The Cuillin
An Cuilthionn

This range has long been honoured for presenting the most exciting skyline in the British Isles - a delight to the eye whenever cloud cover disperses. Composed of gabbro reputed to be the toughest and roughest of magma extrusions and which has been described as having "a nutmeg-grater-like surface in contact with which the human body may almost defy the laws of gravity".The Cuillin Ridge is horseshoe-shaped and its many spurs are intersected by deep and often sheer corries. It includes around 20 'Munros' and several impressive pinnacles. Around the middle of the 19th century alpinists were persuaded of their climbing potential and the Cuillin tops were systematically 'conquered' by the century's end. It was during this time that climbers such as Charles Pilkington, Alfred Harker, the Abraham brothers and Norman Collie were drawn to the Cuillin.

The origin of the word Cuillin has exercised the imaginations of many budding etymologists. Some reckon the range owes its name to the legendary heroic figure, Cú Chulainn while others suggest 'cuilionn', the Gaelic for holly. Most likely, given the island's Viking heritage and the aspect the ridge presents from afar, is the contention that the name comes from the Norse 'kjollen' or keel-shaped,