The Red Cuillin
Richards Mountain Pages
The picture below was taken from the Red Cuillins around Broadford, looking across the Black Cuillins. To find out which bit is which, just move
your mouse over the image, and all will be revealed (Red Cuillins have red text, and Black Cuillins have blue text).
Geology
Like most things on Skye, the Red Cuillin are volcanic. Unlike the Black Cuillin though, they are formed by magma cooling underground. As this is a slower
process than lava cooling, crystals form, and give us the familiar speckled red granite. This rock has then eroded to leave the 'piles of sugar' of the Red
Cuillin. With so much loose rock, these mountains are rounded. They are a hard slog to climb, but they have superb scree runs in all directions.
Settlements
The Red Cuillins are a little more populated than their Black cousins:
- Broadford - the second biggest settlement on Skye
- Elgol - a little bit out of the way for the Red Cuillin, but worth a mention
- Luib - not much here, but ideally placed halfway between Sligachan and Broadford
- Sligachan - The Sligachan Hotel is said to have a lot of character from its days as a climber haunt.
Unfortunately it is now dominated by more formal tourists, leaving the rest of us with the blander restuarant annex. The annex does boast a rather
confusing round pool table; and an excellent selection of local brews (if the weather is too bad to climb the Red cuillin, you can always drink a pint of it).
Transport
Buses from Fort William and Inverness stop at Broadford (for the post bus to Elgol), and at Luib and Sligachan.
Maps
You can buy the maps that cover this region, in association with Ordnance Survey, by using the links below:
back to map