The Cuillin

The mountains on Skye are called the Cuillin and they can be split into two groups. The true Cuillin are also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish them from the Red Hills (Am Binnean Dearg) across Glen Sligachan. The Red Hills are lower and are less rocky. The highest point of the Cuillins, and of the Isle of Skye, is Sgùrr Alasdair in the Black Cuillins at 992 m (3,255 ft).

The Black Cuillin from Sligachan I
Nikon D800E 16-35 @ 35mm 1/125 f16

The Black Cuillins are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro. The former is usually grey to black in colour and formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of the earth. It rapidly weathers to brown or rust-red due to oxidation of its iron-rich minerals into rust. It is from the dark colour of the gabbro that the Black Cuillin receives its name. The summits of the Cuillins are bare rock, jagged in outline and with steep cliffs and deep cut corries and gullies. There are twelve Munros on Skye, which are all Black Cuillin peaks, though Bla Bheinn is part of a group of outliers separated from the main ridge by Glen Sligachan.

The Red Hills (Am Binnean Dearg in Gaelic) are sometimes known as the Red Cuillin. They are mainly composed of granite which is paler than the gabbro  and has weathered into more rounded hills with vegetation covering their summits and long scree slopes on their flanks. Granite is a common widely occurring type of igneous rock which is granular and crystalline in texture and consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar. Granites can be pink to gray in color, depending on their chemistry and mineralogy and their colour often varies in different lights and from different angles.

The Red Hills from Sligachan I
Nikon D800E 16-35 @35mm 1/50 f16

The highest point of the hills is Glamaig, which is almost conical from most aspects and is the northernmost of the Red Hills.

Glamaig III
Nex 7 18-55 @ 34mm 1/400 f4.5

The Battle of Coire Na Creiche was fought on the slopes below Bruach na Frìthe in 1601. It was the last Scottish clan battle fought on Skye, in which the Clan MacDonald of Sleat defeated the Clan MacLeod after a bitter feud.

Coire na Creiche III
Nex 7 18-55 @ 18mm 1/60 f11

In 2000 the Cuillins were put on sale for £10 million by the Laird in a scheme of land in exchange for repairs to Dunvegan castle. Following a dispute over ownership, a deal was cut for the property to be gifted in return for repairs to the clan castle 

Bla Bheinn II
Nex 7 55-210 @ 195 1/250 f11

I wanted to capture the majesty of these mountains and their dominance of the landscape. I was also struck by the stark contrast between the perceived ruggedness of the Black Cuillin and the smoothness of the Red Hills. For most of the two weeks the tops of the mountains were not visible, although they were on a couple of days, most of the time they were shrouded in cloud. The interplay between the rocks, light and mist was fascinating to anyone who has time to watch and marvel at the light.