Cuillin range. Cracks and fissures in the rock provided pathways for later magma intrusions, leading to dykes of basalt which are commonly seen across Skye. The Red Cuillin also have volcanic origins, being formed from a later intrusion of acidic, granitic rock. This granite was more uniformly eroded by wind and water than the gabbro and basalt, causing the red hills to have smoother outlines. The Cuillin provide classic examples of glacial topography and were the subject of an early published account by James Forbes in 1846 (who had become a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh aged only nineteen).
A Scottish Soldier A Scottish Soldier "A Scottish Soldier" is a song written by Andy Stewart using the tune of "The Green Hills of Tyrol", which was transcribed by John MacLeod during the Crimean War from "La Tua Danza Sì Leggiera", a chorus part in the third act of Gioachino Rossini's 1829 opera "Guglielmo Tell" (William Tell). The song is about a dying Scottish soldier, wishing to return to the hills of his homeland rather than die in Tyrol. The song was one of two US chart entries by Andy Stewart. "A Scottish Soldier" reached no. 1 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand,