Isle of Skye Fairies ... Dunvagan Castle and The Fairy Glen

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren’t go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl’s feather!

The Fairy Glen

Isle of Skye

There is much fairy lore in Scotland and on the Isle of Skye. And, though I've heard of no particular fairy sighting on this spot, it has become known as the Fairy Glen. With its otherworldly landscape it seems quite fitting!

Here's some music from 600 years ago on an old Scottish wire strung harp to listen to with the photos! Enjoy the journey!

The nearest town is Uig and the Fairy Glen is hidden in the hills above. I'd gone on a few websites for directions but I think we passed the road that leads there more than once!

Down along the rocky shore

Some make their home,

They live on crispy pancakes

Of yellow tide-foam;

Some in the reeds

Of the black mountain-lake,

With frogs for their watchdogs,

All night awake.

The landscape feels mystical and maybe a bit enchanted ...

High on the hill-top

The old King sits;

He is now so old and grey

He’s nigh lost his wits.

With a bridge of white mist

Columbkill he crosses,

On his stately journeys

From Slieveleague to Rosses;

Or going up with the music

On cold starry nights,

To sup with the Queen

Of the gay Northern Lights.

They stole little Bridget

For seven years long;

When she came down again

Her friends were all gone.

They took her lightly back,

Between the night and morrow,

They thought that she was fast asleep,

But she was dead with sorrow.

They have kept her ever since

Deep within the lake,

On a bed of fig-leaves,

Watching till she wake.

The locals spend the winter undoing the stone markers and spirals, returning it back it to it's natural state.

By the craggy hillside,

Through the mosses bare,

They have planted thorn trees

For my pleasure, here and there.

Is any man so daring

As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns

In his bed at night.

Castle Ewan is a natural basalt rock formation that is said to be a home to the fairies.

One story I read said it was bad luck to enter the fairies' castle realm without an invitation. After listening to fairy folk stories in the car and hearing about their mischievous nature, I decided this was close enough! (Are you reading the poem on this post!? Dark stuff, those fairy stories!)

There is a theory that the ridges were created by landslides during the ice age but I'm not convinced that it hasn't been terraced and landscaped by a thousand wee fairy folk!

My parents and I loved this beautiful landscape that seemed to be Scotland in miniature! Pretty sure you can see that by the smiles on our faces!

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren’t go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl’s feather!

~

William Allingham

1824-1829

If there are indeed wee fairies, in the Glen, I believe they must be friendly folk! We left lighthearted and agreed it was one of our favorite memories of beautiful Scotland.

This (below) is the road that leads you to and from the path up to the Fairy Glen. I think we were lucky with the drizzly weather. There were few people and we easily found a place to park that wouldn't block the road. (Definitely don't do that! You wouldn't want to piss off a fairy!)

We had a lovely drive back to our little AirBnB and a wonderful seafood dinner that night in Portree at Seabreezes! Delicious! Don't forget to get reservations a few days ahead, especially in summer!

The next morning we were off to another castle!

Dunvegan Castle

13th-19th Century

Clan MacLeod

"Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the ancestral home of the Chiefs of clan MacLeod for 800 years."

The garden is beautiful! Our visit was at the end of August (early fall in Scotland) and it was filled with beautiful blooms. I can't imagine what it's like in the spring!

You can't take photos inside but it's still lived in, quite lovely, and even cozy! (In an old stone castle kind of way!)

There aren't specific stories about Fairies in the Fairy Glen, but there is a very important fairy story at Dunvegan Castle.

from their official website:

Am Bratach Sith (The Fairy Flag of Dunvegan) is one of the clan MacLeod’s most treasured possessions. Probably from Syria or Rhodes and woven of silk in the 4th century AD, legend has it that this sacred clan banner has miraculous powers. When unfurled in battle, the clan would invariably snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

The traditional tales about its origin can be split into two distinct themes – Fairies and Crusaders. Fairy stories are difficult to relate to fact and often come about as a substitute for forgotten truth. The connection with the Crusades can be linked to the only scientific information we have about the Fairy Flag’s origin. When Sir Reginald MacLeod of MacLeod (27th Chief) had the Fairy Flag conserved and mounted in its sealed frame by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, he listened while Mr Wace (one of the V&A’s experts) set out his theory about its origins, including the historical evidence that the Norseman Harald Hardrada (one of the early ancestors of the Chiefs of MacLeod), while on an expedition to plunder the pilgrim routes of the Middle East had brought a famous banner back to Britain where he was killed in 1066. Reginald listened politely and then said: “Mr Wace, you may believe that, but I know that it was given to my ancestor by the fairies”, to which Mr Wace replied “Sir Reginald, I bow to your superior knowledge”.

I definitely thought it was worth a visit. It was nice to see a castle that is still lived in by the family and get a sense of the history of the island. There was also a room of wonderful museum worthy Jacobite relics. No photography aloud so I'm trying to remember.  I think their small collection included things owned by the Bonnie Prince and Flora MacDonald.

The garden was especially beautiful and we didn't even see the whole thing! We had a distillery tour to get to!

Clan Mccloud and Dunvegan Documentary! Lots of history of Scotland and views of Dunvegan and more. Each segment is a pretty short 9 1/2 minutes but you can always skip forward.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

links

Dunvegan Castle

Fairy Glen

Sea Breezes -Restaurant Portree

Hope you are enjoying the Isle of Skye! I think I have a post or two left before heading back into the highlands. 

Until then ...  

Happy New Year!!

Slàinte Mhath!

[SLANtchih va]

(Good Health in Gaelic!)