Staffin

Staffin
Staffin is located in Isle of Skye
Staffin
Staffin
Location within the Isle of Skye
OS grid referenceNG483684
Council area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPortree
Postcode districtIV51 9
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
List of places
UK
Scotland
57°37′35″N 6°12′24″W / 57.62635°N 6.20670°W / 57.62635; -6.20670
Staffin at dusk viewed from the Quiraing ridge
Dinosaur footprint on beach in Staffin

Staffin (Scottish Gaelic: Stafain) is a township with the Gaelic name An Taobh Sear, which translates as "the East Side", on the northeast coast of the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye.[1][2] It is located on the A855 road about 17 miles (27 kilometres) north of Portree and is overlooked by the Trotternish Ridge (including the Quiraing). The township forms part of a parish comprising 23 townships. From south to north: Rigg, Tote, Lealt, Lonfearn, Grealin, Breackry, Culnancnoc, Valtos, Raiseburgh, Ellishadder, Garafad, Clachan, Garros, Marishader, Maligar, Stenscholl, Brogaig, Sartle, Glasphein, Digg, Dunans, Flodigarry and Greap.

Geography and natural history

The Kilmartin River flows northwards through the village and outflows as the Stenscholl River at Stenscholl. To the east at An Corran a seasonally exposed rippled wave cut platform contains at least 18 dinosaur footprints, measuring up to 50 cm in length, attributed to a large theropod akin to Megalosaurus.[3] The footprints date to the Middle Jurassic (approximately 170 million years ago) and occur above an igneous platform - with natural cracks often mistaken for dinosaur footprints. An Corran was also a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the 7th millennium BC - one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland.[4] Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at Sand, Applecross on the coast of Wester Ross.[5]

Community

Today, Staffin and its surrounding townships retain a strong Gaelic identity, with 61 per cent of the local population recorded as speaking the language in 2001.[6] In September 2010, Comunn na Gàidhlig named Staffin as their "Gaelic Community of the Year", in the first year this competition has run.[7] Also in September 2010, Highland Council announced the launch of a consultation into a plan to convert the local primary into a Gaelic medium school. This would be the second such conversion in Scotland, after Bun-sgoil Shlèite. Only 5 out of the school's thirty pupils have English as their only language, with the remainder being bilingual English and Gaelic speakers.[8]

In 2011, Staffin Island is one of the last in Scotland where the old tradition of having cattle swim between grazings is still carried out. Crofter Iain MacDonald, who used to swim with the animals, used a boat to encourage them to swim from Staffin Island to Skye in early spring and back again in October.[9]

In December 2013, Staffin Community Trust (SCT) was awarded a grant by the Heritage Lottery for the Skye Ecomuseum - also known as the Druim nan Linntean (Ridge of Ages). The Skye Ecomuseum is an outdoor museum set in the Trotternish landscape spanning between Loch Langaig (Flodigarry) and An Stòrr (Old Man of Storr) aiming to engage visitors with local natural history and heritage through the improvement of local paths/infrastructure (including a viewing platform at Lealt Gorge) and establishment of informative signage.[10]

Currently, the SCT are improving the infrastructure at Staffin Harbour and building the Crofters' Memorial, Sùil nam Brà, at Kilt Rock.[11]

Staffin and Staffin Bay

In popular culture, the An Corran dinosaur footprints are referenced as an Easter egg in the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla.[12]

See also

Druim nan Linntean - Skye Ecomuseum

References

  1. ^ "Explore Staffin". Skyecomuseum. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  2. ^ "An Taobh Sear". Skyecomuseum. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  3. ^ Clark, N. D. L.; Booth, P.; Booth, C.; Ross, D. A. (April 2004). "Dinosaur footprints from the Duntulm Formation (Bathonian, Jurassic) of the Isle of Skye". Scottish Journal of Geology. 40 (1): 13–21. doi:10.1144/sjg40010013. ISSN 0036-9276.
  4. ^ "Vol 51 (2012): An Corran, Staffin, Skye: a rockshelter with Mesolithic and later occupation". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ^ "An Corran" Archived 20 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Staffin Community Trust (Urras an Taobh Sear) Retrieved 15 March 2008.
  6. ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2004) 1901-2001 Gaelic in the Census[usurped] (PowerPoint) Linguae Celticae. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  7. ^ Staffin named as "Gaelic Community of the Year", Comunn na Gàidhlig
  8. ^ Ross, John (18 September 2010) "Second school set to replace English with Gaelic as classroom language". Edinburgh: The Scotsman. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  9. ^ "Skye crofter 'last' to swim his cattle between grazings" (11 February 2011) BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Skye Ecomuseum: Druim nan Linntean | The National Lottery Heritage Fund". www.heritagefund.org.uk. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Staffin Community Trust". Skyecomuseum. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  12. ^ Cardoso (11 February 2022). Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Isle of Skye Dinosaur tracks easter egg. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via YouTube.
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