Point of land
An Corran
This small but perfectly formed beach is one of the favourite places for locals to spend their time in good weather.
Here there are great views of Eilean Steinnseal and Eilean Fhlòdaigearraidh in the distance. You might be lucky enough to find our dinosaur footprints here. The best time to see them is at mid-tide or after winter storms as the prints are often covered by sand or seaweed.
About 166 million years ago a group of meat-eating Megalosaurus dinosaurs walked through the mud here beside a warm shallow sea. At the time Skye was part of a huge continent south of the equator. Layers of mud covered the footprints and preserved them as fossils.
In 2001 dog walkers Cathy and Paul Booth found a single dinosaur footprint by An Corran. Dinosaur experts Dr Neil Clark and Dugald Ross found another 17 footprints scattered across the rocks. Find out more at Staffin Dinosaur Museum.
Distance/difficulty: An Corran beach is only a short walk from where you park your car.
Until recently, Iain ‘The Herd’ MacDonald swam his cattle across to Staffin Island for winter grazing.
FAQ's
Is it easy to find the dinosaur footprints?
Not always. They are frequently covered by seaweed and sand. Take your time to carefully look and you might spot them. It might take a lot of time, but you might also get lucky. Be very careful here as it is extremely slippery.
