Quiraing

The Needle and the Prison

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

Ascent:       410 metres

Distance:    8 kilometres   

Time:          2 hours 52minutes

Meall na Suiramach    543m   1hr 48mins   

It had rained all day as we drove up to Edinbane in the north of Skye on Monday.  Our stop at the Cluanie Inn for a lunch was a huge disappointment, this has been my regular break stop for 30 years when travelling to Skye, the Torridons or other mountains. It is well located and usually served reasonable food at the end of long days on the hills or refreshments when breaking a journey. Alas, under new ownership, they have refurbished the buildings but bumped up prices to absurd levels, £4.50 for a coffee, and the food we ordered was almost inedible as well as expensive. I won't be stopping here again.

Tuesday morning was not much better and we inflicted a two hour soaking on ourselves as we walked out to the coral beaches north of Dunvegan. It was with some trepidation that we headed north in the afternoon to Uig and then across the unclassified road to the car park below the Quiraing. Like much of Skye, the tourists have been well catered for by a large car park and, judging by the heavy usage on a late Tuesday afternoon, it would provide Highland Council with a handsome income stream.

It was 5:30pm before we began the walk and the sun arrived at about the same time. Walkers were returning from the main attractions of the Needle and the Prison, both prominent rock outcrops resulting from massive landslips. The narrow path climbs at a gentle gradient. The views south along the Trotternish ridge were spectacular. We passed through the popular areas and turned left below an overhanging cliff to enter another area with rock towers scattered below massive cliffs. The number of walkers had declined and after passing through a gap in a drystone wall we entered another area of confused landscapes. Gregor had charged ahead and was walking along the top of the Sron Vourlinn cliff-edge as we climbed the final slopes to the gap in the cliffs. 

We met a party of Chinese students who were on a 5-day tour of Scotland before finishing their studies in Edinburgh. Fort William, Skye, Inverness and Oban were to be their overnight stops. They had not been walking very quickly when we had overtaken them on the ascent but they intrepidly began to walk out towards Sron Vourlinn. We continued to tackle the final 200 metres of ascent to the edge of the cliffs and I extended the walk to the summit of Meall na Suiramach. Its cairn set in the middle of a gentle convex slope was the antithesis of the scenery we had walked through. Some low clouds had reduced visibility but we could see and hear the rollers breaking on Staffin beach on a still spring evening.

Gregor left us at this stage to run down to the car park and then up the next peak on the Trotternish ridge, Biode Buidhe, and then down to Uig where we agreed to pick him up. The descent was tricky, first because of the low clouds and then a final 100-metre descent down a steep boggy path that challenged both the grip of footwear and knee joints. However, we were down in less than 3 hours and arrived in Uig only a few minutes ahead of Gregor. After the downpour of the morning, we had benefitted from the rapidly changing weather that is the essence of any trip to Skye.

Summit of Meall na Suiramach

Looking northeast to the Quiraing from the path

Looking south to the Trotternish ridge

The confused landscapes below the Sron Vourlinn cliffs

Sron Vourlinn escarpment 

Climbing through the cloud to the high point

Looking down on the Table

At the high point of the cliff edge, Staffin Bay below

Late evening arriving down from the summit plateau