The Fairy Glen — Mary Kate Navigates

Dec 21

Dec 21 The Fairy Glen

The fairy glen is a perfect example of a piece of Scotland that’s truly magical. It’s relatively small but is covered in round grass-covered hills with a basalt-topped hill in the center and small ponds in between the hills.

It’s aptly named because it definitely looks like fairies could (and should) live here.

The glen is on the west side of Skye, about a 10 minute drive east of Uig. Parking is extremely limited at the glen and it’s a very narrow road to get to it. So if it seems like a lot of cars are going that way, you might want to avoid the headache and just park in Uig and hike the 2 miles in.

It was our first stop on Skye so it was still relatively early so we were able to find parking and there was only a few other people there. My best suggestion for anyone traveling to Skye is to go to your must-see spots as early as possible in the morning.

The early bird gets no crowds.

The Fairy Glen is no different. The earlier you get there, the better. If you happen to be there when a bus is there, just wait it out for 15 minutes and they’ll likely move on to their next stop.

If you see any small stone circles, don’t get excited. Fairies didn’t do that, tourists did. Scotland is a big advocate for the leave no trace rule so the locals will go in and remove the circles so the Glen can be in its natural state. Some people have left coins in the Glen for the fairies for good luck. It’s a cute & fun idea but this Glen is a natural landscape and we don’t need to litter it with coins. Instead, keep your coins, buy a pint at the pub and make a toast to the fairies instead!