Scenes from Star Wars

I went to the new Star Wars movie this week. I enjoyed the movie, especially the end. My jaw dropped in astonishment when I saw where they filmed the last scene. In it, Rey, the heroine of the tale, climbs an ancient stone stairway atop an island in a galaxy far, far away. In reality it was not quite so far away, for the scene was filmed on one of my favourite islands: Skellig Mhichael.

Stairway to the monastery - Skellig Mhicheal

A boat trip to Skellig is something you'll remember forever. As the boat approaches the island it is as if a giant pyramid is rising out of the sea.

Approaching Skellig

Once ashore it is a stiff climb to the monastic ruins on the North Peak, some 600 feet above the sea.

The Burial Ground

The Monastery Beehives

As amazing as the monastery is, the hermitage that once stood on the south peak is even more amazing. Chiseled out of the side of the south peak, nearly 700 feet above the sea, is a small ledge. And on it there once stood a solitary beehive cell, the monastery's place of retreat. I wanted to see it, so after exploring the monastery I descended back down to Christ's Saddle between the two peaks, and then followed a path that led to the South Peak.

Looking down to Christ's Saddle from the route to the South Peak - the steps in the photo lead to the North Peak

The going was easy at first, and there was an amazing view straight down the cliff-face to the lighthouse.

Then I came to a blind corner, where the route crossed a narrow ledge about 12 inches wide. The cliff-face on one side, a vertical drop of a few hundred feet on the other.

The blind corner - sea-pinks sprouting on the rock face

It was here I decided to turn around, the narrow path across the cliff was too scary. And so the hermitage of Skellig Mhichael, like the Gannet Isle of Sulaisgeir, will probably remain special island-places I'll never see.

The South Peak

If the hermitage of Skellig interests you, be sure to read The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael (see this link for an on-line version of the book). I look forward to seeing Star Wars VIII, as I've read there are more scenes filmed on Skellig.

Some Challanging Island Visits

I have had a few challenging and, at times, scary island encounters. I've written before about the climb up the south peak of Skellig Mhichael, where I had to turn back after being faced with having to traverse a 10 inch ledge, a shear 400 foot drop to its side. I could not do it.

The narrow ledge on Skellig (in immediate foreground)

Another 'turn back' that I regret is Garbh Eilean (the rough Isle), a tidal islet off the south end of South Rona. I'd been told there may be some ruined habitations on the island, and so on a fine spring day in 2007 I made my way to the crossing. But the only way onto the islet was to ascend a steep, rocky, and muddy ledge, some 20 feet high. Tracks in the hillside showed it had been traversed by deer, so I tried to climb it. But I'm not a deer, and being alone at the time, one wrong step and it would be a while before help would arrive, so I gave up the attempt.

Where Garbh Eilean joins South Rona (route up marked in white)

Another island-challange was the climb up, and back down, the slopes of another 'Rough Isle', Garbh Eilean of the Shiants. On my first visit in 2002, not knowing there was actually a route, I made the climb up the steep hillside to the top of the island from the stony isthmus that connects it to Eilean Taigh. Fortunately I managed to make my way up without injury, and from the top the 'safe' route down was found. But the beer I had in my pack, which I planned to drink at the high point of the island, went un-drunk, as I realized I would need all my faculties to make it safely down.

Looking to Eilean Tighe from the beginning of the descent down Garbh Eilean (Shiants)

That experience paid off 11 years later. In August of 2013 I was landed on the north end of that same Garbh Eilean. I had always wanted to see the puffin colony there, and to try to climb to the top of the island. And I knew if I could make it to the top, I could descend back to the sea on the south end of the island along the route I'd found in 2002. It was a close thing, getting to the top at the cliffs at the north end, and I almost gave up. But after zigzaging up the steep, grassy slopes I saw a notch in the clifftop that looked doable. I made my way slowly up to it, very slowly, for the gradient was about 65 degrees. I nearly turned back again, but taking my time, step-by-step, I was able to get to the top.

The way up the north end of Garbh Eilean (Shiants)

It was worth the effort, for I was then able to traverse the upper plateau of the island. Reaching the south end I started looking for the route down. Over a decade had passed since I'd stood there, and I could not see the route at first. But after traversing around the entire south end I eventually found the 'Eiger Pass', a small ravine that marks the first part of the route down the hill. In the last photo I have marked the route with a black line. Where the black line disappears, halfway up, is where the route through the 'Eiger Pass' lies hidden behind the humpy hill in the foreground.

Skellig Michael

A few posts ago I mentioned some island failures; one of which was an aborted attempt to climb the south peak of Skellig Michael off the coast of Kerry. (Okay, it's not a Scottish island). The ascent is described in what is one of the most incredible books on an island ever written: The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael. The link will take you to an on-line version of the book, including all its wonderful illustrations.

It is a straightforward walk up a steep path to get to the monastic ruins on the north peak, and the first photo shows my wife clinging to its summit rock with the dramatic pinnacle of the south peak off in the distance. 

Photo 2 of the south peak shows the site of the hermitage oratory and 'The Spit' at the top where a cross incised stone pillar once stood. Pilgrims would make their way up to the spit and then crawl out onto it to kiss the cross. Sadly the cross-stone fell into the sea in the 1970s. I set out to climb the peak, but I soon came to a narrow ledge that wound around a blind corner (see figure 17 in the above link). There was nothing below the ledge but a 400 foot drop to the rocks and sea. I could not do it, and turned back.

Although I had not made it to the south peak, seeing the cluster of beehive cells and oratories of the monastery on the north peak was a memorable experience.