Fingal’s Rock

Also known as:
Apex Rock and Swordstone
Nearest town:
Tobermory (38km NE)
OS reference:
NM300234
OS sheet:
48
Latitude:
56° 19' 32.82 N
Longitude:
6° 22' 4.85 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Articles

Folklore

Fingal’s Rock
Natural Rock Feature
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Sep 15, 2013

I thought this massive split boulder on the beach at Fionnphort much more striking than the standing stone down the road. It deserves a story and it looks like it’s got a few. It’s quite different stone from the famous pink granite of the area.

I asked a local fisherman about the split rock so obvious on the beach at Fionnphort, which is known to tourists as ‘Fingal’s Rock’. The locals call it rather more curiously ‘The Swordstone’, and it does appear cleaved clean in two by a sword – the story goes that around 1870, the quarry had a lifesaving contract cancelled on a dubious quality control claim. This led to protests, the novel result of which was packing a crack in the rock with gunpowder and splitting the block in two, a symbol of the historical division between local loyalties and higher, vested powers in Scotland.

That unlikely tale is from the Stone Country blog. Or there’s the story that it’s to do with giants throwing stones at each other, as you can read at the website of the nearby Seaview B+B. Fingal’s Cave is only a reasonably-priced boat trip out to Staffa, you know, maybe that’s the inspiration for the connection. Mmm Staffa.

Sites within 20km of Fingal’s Rock

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.