Staffa ('isle of Staves', from the rock formations) is small but very well known because of the hugely impressive hexagonal columns (which resulted from the slow cooling of lava) and the magnificent Fingal's Cave, also known as An Uamh Ehinn - 'the musical cave'. The cave is over 270 feet deep and 66 feet high. The island's 71 acres are now uninhabited, but have been visited by Sir Walter Scott; Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote the Hebrides Overture after being inspired by the noise of the sea in Fingal's Cave; J M W Turner; William Wordsworth; Queen Victoria; Jules Verne; David Livingstone and Robert Louis Stevenson - to name but a few. The island can he visited, although landing is only possible in calm seas. Warm and water-proof clothing and sensible footwear may be advisable. The island has a large colony of puffins.

The island can be visited: tel: 01681700373, 01681700338 and 01688 400242: summer only.