We got away around 8:30am this morning. Today has had a touch of Fairy magic to it.
We wanted to beat the crowds at The Fairy Pools, we had read that it gets very busy from mid morning. We got to the parking area a bit after 9am, there were about 30 cars in the parking area already. We set off down the hill opposite and followed the path next to a steadily flowing creek. Looking up and the high grass covered rocky mounts around us, you could see the water oozing out of them in the morning light. There are many straight line water courses coming down the hillsides. The Fairies Ponds are a series of ponds formed by an equal number (if not more) of waterfalls along a narrow creek in a very pretty valley. At times the creek has gouged small gorges out, other times there are stretches of fierce shallow rapids, some areas of calm smooth flowing waters and then there are the falls. Ranging from narrow, powerful falls dropping up to 5m to broad gentle falls dropping a meter or 2. At the bottom of most falls, or very near by, are pools, deep aqua blue/green ponds of pure mountain water. Where the water is calm it is crystal clear and you can easily see all the smooth colourful rocks under the water. Where the water is more vibrant, the waters look like a spa pool, full of bubbling water. The pools are a favourite for “wild swimmers”, those that don’t mind their water very cold. Deb got a photo of streams of light coming down to one of the pools, we are fairly sure she caught some fairies in the water. ?
After our morning with the fairies, we headed off to the most westerly part on Skye, Neist Point. To get to the point you drive to a congested car parking area, and then you have to walk down a steep slope, across a small flat then up another steeper slope, down another steep slope then up another. And you get to the lighthouse. We decided it best not to do all that and just admire the coastal beauty from near the car park. Much less strenuous. It is a beautiful outlook and well worth the drive.
We then drove to Dunvegan Castle, the longest continually inhabited castle in Scotland and the ancestral home to the Chief of the McCleod Clan, who still lives there today. The first stones for the castle were laid in the 1200’s by Vikings and after the integration of the vikings with the Scottish celts it became the seat of power for the Clans.
And here we found another fairy connection. The MacCleod Clan are keepers of the revered Fairy Flag. Legend says (forgive me if I get this wrong) way back in the day, a MacCleod Chieftan married a fairy, and moved to fairy land with her. But things started going amiss back in the world of the Clans and the Chieftain was compelled to return and help his people. His fairy wife gave him a magic flag, only to be used in the direst of circumstances when the odds of victory were very slim. A covenant was put on the power of the flag, it could only be used three times. Since that day, legend has it that the powers of the flag have been called on twice, both times resulting in the snatching of victory from the jaws of death. That leaves one use of the flag still at the disposal of the Clan Chieftain of the day.
It is well maintained and it looks like they are restoring more of the interior rooms. The gardens were established in the 1800’s, and are segmented into a number of different garden designs. Deb’s favourite was the walled garden, with its more formal layout and many flowering plants. The were quite a few flowers Deb had not seen before.
Next we tried, we really did, to go and see Claigan Coral Beach, we drove the 8 miles there on a very rough two way one lane road, with passing points!, only to find car parking chaos! We just gave up in a very short time. It seems that the popularity of so many places on Skye has overtaken the ability of the place to cope, there simply isn’t enough facilities for the numbers of tourists.
So we left and drove back to Portree. It was a bit after 4pm so I thought I might try and get my hair cut. I had previously seen a sign pointing to “Phil the Barber”, so I thought I’d give him a try. I walked into his shop and here he was lounging back on the waiting bench. I asked if he was free for a cut, he looked around, thought for a bit and said yes he was! ? This was the start of an interesting 20 mins. I took my hearing aids out, now I am audibly challenged, and Phil, he speaks in a broad Scottish accent, what could go wrong, lol. Anyway, I came out with the cut I asked for and all the more wiser, I think, about Phil’s travels in Australia and some of his philosophic gems on the state of the world and some particular insights into his observations and thoughts on the social habits of certain racial groups. Interesting!
We had dinner in a pub down on the waterfront, Seafood Tapas. It was a nice meal, sitting at the window watching the tide come in and talking about our day and what is to come.
Loch Ness and the Glenfinnan Viaduct tomorrow.
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