Daily Archives: November 20, 2014

The Quiraing pt1 – or Middle Earth!

The-Quiraing-2

PLEASE SHARE

The Quiraing – various pronunciations, non better than a local but I couldn’t understand anything then it’s a little like Kerrang you know the rock music channel/mag.

On our second morning we were heading from our overnight camp at  Uig on the West coast of Skye across to Climb the Old Man of Storr,  I spotted the sign for The Quiraing and could see the light was perfect, realising The Old Man of Storr would take time to climb and that the light would change I decided we’d do The Quiraing early while it was bathed in early morning sun.

Its a simple drive to a car park which is situated near the top and following a leisurely stroll across a path you gain the ideal position, nice to have an easy one for a change I thought and as the morning light failed to disappoint we were thankful for the decision to stop here first.

Bit from Wiki

The Quiraing is a landslip on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach, the northernmost summit of the Trotternish on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The whole of the Trotternish Ridge escarpment was formed by a great series of landslips; the Quiraing is the only part of the slip still moving, the road at its base, near Flodigarry, requires repairs each year.

Parts of the distinctive landscape have earned particular names. The Needle is a jagged 120-foot (37 m) high landmark pinnacle, a remnant of landslipping. Northwest of it is The Table, a flat grassy area slipped down from the summit plateau, with vistas of the Torridon Hills and the mountains of Wester Ross. Southwest is the Prison, a pyramidal rocky peak which can look like a medieval keep when viewed from the right angle – the ascent of this is an airy scramble.

Quiraing (in Gaelic, Cuith-Raing) comes from Old Norse Kvi Rand, which means Round Fold. Within the fold is The Table, an elevated plateau hidden amongst the pillars. It is said that the fold was used to conceal cattle from Viking raiders.