View source for Staffin

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox UK place|
|map_type = Isle of Skye
|country = Scotland
|official_name= Staffin
|scots_name=
|gaelic_name= Stafain
|population=
|os_grid_reference= NG483684
|coordinates = {{coord|57.62635|N|6.20670|W|display=inline,title}}
|unitary_scotland= [[Highland (council area)|Highland]]
|lieutenancy_scotland=
|constituency_westminster=
|constituency_scottish_parliament=
|post_town= [[Portree]]
|postcode_district = IV51 9
|postcode_area= IV
|dial_code=
}}
[[File:Staffin, Isle of Skye, Scotland - Diliff.jpg|thumb|left|Staffin at dusk viewed from the Quiraing ridge]]
[[File:dinoprint.jpg|thumb|right|Dinosaur footprint on beach in Staffin]]
'''Staffin''' ({{langx|gd|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]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Staffin |url=https://skyeecomuseum.co.uk/explore-staffin |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Skyecomuseum |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=An Taobh Sear |url=https://skyeecomuseum.co.uk/sites/antaobhsear |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Skyecomuseum |language=en-gb}}</ref> It is located on the [[A855 road|A855]] road about {{convert|17|mi|km|abbr=off}} 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, Skye|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|Megalosaurus.]]''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clark |first=N. D. L. |last2=Booth |first2=P. |last3=Booth |first3=C. |last4=Ross |first4=D. A. |date=April 2004 |title=Dinosaur footprints from the Duntulm Formation (Bathonian, Jurassic) of the Isle of Skye |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/sjg40010013 |journal=Scottish Journal of Geology |language=en |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=13–21 |doi=10.1144/sjg40010013 |issn=0036-9276}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vol 51 (2012): An Corran, Staffin, Skye: a rockshelter with Mesolithic and later occupation |url=http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/sair/issue/view/81|access-date=22 August 2021|website=journals.socantscot.org}}</ref> Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at [[Sand, Applecross]] on the coast of [[Ross and Cromarty|Wester Ross]].<ref>[http://www.staffin.net/data/localhistory/geology/corran.htm "An Corran"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020162524/http://www.staffin.net/data/localhistory/geology/corran.htm |date=20 October 2008 }} Staffin Community Trust (''Urras an Taobh Sear'') Retrieved 15 March 2008.</ref>
== 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.<ref name=MacT>Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2004) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071022140555/http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Gaelic_1901-2001.ppt  ''1901-2001 Gaelic in the Census'']}} (PowerPoint) Linguae Celticae. Retrieved 1 June 2008.</ref> In September 2010, [[Comunn na Gàidhlig]] named Staffin as their "Gaelic Community of the Year", in the first year this competition has run.<ref>[http://www.cnag.org.uk/fiosrachadh/cf_coimhearsnachd.php Staffin named as "Gaelic Community of the Year"], [[Comunn na Gàidhlig]]</ref> Also in September 2010, Highland Council announced the launch of a consultation into a plan to convert the local [[primary school|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.<ref>Ross, John (18 September 2010) [http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Second-school-set-to-replace.6538509.jp "Second school set to replace English with Gaelic as classroom language"]. Edinburgh: ''The Scotsman''. Retrieved 18 September 2010.</ref>
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. [[Croft (land)|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.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-12430571 "Skye crofter 'last' to swim his cattle between grazings"] (11 February 2011) BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2010.</ref>
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 ([[The Storr|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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-25 |title=Skye Ecomuseum: Druim nan Linntean {{!}} The National Lottery Heritage Fund |url=https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/projects/skye-ecomuseum-druim-nan-linntean |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=www.heritagefund.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>
Currently, the SCT are improving the infrastructure at Staffin Harbour and building the Crofters' Memorial, Sùil nam Brà, at Kilt Rock.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Staffin Community Trust |url=https://skyeecomuseum.co.uk/why-staffin |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Skyecomuseum |language=en-gb}}</ref>
[[File:Staffin-panorama 14-05-2010 15-08-39.jpg|thumb|left|700px|Staffin and Staffin Bay]]
== Popular culture ==
In popular culture, the ''An Corran'' dinosaur footprints are referenced as an Easter egg in the 2020 video game [[Assassin's Creed Valhalla]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXXOai0jtQ |title=Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Isle of Skye Dinosaur tracks easter egg |date=2022-02-11 |last=Cardoso |access-date=2024-10-07 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
== See also ==
[https://skyeecomuseum.co.uk/ Druim nan Linntean - Skye Ecomuseum]{{clear}}
==References==
<references/>
{{commons category|Staffin}}
{{Skye}}
[[Category:Populated places in the Isle of Skye]]