The Quiraing looks like a landscape that has not quite finished forming, and in a sense it has not: the whole area is a vast landslip that is still slowly moving. Towers of rock lean out of the slope, hidden grassy plateaus sit between the cliffs, and the view down to Staffin Bay changes with every passing cloud. On the day I went, cloud was pouring over the ridge and the cliffs came and went in the mist.
The walk
I started from the car park at the top of the single-track road between Staffin and Uig and followed the path north along the foot of the cliffs. It is narrow in places, with one short dip through a stream gully that needs care when wet. The Prison rises on your right and, further on, the Needle stands up out of the slope like a broken chimney.
Past the Needle the path climbs to the Table, a flat, hidden lawn tucked among the pinnacles. You can turn back the way you came, but I prefer to climb onto the ridge and return along the clifftop, where you look straight down on everything you just walked through. Stay well back from the edge: the cliffs here are crumbly and the drop is long.
Good to know
- The car park is small and busy. Arrive early or late in the day, and never park in the passing places.
- The weather on the ridge can change in minutes. A map and a waterproof are not optional here.
- The ground is boggy after rain, so wear boots rather than trainers.