How to visit Fingal's Cave
Scotland's Adventure CoastLocated on the small Hebridean island of Staffa, Fingal's Cave is one of the country's most spectacular natural wonders. Formed entirely out of enormous hexagonal basalt columns, this sea cave is the backdrop of a fascinating legend.
Being a haven for coastal wildlife, the Isle of Staffa can be visited exclusively through guided tours, departing from Mull and Oban. No matter where you depart from, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for sightings of Whales, Dolphins, Basking Sharks, and Sea Eagles. During the early summer months (April to August), you can even spot Puffins on Staffa!
So, let's explore a few options for you to visit Fingal's Cave, including boat tours, snorkelling trips and wild swimming experiences.
How did Fingal's Cave form?
Staffa is a volcanic island and the basalt columns formed when a single lava flow cooled around 60 million years ago. As the molten rock solidified, it also shrank, allowing gaps to form, which created the hexagonal-shaped columns seen today, similar to those found at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
In addition to the cave, the columns form a dramatic cliff face which appears as colonnades or, as the Vikings saw them, the poles or staves (stafr in Old Norse) used in their buildings, hence the name Staffa. The columns are canted over at an angle of four degrees and it was this tilting that happened after they were formed, which allowed the sea to exploit natural fissures in the rock, hollowing out the cave over the millennia. Other caves on the island formed in a different way, when a softer layer of ash under the basalt columns was eroded by the sea.
Funnily enough, it wasn't Fingal who lived in this cave but his rival Scottish nemesis, Benandonner! Fionn MacCumhaill’s was a hero in Irish mythology and although a big lad, not a true giant. Separated by the Irish sea, however, Fingal felt brave enough to hurl insults over the sea to his rival, the giant Benandonner...
When the fight escalated, Fionn built the causeway across the sea to confront Benandonner. But when Fionn saw how enormous Benandonner was, he fled back to Ireland, destroying the causeway behind him. The remnants became the Giant’s Causeway and Fingal’s Cave, which is said to have been named after Fionn’s Scottish alias, Fingal, meaning ‘white stranger’.
Fingal's Cave in Art & Music
It was the famous botanist, Joseph Banks, who, in 1772, first brought the feature to popular attention. Since then, a steady stream of visitors, including a list of famous names from the arts, have made a sort of pilgrimage to this ‘cathedral of the sea’.
Among those great artists was a young Felix Mendelssohn, who visited the cave in 1829. Duly inspired, Mendelssohn wrote the concert overture Die Hebriden, also known simply as Fingal’s Cave, which he finished in 1832. Coincidentally, JMW Turner’s painting “Staffa” was also first exhibited in the spring of the same year. Today, Mendelssohn on Mull, a Scottish chamber music festival, continues to draw inspiration from Staffa. The event brings together young musicians for a week of musical exploration and concerts inspired by the wild beauty of Staffa, Mull and Iona.
Boat Tours to Fingal's Cave
West Coast Tours, based in Oban, enables you to discover three beautiful Inner Hebridean islands, including the beauty of Staffa and the awe-inspiring Fingal's Cave.
A number of other boat operators in Oban offer trips from the mainland to Staffa, including Seafari Adventures. It makes sense to combine a visit to Staffa with trips to its equally enthralling but quite different neighbours Mull and Iona. Boat trips run from Oban, Mull and Iona to Staffa. Staffa Tours operates daily boat tours from Fionnphort on Mull, Staffa Trips operates from Iona.
Wild Swimming & Kayaking in Fingal's Cave
If you’re feeling adventurous, how about a wild swim in Fingal’s Cave? Basking Shark Scotland offers a bespoke ‘Swim Fingal’s Cave’ tour, where you can swim or snorkel into the cave. Floating in the mouth of the cave, it’s stunning to look straight up the basalt pillars and rock formations then dip your head under water and see the colonies of marine life. You can also kayak into the cave.
Wild Hebridean Swimming also offers multi-day wild swimming retreats that take you on an odyssey across Hebridean islands, including a swim in Fingal's Cave, depending on the experience. These wellness retreats often combine yoga, wild swimming and island accommodations with hot tubs in a relaxing social setting.
You may also be interested in
Basking Sharks: where to see them and when?
The basking shark is the biggest fish in the UK and the Inner Hebridean isles is well known world-wide as a whale and basking shark hotspot.
5 islands to visit in a day trip from Oban | Argyll & the Isles
The busy town of Oban is known as ‘The Gateway to the Isles’ where you can visit the islands of Isle of Mull, Isle of Iona, Kerrera, Lismore and Coll & Tiree
