Image Details
The village of Elgol on the Isle of Skye is the scene of glorious views over Loch Scavaig to the Cuillins, but it also hosts a smaller gem of delight. This is the honeycomb rock on the shore about 100 metres north of the jetty.
Much of the land of the Strathaird Peninsula, on which Elgol is located, consists of sedimentary rocks laid down in the Jurassic age. The Jurassic age extended from 200 to 145 million years ago and within that there were three periods, the Lower/Early, Middle, and Upper/Late periods.
Lower Jurassic rocks were deposited mainly in shallow seas and Middle Jurassic rocks, as at Elgol, were deposited mainly in estuaries and are mostly sandstones with some shales and a few thin limestones.
Frequently the quartz grains of the sandstones are cemented together by calcium carbonate and this can lead to unusual and intriguing weathering characteristics. In the example shown in the photograph the rocks 'weathered-out' in an odd manner to give this wonderful 'honeycomb' effect.
I spent quite a long time studying the honeycombed expanse of rock before settling on the particular section of it that I thought would make a pleasing composition.
North-west Highland Place Names
The landscape of the North-west Highlands and the Gaelic language are intimately connected. Other languages have contributed to the richness of our place names, notably Norse, but the North-west Highlands have for centuries been a Gaelic landscape. In listing the meanings of place names I have relied on authoritative sources wherever possible. For further information about sources please refer to North-west Highland Place Names in the main menu.
Cuillin; This is the anglicised spelling of the Scottish Gaelic An Cuilthionn or An Cuiltheann. From my researches into the meaning of the Gaelic names An Cuilthionn and An Cuiltheann it appears that etymologists are unable to provide a definitive answer. Some suggest the range owes its name to the legendary heroic figure, Cú Chulainn while others propose cuilionn, the Gaelic for holly. However, given the island's Viking heritage and the aspect that the Cuillin ridge presents from afar, the contention that the name comes from the Norse kjollen or keel-shaped, appears to be the most likely explanation.
Elgol; In Gaelic it is Ealaghol. This might be an Norse name for a field and might include the word for wild angelica. Another explanation is that its name derives from a battle fought with five ships by Aella, a follower of Vortigern, against the Picts and the Scots – Aella-gol.
Loch Scavaig; No reliable references to the name of this sea loch on Skye have been found. In most cases of West-highland names ending in aig the suffix is derived from the Norse vík meaning ‘bay’. I have no explanation for the prefix Scav.
Skye; Skye's history includes the influence of Gaelic, Norse and English speaking peoples and the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward. The Gaelic name for the "Isle of Skye" is An t-Eilean Sgitheanach (or Sgiathanach, a more recent and less common spelling). The meaning of this name is not clear. Various explanations have been proposed, such as the ‘winged isle’ or ‘the notched isle’ but no definitive solution has been found to date.
Strathaird; In Gaelic is Srath na h-Àirde, that is ‘the strath with the headland’.
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