The Cuillin ( gd, An Cuiltheann)
is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the
Isle of Skye in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin
to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Sligachan.
[R. Anderson & Tom Prentice. ''The Grahams & The Donalds - Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers' Guide'', pp. 304–309. Published 2015.]
The peaks of the Black Cuillin are mainly composed of
gabbro
Gabbro () is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...
, a very rough
igneous rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...
which provides a superb grip for
mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...
; and
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
, which can be very slippery when wet.
[D. Bennet & R. Anderson. ''The Munros: Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers Guide'', pp. 258-275. Published 2016.] The rocks forming the ridge of the Black Cuillin (and outliers such
Blà Bheinn
Blà Bheinn or Blàbheinn, also known as Blaven, is a mountain on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is usually regarded as an outlier of the Black Cuillin range. It is a Munro with a height of . North of the summit is the ridge of Clach Glas, whic ...
) are dark, particularly in the shade, but when in sunlight the Black Cuillin can appear grey to brown.
The main ridge forms a narrow crest, with steep cliffs and
scree
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...
slopes.
The ridge is about 14 km long (from Gars-bheinn in the south to
Sgùrr nan Gillean
Sgùrr nan Gillean is a peak in the northern part of the Cuillin mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. With a height of , it is one of eleven Munros in the Cuillins. It is the Munro peak nearest to the settlement of Sligachan, and its ...
in the northeast), and curves in an irregular semi-circle around
Loch Coruisk
Loch Coruisk (in Scottish Gaelic, ''Coire Uisg'', the "Cauldron of Waters") is an inland fresh-water loch, lying at the foot of the Black Cuillin in the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish Highlands.
Loch Coruisk is reputed to be the home of a kelpie o ...
, which lies at the heart of the range.
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
Landranger 1:50000, Sheet 32 The highest point of the Cuillin, and of the Isle of Skye, is
Sgùrr Alasdair
Sgùrr Alasdair is the highest peak of the Black Cuillin, and the highest peak on the Isle of Skye and in the Inner Hebrides, and indeed in all the Scottish islands, at . Like the rest of the range it is composed of gabbro, a rock with excell ...
in the Black Cuillin at 992 m (3,255 ft).
The Red Cuillin are mainly composed of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
, which is paler than the gabbro (with a reddish tinge from some angles in some lights) and has weathered into more rounded hills with vegetation cover to summit level and long scree slopes on their flanks. These hills are lower and, being less rocky, have fewer scrambles or climbs.
The highest point of the red hills is
Glamaig
Glamaig is the northernmost of the Red Hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It lies immediately east of Sligachan. It is one of only two Corbetts on Skye.
From many angles the hill resembles a perfect cone of scree, though it is linked ...
(775 m), one of only two
Corbetts
This is a list of Corbett mountains in Scotland by height. Corbetts are defined as Scottish mountains between in height with a prominence over ; solely imperial measurement thresholds.
The first list was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke C ...
on Skye (the other being Garbh-bheinn, part of the small group of gabbro outliers surrounding Blà Bheinn).
[R. Milne & H Brown. ''The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills - Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers' Guide'', pp. 262–263. Published 2002.]
The scenic beauty of the Cuillin has led to it being designated a
national scenic area, one of forty such areas in Scotland.
A
Scottish Natural Heritage
NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and s ...
review of the special qualities of the Cuillin stated:
Etymology
![Isle of Skye UK relief location map labels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Isle_of_Skye_UK_relief_location_map_labels.jpg)
There are several theories about the derivation of the name ''Cuillin''. One suggestion is that it comes from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
word ''kjölen'', which literally means the
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
of a boat, suggesting a similarity with an upturned
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
longship
Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...
. Peter Drummond, in ''Scottish Hill and Mountain Names'' (1991), noted this is also a name of the
Scandinavian Mountains and says it can mean 'high rocky mountain'.
Another suggestion is that it comes from
Gaelic ''cuilionn'', meaning '
holly
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
', because of the mountains' jagged shape.
The name has also been linked to
Gaelic mythology, with the hills being the place where
Cúchullin learnt
archery from the female warrior
Scáthach
Scáthach () or Sgàthach ( gd, Sgàthach an Eilean Sgitheanach) is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the a ...
.
It is also suggested it may come from a word meaning "worthless" (in an agricultural or economic sense), given their lack of vegetation.
Natural history
The Cuillin are a diverse and complex geological landscape, and there is a clear distinction visible between the two mountain types.
The mountains formed from the remains of the
magma chambers which fed volcanic eruptions.
In the Black Cuillin the rocks cooled to form
gabbro
Gabbro () is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...
, the coarse-grained rock that makes up much of the range. Cracks and fissures in the rock provided pathways for later
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
intrusions, leading to
dykes of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
which are commonly seen across Skye.
The Red Cuillin also have volcanic origins, being formed from a later intrusion of acidic,
granitic
A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quartz- ...
rock.
This granite was more uniformly eroded by wind and water than the gabbro and basalt, causing the red hills to have smoother outlines.
The Cuillin provide classic examples of
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
topography and were the subject of an early published account by
James Forbes in 1846 (who had become a fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh aged only nineteen). He partnered
Louis Agassiz on his trip to Scotland in 1840 and although they subsequently argued, Forbes went on to publish other important papers on Alpine glaciers.
In 1904
Alfred Harker
Alfred Harker FRS (19 February 1859 – 28 July 1939) was an English geologist who specialised in petrology and interpretive petrography. He was Lecturer in Petrology at the University of Cambridge for many years, and carried out field mapping ...
published ''The Tertiary Igneous Rocks of Skye'', the first detailed scientific study of an extinct volcano.
The Cuillin encompasses a wide range of habitats, changing with altitude. At the base there are
conifer plantations, coastal
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
s and areas of
heather moorland and rough grassland. The lower slopes are covered by various different types of bog, with grassland on the better-drained slopes that are found above 400 m. Higher up, the rocky hills are largely bare, with exposed rock and scree.
The entire area is designated as a
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...
under the
Natura 2000 programme due particularly for its importance to
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...
s. The site is of European importance for these birds, and holds one of the highest-density populations in Britain, having an unusually high breeding productivity.
11 pairs were estimated in 1992, this representing about 3% of the breeding population in Great Britain at that time.
The Cuillin are protected as a
national scenic area, defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.
The areas protected by the designation are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned". The ''Cuillin Hills National Scenic Area'' covers 27,320
ha, of which 22,726 ha is on land, with a further 4594 ha being marine (i.e. below
low tide level).
History
![Isle Of Skye A863 The Cuillins](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Isle_Of_Skye_A863_The_Cuillins.jpg)
Due to the rocky nature of the Cuillin they have historically been of little use for agriculture: this contrasts with the majority of the highlands, where the hills were used to provide
seasonal grazing for
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
and
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
. Despite the lack of earlier human presence in the hills themselves, there is much evidence of historic settlement in the surrounding glens, with prehistoric hut circles found in Glenbrittle, and a
stone circle identified in Glen Sligachan.
Rubha an Dùnain, an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the main ridge, has a variety of archaeological sites dating from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
onwards. There is a 2nd or 3rd millennium BC
chambered cairn, an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
promontory fort and the remains of another prehistoric settlement dating from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
nearby. Loch na h-Airde on the peninsula is linked to the sea by an artificial "Viking" canal that may date from the later period of
Norse settlement.
The Norse held sway throughout the Hebrides from the 9th century until after the
Treaty of Perth
The Treaty of Perth, signed 2 July 1266, ended military conflict between Magnus VI of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland over possession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The text of the treaty.
The Hebrides and the Isle of Man had becom ...
in 1266. In the post–Norse period the most powerful clans on Skye were
Clan MacLeod
Clan MacLeod (; gd, Clann Mac Leòid ) is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is MacLeod of MacLeod, are known in Gaelic as ' ("se ...
, originally based in
Trotternish
Trotternish or Tròndairnis (Scottish Gaelic) is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye, in Scotland. Its most northerly point, Rubha Hùinis, is the most northerly point of Skye.
One of the peninsula's better-known features is the Trot ...
, and
Clan Macdonald of Sleat
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meanin ...
. Following the disintegration of the
Lordship of the Isles
The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles
( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title ...
, the Mackinnons also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird. The MacDonalds and the MacLeods were bitter rivals, and two major battles of this period were fought between the clans at Harta Corrie and Coire Na Creich in the Cuillin:
*In 1395 a force of
MacDonald clansmen landed at Loch Eynort, and headed north along Glen Sligachan, intending to invade
MacLeod
MacLeod, McLeod and Macleod ( ) which cited: are surnames in the English language.
Generally, the names are considered to be Anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic ', meaning "son of '".
One of the earliest occurrences of the surname is of Gi ...
land. They were met by a force of MacLeods at Harta Corrie, below
Sgùrr nan Gillean
Sgùrr nan Gillean is a peak in the northern part of the Cuillin mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. With a height of , it is one of eleven Munros in the Cuillins. It is the Munro peak nearest to the settlement of Sligachan, and its ...
at the head of Glen Sligachan.
The battle was a victory for the MacDonalds, who "fought the entire day till not one Macleod was left, and the bodies of the slain were piled round the base of a huge rock, topped by a
Rowan tree and still called the 'Bloody Stone'" according to
MEM Donaldson.
*The
Battle of Coire Na Creiche, the last
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...
battle fought on Skye, was fought on the slopes below
Bruach na Frìthe
Bruach na Frìthe is one of the principal summits on the Black Cuillin ridge, on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Like the rest of the range it is composed of gabbro, a rock with excellent grip for mountaineering. The Bruach cannot be seen in the po ...
, near the head of
Glenbrittle in 1601. The MacDonalds of Sleat defeated the MacLeods after a bitter feud.
Boswell and
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
visited Skye during their
tour of the Western Isles in 1773, and observed snow falling on the summits of the range in September.
[S. Johnson & J. Boswell (ed. R. Black). ''To the Hebrides: "Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland" and "Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides"'', pp. 257–258. Published by Birlinn, 2007.] Boswell described the Cuillin as "a prodigious range of mountains, capped with rocks like pinnacles in a strange variety of shapes".
Uniquely for a group of Scottish mountains there are no records of the majority of the Cuillin summits having been climbed prior to the start of
mountaineering as a leisure activity in the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
,
[Ian R Mitchell, ''Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers'', p. 159. Published 2013, Luath Press.] a situation reflected in the fact that around half the summits had no recorded name prior to this period, although names for corries and other features were in existence.
[Ian R Mitchell. ''Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers'', p. 171. Published 2013, Luath Press.] Many of the summits are thus named after early climbers such as
John MacKenzie (
Sgùrr MhicChoinnich
Sgùrr MhicChoinnich is a mountain on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is in the Black Cuillin range of mountains and is classified as a Munro. Like all the other Black Cuillin mountains it is made predominantly of gabbro rock and has little veg ...
),
Alexander Nicolson
Alexander Nicolson (1827–1893) was a Scottish lawyer and man of letters, known as a Gaelic scholar and sheriff-substitute of Kirkcudbright and Greenock, and as a pioneer of mountain climbing in Scotland.
Life
The son of Malcolm Nicolson, he w ...
(
Sgùrr Alasdair
Sgùrr Alasdair is the highest peak of the Black Cuillin, and the highest peak on the Isle of Skye and in the Inner Hebrides, and indeed in all the Scottish islands, at . Like the rest of the range it is composed of gabbro, a rock with excell ...
), and
Norman Collie (Sgùrr Thormaid).
Ownership
The Cuillin now consists of two estates divided by Glen Sligachan. The hills on the west side of Glen Sligachan (the Black Cuillin) remained the property of Clan MacLeod despite the long history of conflict between them and Clan MacDonald. The earliest formal record of MacLeod ownership was in a land grant from
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
in 1611.
In 2000 the Cuillin were put on sale for £10 million by the clan chief,
John MacLeod of MacLeod, in a scheme of land in exchange for repairs to
Dunvegan Castle
, native_name_lang =Gaelic
, alternate_name =
, image = Dunvegan Castle.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = The south-west face of the castle
, map =
, map_type = Scotland Isle of Skye ...
,
however there was a dispute over ownership, as opponents of the sale argued that the charter referred to the MacLeod's Tables which stand across the loch from Dunvegan Castle and not to the Cuillin themselves. A deal was cut for the property to be gifted in return for repairs to the clan castle,
although it later fell through, with opponents arguing that the cost was out of proportion compared to other equivalent land sales.
Following the death of John MacLeod in 2007 his successor,
Hugh Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod, found alternative funding sources, and as of 2017 ownership of the main range remains in the MacLeod family.
The ''
Strathaird
Strathaird is a peninsula on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch Slapin and Loch Scavaig on the south coast.
W. H. Murray said that "Skye is sixty miles long, but what might be its breadth is beyond the ingenuity of man to stat ...
,
Torrin and
Sconser Estate'' lies on the eastern side of Glen Sligachan, encompassing the Red Cuillin and
Bla Bheinn: it is owned by the
John Muir Trust
The John Muir Trust (JMT) is a Scottish charity, established in 1983 to conserve wild land and wild places for the benefit of all. The Trust runs an environmental award scheme, manages several estates, mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scot ...
, a charity that seeks to protect and enhance wild places. Strathaird Estate was formerly owned by musician
Ian Anderson, the frontman for
Jethro Tull, who sold the estate to the trust in 1994, for around £750,000.
Climbing and hillwalking
![main ridge of the cuillin in skye arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Main_ridge_of_the_cuillin_in_skye_arp.jpg)
The summits of the Cuillin are bare rock, jagged in outline and with steep cliffs and deep cut
corries and gullies. Twelve Black Cuillin peaks are listed as
Munros, though one of them,
Blaven, is part of a group of outliers separated from the main ridge by Glen Sligachan.
The
scrambler
In telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the sender's side to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device. Wher ...
can access most of the individual peaks by their easiest routes. Only the
Inaccessible Pinnacle is a
graded rock climb (Moderate) by its simplest line but several of the other summits require scrambling skills. Navigation on the ridge is difficult due to jagged terrain and magnetic abnormalities that make compass reading unreliable.
The majority of scramblers heading on to the Black Cuillin do so via routes from Glenbrittle (where there is a campsite and a
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...
) or Sligachan for the northern peaks: due to the remoteness of Loch Coruisk, which can only be reached by boat or a ''c.'' 10 km walk from
Elgol
Elgol ( gd, Ealaghol) is a village on the shores of Loch Scavaig towards the end of the Strathaird peninsula in the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish Highlands.
Name
According to tradition, its name derives from a battle fought with five ships by ...
, routes starting from this side are less frequented.
![Cuillin ridgs, Scotland, sketch map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Cuillin_ridgs%2C_Scotland%2C_sketch_map.svg)
In addition to climbing individual peaks, there is the challenge of a full traverse of the main Black Cuillin ridge. Although only in length, the average traverse is likely to take 15–20 hours from sea level at
Glenbrittle to the bar of the
Sligachan
Sligachan ( gd, Sligeachan) is a small settlement on Skye, Scotland. It is close to the Cuillin mountains and provides a good viewpoint for seeing the Black Cuillin mountains.
Amenities
Sligachan is situated at the junction of the roads from Po ...
Hotel owing to the difficulty of the terrain and route-finding problems. The first recorded traverse in under 24 hours was on 10 June 1911 by Leslie Shadbolt and Alastair C. McLaren, in 12 hours 18 minutes top to top (16.75 hours in total). The record for the full traverse, set by
Finlay Wild
Finlay Wild (born 8 September 1984) is a Scottish runner and mountaineer who has been a British fell running champion. He has won the Ben Nevis Race eleven times.
Early life and professional career
Wild was born on 8 September 1984 in Thurso.J ...
in October 2013, stands at 2 hours, 59 minutes and 22 seconds (though this time is from Gars-bheinn to
Sgùrr nan Gillean
Sgùrr nan Gillean is a peak in the northern part of the Cuillin mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. With a height of , it is one of eleven Munros in the Cuillins. It is the Munro peak nearest to the settlement of Sligachan, and its ...
and does not include the initial ascent from
Glenbrittle or the final descent to Sligachan). A further issue for those attempting the full traverse is the fact that there are no natural sources of water on the ridge (except for winter snows and melt water), although there are a few high burns just off the main ridge from which water can be obtained.
Some believe the ultimate mountaineering experience of the UK is the full traverse of the Cuillin Ridge, especially under winter conditions. The Isle of Skye's position in the warm
Gulf Stream makes genuine winter conditions rare, and the very short winter days probably make a 24-hour traverse impractical. The first recorded, over two days, was in 1965 by D. Crabbe, B. Robertson,
T. Patey and
H. MacInnes.
A longer challenge, known as the "Greater Traverse" includes all the Skye
Munro
A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...
s, though omitting some gabbro outliers: this involves continuing on to
Clach Glas and
Blaven. This traverse was first done independently by two parties, in the summer of 1939, with I. Charleson and W. Forde claiming precedence over W. H. Murray & R. G. Donaldon a few weeks later (see
W. H. Murray's book for details of his traverse).
List of summits
The list below shows all the
Munro
A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...
s,
Corbetts
This is a list of Corbett mountains in Scotland by height. Corbetts are defined as Scottish mountains between in height with a prominence over ; solely imperial measurement thresholds.
The first list was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke C ...
and
Grahams
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
of the Cuillin. It, therefore, excludes peaks such as
Clach Glas, which do not meet the criteria for these hill listings.
Cultural references
* The Cuillin is a key thematic device in the Gaelic-language family film ''
Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle''.
* One of
Sorley MacLean's best known poems is the epic ' ("The Cuillin").
*''/Nightfall on
Marsco
Marsco is a peak in the Red Hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It lies on the east of Glen Sligachan, and may be climbed from the Rights of way in Scotland, right-of-way through the glen from Sligachan to Loch Coruisk. Alternatively, it may ...
'' is a track on the 1981 album ''Recovery'' by the band
Runrig
Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...
.
* The song ''
The Road to the Isles
"The Road to the Isles" is a famous tune composed by Pipe Major John McLellan DCM which was originally called ‘The Bens of Jura’, though it previously had other titles. It is part of the Kennedy-Fraser collection and it appeared in a book enti ...
'' mentions the Cuillin in the first verse and in each chorus.
* The murder mystery novel ''
Wildfire at Midnight'' by
Mary Stewart is set in and around the Cuillin.
* The spy novel ''
Mr Standfast
''Mr Standfast'' is the third of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan, first published in 1919 by Hodder & Stoughton, London.
It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being '' Greenmantle'' (1916); Hannay's ...
'' by
John Buchan has a chapter set around The Cuillin ("Coolins" in the book).
* The Inaccessible Pinnacle is the scene of a death in Val McDermid's ''Trick of the Dark''.
*
Brave contains a song which refers to a legendary bear being "bigger than a Cuillin".
* In Jethro Tull's song ''Broadford Bazaar'', reference is made to "wee plastic Cuillins."
* The Black Cuillin Traverse is featured in episode 2 of ''Running Wild With
Bear Grylls''.
*
Trials
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
cyclist
Danny MacAskill
Daniel "Danny" MacAskill is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He works professionally as a street trials / mountain bike rider for Santa Cruz Bicycles. In April 2009, he released a five-minute street trials video t ...
, who grew up on the Isle of Skye, filmed the mountain bike edit ''The Ridge'' on the Cuillin.
* ''The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains'', an illustrated novella by
Neil Gaiman and
Eddie Campbell
Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Chicago. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of ''From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), Campbell is also the creator of the semi-au ...
, features a legendary cave of gold in the Black Cuillin.
* There is a legend that the Cuillins are haunted by the ghost of an outlaw called MacRaing.
Gallery
File:Elgol Cuillin Hills geograph-3215406-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, The Black Cuillin seen from Elgol.
File:North Cuillin from Portree.jpg, The north Cuillin viewed from Portree.
File:View towards Kilbride and Bla Bheinn - geograph.org.uk - 1593951.jpg, Blà Bheinn
Blà Bheinn or Blàbheinn, also known as Blaven, is a mountain on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is usually regarded as an outlier of the Black Cuillin range. It is a Munro with a height of . North of the summit is the ridge of Clach Glas, whic ...
from Loch Slapin.
File:The Black Cuillin.jpg, The Black Cuillin viewed from Loch Scavaig.
File:The Cuillin and Loch Coruisk - Flickr - Graham Grinner Lewis.jpg, Loch Coruisk
Loch Coruisk (in Scottish Gaelic, ''Coire Uisg'', the "Cauldron of Waters") is an inland fresh-water loch, lying at the foot of the Black Cuillin in the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish Highlands.
Loch Coruisk is reputed to be the home of a kelpie o ...
in the Cuillin.
File:Sgurr nan gillean arp.jpg, Sgùrr nan Gillean.
File:Sgurr alasdair.jpg, Sgùrr Alasdair, the highest peak.
File:In Pin.jpg, The 'Inaccessible Pinnacle', with climbers on the summit of Sgùrr Dearg.
File:Marsco from Bla Bheinn - geograph.org.uk - 1771555.jpg, The Red Cuillin, with the Black Cuillin in the distance.
References
External links
Cuillin walks guide
{{Authority control
Mountains and hills of the Isle of Skye
Volcanoes of Scotland
Paleogene volcanism
Extinct volcanoes
Mountain ranges of Scotland
National scenic areas of Scotland
Ridges of Scotland