If you are a follower of Hard Hobbit To Break you will know that one of the things we like to do the most is to discover surprising corners located in any corner of the planet. Therefore, after visiting places such as the Mides Canyon in Tunisia or Mount Roraima in Venezuela, today we move to Scotland, where we have found the spectacular cave of Fingal, which has some basalt columns the sea of showy due to the shape they have acquired after the crystallization of volcanic lava over time.
Do you want to know all the details of this natural site located in the United Kingdom? Well, do not miss anything we tell you below!
On the island of Staffa
Throughout the planet you can find really spectacular caves, although one of the most surprising is the one found on the island of Staffa. We are talking about the Fingal grotto, which is part of the cave system of this territory, 1 kilometer long and 500 meters wide. As to Staffa, is the smallest island in the Inland Hybrid Islands and its highest point above sea level is 42 meters.
In honor of a hero of Irish poetry
The cave, which gained fame after being visited in 1722 by Joseph Banc, a leading English naturalist, was named for the Scottish poet James Macferson in honor of the giant Fingal, a well-known hero of the poetry of Ireland who, according to legend, was in charge of building the dike that linked Ireland with England. As we mentioned at the beginning, what most catches the attention of the cave are the natural basalt columns, which have a really surprising shape. And it is that although many of them are hexahedral, others have the shape of a triangle or an octahedron. And how has the cave acquired these unusual shapes? Well, due to the crystallization of volcanic lava that has taken place over the centuries.
The Singing Cave
Although the images cannot be seen well, the entrance to the cave is too narrow for a ship to enter. But this is not the only remarkable feature of this place. For example, it is important to note that the main room of the cave repeats the sounds made by the waves, so it seems that the Fingal’s Cave is singing. Hence its ancient Gaelic name was Uamh-Binn, translated as "The Melodious Cave." In fact, the well-known musician Felix Mendelssohn He was inspired by this place to compose The Scottish Symphony and the Overture of the Hybrids, known as Fingal's Grotto, after making a trip through Scotland in 1829. And although many people do not know it, the writer Jules Verne also used the cave as scene of one of the passages of "The Green Ray". Other personalities who visited the cave were Queen Victoria, Sir Walter Scott and the group Pink Floyd, which has a song titled "Fingal’s Cave".
Other similar buildings in the United Kingdom
Although they seem unique formations, the truth is that the basalt columns of the cave are not the only ones that can be found in British territory. For example, in County Antrim, in Northern Ireland, is the Giant's Causeway, which according to legend was also part of the dike built by Fingal. Then we leave you with our Gallery, where you will find more images of the Fingal cave. Do not miss it!
Fingal's Cave (May 2024)
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