Isle of Skye: The Fairy Pools

I can't even tell you how excited I was to visit the Fairy Pools. (!!!!!!!!)<--- that excited.

There is surprisingly little information about them online, or there was a year ago. We asked some people on the Isle of Skye how to get there and some of them didn't even know what we were talking about. It came down to a B&B owner and some American tourists to get us pointed in the right direction.

All of that to say: It's really not that difficult to find; you just have to be looking for the itty bitty sign. I'm actually pretty sure that the sign is right off the main road and there's even a small gravel parking lot.

We got there around 11:00 on a Friday in the middle of summer and there were about two other people on the trail. As the day wore on (and we took our time), a few people passed us on the trail there and then back. I couldn't help but stop to take pictures of every single pool we passed.

It's a pretty easy trail; most of it is pretty flat or there are slight hills. We hiked it in rain boots and didn't have any problems. I saw some people in very impractical shoes (flats) and they seemed to be doing fine as well, although I would definitely recommend some type of water proof shoe or boot as you have to cross a small stream to get to the actual trail. If you're very adept at hopping across rivers, you may be able to make it over the rock trail without wet feet. I was wearing rain boots and feeling invincible, however,  so I walked right through the water.

There's also a U-shaped (or possibly it's a loop) trail that I'm fairly sure starts at the same place as the Fairy Pools trail, except it branches off at some point. It goes around and above the valley. We saw people hiking it the whole morning/afternoon. It looked really long but also fairly easy in that it looked they were at a pretty constant elevation. But what do I know, we didn't go on that trail!

There are so many pictures in this post. It took me forever to go through the 300+ I took of this location. I couldn't believe I had so many! Sorry, and also you're welcome because the Fairy Pools are so beautiful!

I have no idea what that says in Scottish Gaelic but I'm assuming it is about the Fairy Pools. Or maybe it means parking. (Also, I am not the Fairy Pools. I know the sign is pointing toward me, but that's not what it means).

Forrest is excited!

This is the small stream and waterfall we crossed before the fairy pools begin. 

The water was 10x bluer in real life and sometimes a gorgeous purple or green color depending on the rocks in each pool. I couldn't quite capture it, but I did my best!

The water looked so refreshing and I really wanted to go swimming except it was a little chilly out. As you can probably tell from that fact that I'm wearing layers and a wool headband.

The fog was perfect. It covered the entire valley and lifted slightly as the day wore on. It felt that much more like a fairy land.

The water was so clear and fresh and cold that we refilled out water bottles and Forrest drank straight from the stream (and also dunked his head).

I would never have believed this was a real place if I didn't take the photo with my own hands!

Also, I matched the heather (I love heather).

If it had been warmer, I would have jumped in.

The rocks were cut here, but I don't know why!

That's three different colors of heather that I photographed..

This place was almost tropical looking in some parts. I seriously couldn't get enough.

And then Forrest stepped off the path and promptly sank into the mud. Thank goodness for wellies!

My last picture is time stamped 2:00. So we spent three hours on a (probably) one-hour hike. If you ever go to the Isle of Skye, make sure you take some time to visit the Fairy Pools and go early. If you're lucky, it will be deliciously foggy as it was for us and nearly deserted, which is very convenient for when you want to take way too many pictures and ridiculous amounts of selfies without feeling self-concious. 

Thanks for taking the time to look through so many photos! These are probably one of my favorite sets of photos that I have ever taken.

P.S. Parts 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6 of our 2013 Scotland trip. 

A little more Isle of Skye is up next and then our trip to Oban and Fingal's Cave (which was awwwesommme).

Glenfinnan House + Viaduct

So, I'm just going to come right out and say it. The only reason we stayed in this hotel is because it is conveniently located a mere 10 minute walk away from the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This may seem silly to some of you. Maybe it will seem less silly when I tell you that the Glenfinnan Viaduct was used in the second Harry Potter film. That's right. It's the bridge where Ron and Harry almost get hit by a train in their flying Ford Anglia. I realize that may still sound silly to some of you.. but also I got a really good deal from Groupon.

It's been a few months since my last Scotland post, but I'm not even halfway done yet, so let us continue on. The Glenfinnan House was beautiful beyond my expectations. It is located directly on Loch Shiel in a remote location. The house has its own dock, 27 bedrooms, a gorgeous formal dining room, a more casual dining room for lunch, and basically it was a dream come true. I talked Forrest into dining in the hotel that night and it was delicious and reasonably priced. We sat next to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the lake with a candle flickering on our table (so romantic!). It was pretty stormy that night and it was lovely to watch the rain and dark clouds rolling over the loch from the cozy dining room (and if I remember right, there was a fire crackling in the corner) (but that could just be the overall dreamy haze infecting my memory). Sometimes, I have such a great experience somewhere and my brain remembers the time as even better than it actually was. I can't remember even one bad thing happening here and I'm pretty sure nothing did! Even the rain added to the magic. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Scotland? Like I said, it was a dream come true.


Speaking of dreams come true..

Don't worry, there are at least 30 more pictures of the viaduct in this post. Carry on!

Ah, Glenfinnan, house of my dreams.

This little chapel up above was a short walk down the road. It just looks so pretty up there resting on its bed of purple.

It must have been purple rhododendron season because I don't think I saw any other type of flower. The contrast with all the greens and greys made for a lovely effect--and I accidentally matched!

The Jacobite (the company that provided the Harry Potter films with its trains and, consequently, we carried a brochure for it in our car for over a year) runs on the viaduct. We were tempted to enjoy a wizarding train ride (I don't even think that exists except in my head), but a ride on the antique trains is an all day affair (from Fort William to Mallaig) for which we simply did not have the time. We were lucky enough to see a regular train roll across the bridge, however.

I'm not even going to guess how much time we spent wading in the stream just because we could, but I'm thinking it's an embarrassing amount.

This hallway.. there was another like it on the other side of the stairs. The house just kept going. We ventured to the third floor of the house (via winding staircase) and looked out a window (so sneaky, I know) (I must have been too preoccupied with our sneakiness to take a picture).

There are probably way too many pictures in the post, but it was all so beautiful. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

P.S. Other posts along this journey:

The Highlands

Hadrian's Wall

Peckforton Castle