ANYONE FOR AN OFF-WORLD EXPERIENCE? THE FAINT LINE BELOW THE MAIN CLIFF FACE IS THE MAIN PATH PAST 'THE PRISON" THAT GUARDS THE COLLECTION OF EVEN WEIRDER ROCKS BEYOND. ON THE LOWER RIGT, FOR SCALE, NOTE THE TWO CARS ON THE ROAD BACK TO CIVILIZATION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIDGE.

This week I will take you to the Quiraing, a land formation on the Isle of Skye that can only be described as somewhat unworldly. It is one of the highlights of Skye, and makes up for its difficulty with its relative accessibility - if you time things right and realize the limits of your hiking ability. It is important to head up there on a reasonably nice day, because weather conditions are very localized and you might be greeted with wind and rain that can be daunting if not downright dangerous. There is the possibility that fog might envelope the entire area, which will certainly call into question why you even bothered at all, since you will only see your shoes. The only trouble with picking a nice day is that everyone else on the Isle of Skye will want to join you at the Quiraing.

                THE REST OF THE 180 DEGREE VIEW FROM THE RIDGE. NOT AS WEIRD, BUT MAYBE EVEN MORE FORBIDDING. THAT'S A PRETTY LARGE LOCH DOWN THE SLOPE, WITH THE SEA BEYOND. 

One of the pleasures of staying so long on the island was that Fran and I could pick a good day  knowing that we had plenty of opportunity to return if conditions were less than ideal. We also had had the opportunity to scope out the best route to the Quiraing from our cottage on Skye. While it was theoretically possible to ascend to the Trotternish Ridge right from the end of our single-track road, that would have involved the usual Scottish “walk” of a few miles up a 1000 feet without switchbacks, so we demurred.

                                                                  A DETAIL OF THE MAIN SLIDE.

The Quiraing is at the northern end of the Trotternish Ridge, a miles-long ridge with multiple summits that divides the Trotternish Peninsula into two halves. If you have ever had the opportunity to visit Steen’s Mountain in the Eastern Oregon you will have some familiarity with this type of land formation. Less a mountain in the conventional sense, both of these places are the result of an enormous landslide that formed a ridge towering over the surrounding area, a giant wall of rock that snakes across the landscape.

                A SLIGHTLY SMALLER PANORAMA OF SEVERAL MOUNTAINS TO THE RIGHT AS THE RIDGE WINDS ITS WAY SOUTH.

Geologists figure this landslide occurred 175 million years ago. Throw in the wind and rain and several Ice Ages, and the result is a very strange collection of features that will be beyond your ordinary imagination. While the Quiraing is several thousand feet lower and not as long as Steens Mountain, it makes up for that with its sheer other worldliness. This is Scotland, and there  are almost no trees to soften the landscape. As is the Scottish way, there is also very little attempt to make the experience any easier for visitors. In fact, due to its popularity, the Quiraing actually does make a small attempt at keeping its visitors safe. Then those visitors seem to do everything they can to immediately run afoul of these safety measures.

                                      A DETAIL OF "THE PRISON". NOTE THOSE TWO INTREPID HIKERS ON THE HORIZON, A GOOD HOUR IN. ONE GUIDEBOOK DECLARED THAT THE HIKE WOULD TAKE TWO HOURS TOTAL, WITH NO STOPS. JUST THINK ABOUT HOW STUPID A STATEMENT THAT REALLY IS.

After scoping out my Ordinance Survey map of the area, I realized that there was an actual road across the ridge at one point, complete with a carpark (!) that could plant you right on the ridge, and shorten the usual hike by a few miles at least. We had become familiar with the route after our forays north of the village of Uig, which required passing the intersection of this single-track road that led to the ridge. Much to my surprise, this road was much better than I had anticipated, no worse than the usual tiny roads we had gotten used to as we traveled around Skye. And then we got to the car park. This was the only car park in rural Skye where we ever encountered a parking fee, and a person who seemed to be patrolling to make sure the fee was paid. The only trouble was that the carpark was completely overwhelmed by visitors, and the resulting anarchy made the car park the most dangerous part of the Quiraing.

                BEYOND THE PATH, A SHORT DROP TO THE SEA.

We somehow found a space, and proceeded on a very short walk to a small plateau that was set aside to accommodate handicapped visitors. It was rimmed by Skye’s first small fence, sort of like a barrier a foot off the ground like you might encounter in an art museum. Presumably visitors might take that as a clue that you could literally really hurt yourself one or two feet further on, but of course several photographers had already claimed tripod perches beyond the  fence. Did I mention that this nice day included forty-mile an hour winds on the ridge? After another short walk we got to a larger bluff that overlooked the start of the main trail into the Quiraing. Most of the images shown here were taken from this plateau. Here the fence was replaced by a pile of logs around the perimeter, which seemed to have even less of an effect on  the crowd. We saw multiple people buffeted by the wind, losing their balance right on the edge of a sizable cliff, only to immediately return to the edge.

                                                                  A DETAIL CAN REVEAL THE TEXTURES OF THIS LANDSCAPE.

It was here that we lingered for a good long while, knowing that we would not be going on the main hike. I could clearly see that the view would not change for more than a mile down the very up and down path, so we would devote a couple of hours to see nothing beyond what we already could see from a higher viewpoint. The area beyond “The Prison”, the strange formation on the right of the main rock slide, with its collection of weird spires and shear drop-offs, would stay out of reach of these two pensioners. While it was disappointing, I realized that I was probably thirty years too late to risk life and limb for a photograph. That is what videos on You Tube are for.

                                                                  PLEASE DON'T GO ANY NEARER TO THAT EDGE TO SEE THE SALMON FARMS IN THE DISTANCE.

I hope you enjoyed these images I captured from the relative safety just off the car park. They are at least a little different from most images you might see on You tube in that most are stitched together from multiple images in order to at least begin to show the extent of the views available at this site. Several of the other images are of various details, which sometimes can better explain experience of taking in small portions of the view.