Cuillin He partnered Louis Agassiz on his trip to Scotland in 1840 and although they subsequently argued, Forbes went on to publish other important papers on Alpine glaciers. In 1904 Alfred Harker published "The Tertiary Igneous Rocks of Skye", the first detailed scientific study of an extinct volcano. The Cuillin encompasses a wide range of habitats, changing with altitude. At the base there are conifer plantations, coastal woodlands and areas of heather moorland and rough grassland. The lower slopes are covered by various different types of bog, with grassland on the better-drained slopes that are found above 400 m. Higher up,
A830 road a modern replacement as part of a £23.4m upgrade. The bypassed section has been handed to the local authority for maintenance and designated the B8008. On 25 May 2008 the road was featured in the BBC TV programme "Countryfile". There is a traditional Scottish song about the road, called "The Road to the Isles". The lyrics mention locations the road passes, including (in order): the Cuillin Hills, Tummel, Loch Rannoch, Lochaber, Shiel, Ailort, Morar, the Skerries and the Lews. A satirical song about the road, "The 8-3-0," was written by Ian McCalman (of the Scottish folk group The McCalmans) and