated London News'' (1847), quoted in Bray (1996) p. 244</ref>
}}

[[File:Scotland-Staffa-Fingals-Cave-1900.jpg|thumb|left|Fingal's Cave around 1900]]
Keats complained about the expense of the ferry, but was captivated by what he saw nonetheless. Displeased with his first efforts to describe this "cathedral of the sea", he finally settled on:
{{Blockquote|
Not Aladdin magian/Ever such a work began, Not the wizard of the Dee, Ever such a dream could see; Not St John, in Patmos Isle, In the passion of his toil, When he saw the churches seven, Golden Aisl'd, built up in heaven, Gazed at such a rugged wonder.
--[[John Keats]], Staffa<ref>Cooper (1979) p. 53</ref><ref>Bray (1996) p. 88, suggests that both Keats's and Wordsworth's attempts are "rather poor verse".</ref>}}

===Tenants and owners===
[[File:Staffa beside 14624.JPG|thumb|Basalt columns on Am Buchaille]]
However inspiring the scenery, it was not an easy place in which to live. In 1772, there was only a single family living on a diet of barley, oats, and potatoes, and whatever their grazing animals could provide, and growing flax.<ref name=Smith/> By the end of the 18th century, they had deserted Staffa, apparently terrified by the severity of winter storms.<ref name= Keay/> Signs of "[[Ridge and furrow|rig and furrow]]" agriculture can still be seen on the island, but the only surviving building is the ruin of a 19th-century shelter for travellers.<ref name=snh>[http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/designatedareas/nnrs/staffa/staffa.asp "Staffa"] Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2006.</ref>

By 1800, the island was under the ownership of Colin MacDonald of [[Lochboisdale]]. In 1816, his son Ranald MacDonald sold Staffa into the care of [[Land trust|trustees]]. In 1821, these trustees sold the island to Alexander Forman as trustee, the purchase money being paid by his brother John Forman [[Writer to the Signet|WS]]. It remained in the Forman family until sold by Bernard Gilpin Vincent "Pat" Forman in 1968. There were several private owners after that, including Alastair de Watteville, a descendant of Colin MacDonald<ref name=Smith/> who wrote a book about the island,<ref>de Watteville, Alastair (1993) ''The Island of Staffa: Its Astonishing Rock Formations Include World-renowned Fingal's Cave''. Romsey Fine Art.</ref> until finally Jock Elliott Jr. of New York gifted it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1986 to honour the 60th birthday of his wife, Eleanor. A grateful National Trust bestowed upon her the honorific "Steward of Staffa".<ref>Obituaries: Eleanor Elliott (8 December 2006) ''The Scotsman'' newspaper. Edinburgh.</ref> In a 2005 [[Opinion poll|poll]] of ''[[Radio Times]]'' readers, Staffa was named as the eighth-greatest natural wonder in Britain.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/4735935.stm Report of poll result] BBC.co.uk Retrieved 10 December 2006.</ref>

During the 20th century, there were issues of [[Philatelic fakes and forgeries|bogus postage stamps]] bearing Staffa's name.<ref>[http://www.iswsc.org/iswsc_identbogus.html#S "Bogus Issues"] International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors. Retrieved 14 April 2007.</ref>

==Nature and conservation==
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Staffa National Nature Reserve
| alt_name = 
| iucn_category = II
| iucn_ref = <ref name=planet/>
| photo = Staffa01.jpg
| photo_alt = Sea cliffs
| photo_caption = Sea cliffs
| photo_width = 
| map = 
| relief = 
| map_alt = 
| map_caption = 
| map_width = 
| location = [[Argyll and Bute]], [[Scotland]]
| nearest_city = 
| coordinates = 
| area_ha = 30.7
| area_ref = <ref name=nnr>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8119|title=Staffa NNR|publisher=NatureScot|access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>
| established = 2001<ref name=planet/>
| visitation_num = 
| visitation_year = 
| owner = [[National Trust for Scotland]]
| designation = [[NatureScot]]
| url = [https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/staffa Staffa National Nature Reserve]
| embedded = 
}}
In 1800, there were three [[red deer]] on the island, later replaced by goats and then by a small herd of black cattle.<ref name= Smith/> Subsequently, the summer grazing was used for sheep by [[crofter]]s from Iona, but in 1997 all livestock was removed. This has led to a regeneration of the island's vegetation.<ref name=snh/> The island supports a diverse range of plants, with species such as [[common heather]], [[kidney vetch]], [[Lotus corniculatus|common-bird's-foot trefoil]], [[wild thyme]], and [[tormentil]] all found. The clifftop grassland supports species such as [[red fescue]], [[yorkshire fog]], [[Armeria maritima|thrift]], [[sea campion]], [[sea plantain]] and [[ribwort plantain]].<ref name=manage>{{cite web|url=https://apps.snh.gov.uk/sitelink-api/v1/sites/1477/documents/3|title=Staffa SSSI Site Management Statement|publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage|access-date=2019-03-29|date=2011-02-28}}</ref>

Staffa is nationally important for breeding [[fulmar]]s, [[common shag]]s, and [[puffin]]s,<ref name=manage/> and [[great skua]]s and [[gull]]s also nest on the island. The surrounding waters provide a livelihood for numerous seabirds, [[grey seal]]s, [[dolphin]]s, [[basking shark]]s, [[minke whale|minke]], and [[pilot whale]]s.<ref name=snh/>

The island has been designated as a [[national nature reserve (Scotland)|national nature reserve]] since 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/staffa|title=Staffa National Nature Reserve|publisher=National Trust for Scotland|access-date=2018-05-11}}</ref> The national nature reserve is classified as a [[IUCN protected area categories|Category II]] [[protected area]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]].<ref name=planet>{{cite web|url=https://www.protectedplanet.net/169629|title=Staffa|publisher=Protected Planet|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref> Staffa is also a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI),<ref name=sssi>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/1477|title=Staffa SSSI|access-date=23 September 2020|publisher=NatureScot}}</ref> whilst the seas surrounding the island are designated as a [[Special Area of Conservation]] (SAC) due to the presence of [[harbour porpoise]]s.<ref name=sac>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/10508|title=Inner Hebrides and the Minches SAC|access-date=23 September 2020|publisher=NatureScot}}</ref> Staffa is part of the [[Loch Na Keal]] [[National Scenic Area (Scotland)|National Scenic Area]], one of 40 in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/national-designations/national-scenic-areas|title=National Scenic Areas|access-date=23 September 2020|publisher=NatureScot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/9136|title=Loch na Keal, Isle of Mull NSA|publisher=NatureScot|access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>

==Visiting Staffa==
Boat trips from Tiree, Tobermory, [[Oban]], [[Ulva Ferry]], and [[Fionnphort]] on Mull, and Iona run from April to September, allowing visitors to view the caves and the puffins that nest on the island between April and early August.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Staffa |url=https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/staffa |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=National Trust for Scotland |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://www.showcaves.com/english/gb/caves/Fingals.html "Fingal's Cave: Uamh-Binn - The Cave of Melody"] Show Caves of the World. Retrieved 10 December 2006.</ref> There is a landing place used by the tourist boats just north of Am Buachaille, but disembarkation is only possible in calm conditions. The island lacks a genuine anchorage.<ref name=Smith/> To avoid disturbing the ground-nesting birds and the delicate ecosystem of the island, the National Trust for Scotland asks people not to bring dogs to Staffa.<ref>[https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/staffa/planning-your-visit "Planning Your Visit"] National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 17 September 2025.</ref>

==See also==
[[File:Staffa top 14693k.jpg|thumb|Above The Colonnade]]
[[File:Staffa harbour 14705k.jpg|thumb|The landing place]]
[[File:Staffa NE 14673.JPG|thumb|View looking northeast to Ulva]]
[[File:Staffa04.jpg|thumb|Basalt columns inside Fingal's Cave]]
*[[Fingal's Cave]]
*[[Hebrides Overture]]
*[[Clan MacQuarrie]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
* Bray, Elizabeth (1996) ''The Discovery of the Hebrides: Voyages to the Western Isles 1745-1883''. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
* Cooper, Derek (1979) ''Road to the Isles: Travellers in the Hebrides 1770-1914''. London. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
* Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) ''The Scottish Islands''. Edinburgh. Canongate.
* Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London. HarperCollins.
* Murray, W.H. (1973) ''The Islands of Western Scotland.'' London. Eyre Methuen.

==External links==
{{Commons|Staffa}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080617141858/http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2005/09/the_wrath_of_st.html The Wrath of Staffa] - video blog about a rainy expedition to Staffa
*[https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/staffa National Trust for Scotland: Staffa National Nature Reserve]

{{Clear}}
{{Mull}}
{{Hebrides (uninhabited)}}
{{Islands of Scotland}}
{{National nature reserves of Scotland}}
{{Portal bar|Scotland|Islands|Scottish Islands}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|56|26|10|N|6|20|25|W|type:isle_region:GB|display=title}}

[[Category:National nature reserves in Scotland]]
[[Category:National Trust for Scotland properties]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mull, Coll and Tiree]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Scotland]]
[[Category:Paleogene volcanism]]
[[Category:Extinct volcanoes of Europe]]
[[Category:Columnar basalts of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Argyll and Bute]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Argyll and Bute]]