

SKY. COAST SCENERY. 77 



At Loch Staffin the hills in the interior rise with great 

 magnificence to the height of 1000 and of 1500 feet, en- 

 closing a large sweeping valley. The long columnar 

 ranges already mentioned which crown their summits, in- 

 creasing in elevation as they retire in succession, assist with 

 the cliffs below that present the same regularity, in pro- 

 ducing a variety of scenery to which that of all the basaltic 

 islands must yield in magnificence and extent, however it 

 may sometimes exceed in simplicity and grandeur of effect. 



I must not, in quitting this shore, omit to notice a 

 second cascade which, if not of equal magnitude with 

 that of Holme, is still very striking from the simple and 

 unbroken manner in which it falls over a columnar and 

 vertical cliff not less than 300 feet in height. There can 

 be nothing picturesque in such a disposition of parts, 

 but there is an effect produced by the total absence of 

 all accompaniments which from its novelty and simplicity 

 is very striking. When the squalls, which blow from 

 the high lands in this stormy region, descend so that 

 the sea rises in smoke beneath them like the vapour 

 from a cauldron, but little of this stream reaches the waves 

 below. 



The columnar forms continue for some way round the 

 point of Aird into Loch Snizort, where the ruins of 

 Duntulm Castle serve to give interest to dimensions 

 now far contracted in altitude and in extent of sweep. But 

 at a point not far to the southward of that ruin, is a 

 small promontory presenting a resemblance to some parts 

 of Staffa, and on a scale sufficient for grandeur, to an 

 eye not previously atiated with the overpowering vast- 

 ness of the eastern coast. Had Staffa remained unknown, 

 this spot might have acquired the celebrity which has 

 been exclusively reserved for that beautiful yet not sin- 

 gular display of columnar scenery. It will be rendering 

 an acceptable service to the admirers of that island to 

 point out an object hitherto unknown, which, with some 

 variety of disposition and effect, is not unworthy to rank 





