Getting lazy. Editing my novel in bed this morning.
The Fairy Glen, Isle of Skye
For our first outing on the Isle of Skye, we headed out to the remarkable Fairy Glen, located on the Trotternish Peninsula, near Uig.
This is a unique and remarkable place, abrim with grassy conical hills, rounded hillocks, gurgling streams, lochans, spirals carved into the landscape and a craggy outcrop that appears to all like the ruins of an ancient castle. It really is a wondrous magical place to explore.
The magickal Fairy Glen, near Uig |
'Castle Ewen', viewed from the nearby lochan |
There is little in the way of legends or folklore attached to the Fairy Glen, but its very appearance entrances the soul and makes all who visit the place believe that this must be home to the fairy folk.
The Fairy Glen was formed from a Jurassic landslide and appears very much like a mini version of Skye's other magical-looking landscape, The Quiraing. Along with The Quiraing, it is an enchanting place to wander and lose yourself in fanciful thinking.
And like The Quiraing, if you ever get the opportunity to pay a visit to Skye, make sure that you spend at least a little time in this little geological wonderland.
Sheep bones, The Fairy Glen |
Neighbour's Cat, Skye
Whilst making an audio recording of the ambient sounds outside our holiday cottage in Skye, I was surprised when I heard this brief capture of our neighbour feeding her Trotternish cat:
Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, Skye
Kilt Rocked (named as the rock resembles a pleated kilt) |
You can hear my recording of the 'silkies' here and judge for yourself:
On our visit to the Falls, we were blessed with a cool looking rainbow that plunged directly into the sea!
Look carefully and you can see my shadow on the rocks :) |
Pixie-Led. Chapter 13. Final Draft. Skye.
The rest of my family had a lay-in after our two-day drive up to Skye. Whilst they snoozed, I spent my first morning in our holiday cottage, which we have for the whole of next week, catching up on some editing of Pixie-Led.
Eilean Donan Castle
Darkness descended before we reached Skye, which was a slight disappointment as I wanted my children to see some of the island before we reached our holiday cottage. Still, it was nice to see illuminated Eilean Donan Castle (our last stop off on our journey) looking ghostly in the Scottish gloom:
Located where three sea lochs meet, Loch Alsh, Loch Duich, and Loch Long, the original castle was built in 13th century by Clan MacKenzie and Clan MacRae to protect them from the Vikings, who controlled much of North-Eastern Scotland at the time.
The castle has a long and blood-thirsty history. In 1719, during the Jacobite risings, the castle came under attack by Government forces. After three days of battle, the English army finally overcame the Jacobite supporters. The 46 Jacobite soldiers were executed and their decapitated heads stuck on spikes around the castle walls. Over 300 barrels of gunpowder were discovered in the fortress and this was used to demolish the building. The ghosts of these men have been spotted at the castle, even in recent times. One of the soldiers has been seen carrying his decapitated head in his arms!
The castle was left in ruins for the next 200 years. Then, in 1911, Lt. Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the site and spent the next 20 years rebuilding the castle and construction a stone bridge to connect the island the castle is set upon to the mainland. The castle was completed in 1932.
There is a selkie legend attached to Eilean Donan Castle. Three brothers who were fishing in its lochs became enchanted by the selkies who had stripped from their seal skins to dance naked in the moonlight. The brothers, intending to make brides of the selkies, stole their seal furs, thus forcing the selkies to remain in the human forms. The youngest of the brothers, however, felt sorry for his bride and returned her fur, for which he was rewarded by the selkie's father by allowing him to visit the selkie every ninth night. The other two brothers did not fare so well, as is often the case for those who force their affections upon selkies. The middle brother lost his selkie-wife after she discovered where he had hidden her seal coat and he never saw her again and spent the rest of his life lonely and unloved. The eldest brother, to stop his wife from returning to the loch, decided to burn her seal fur so that she would never find it again. However, when he then returned to his cottage, he found that his wife had burned along with the fur and was but a pile of ashes at the foot of their bed.
The folklore of selkies is particularly fascinating and you can read my own selkie tale in my novella Lore.
Located where three sea lochs meet, Loch Alsh, Loch Duich, and Loch Long, the original castle was built in 13th century by Clan MacKenzie and Clan MacRae to protect them from the Vikings, who controlled much of North-Eastern Scotland at the time.
The castle has a long and blood-thirsty history. In 1719, during the Jacobite risings, the castle came under attack by Government forces. After three days of battle, the English army finally overcame the Jacobite supporters. The 46 Jacobite soldiers were executed and their decapitated heads stuck on spikes around the castle walls. Over 300 barrels of gunpowder were discovered in the fortress and this was used to demolish the building. The ghosts of these men have been spotted at the castle, even in recent times. One of the soldiers has been seen carrying his decapitated head in his arms!
The castle was left in ruins for the next 200 years. Then, in 1911, Lt. Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the site and spent the next 20 years rebuilding the castle and construction a stone bridge to connect the island the castle is set upon to the mainland. The castle was completed in 1932.
There is a selkie legend attached to Eilean Donan Castle. Three brothers who were fishing in its lochs became enchanted by the selkies who had stripped from their seal skins to dance naked in the moonlight. The brothers, intending to make brides of the selkies, stole their seal furs, thus forcing the selkies to remain in the human forms. The youngest of the brothers, however, felt sorry for his bride and returned her fur, for which he was rewarded by the selkie's father by allowing him to visit the selkie every ninth night. The other two brothers did not fare so well, as is often the case for those who force their affections upon selkies. The middle brother lost his selkie-wife after she discovered where he had hidden her seal coat and he never saw her again and spent the rest of his life lonely and unloved. The eldest brother, to stop his wife from returning to the loch, decided to burn her seal fur so that she would never find it again. However, when he then returned to his cottage, he found that his wife had burned along with the fur and was but a pile of ashes at the foot of their bed.
The folklore of selkies is particularly fascinating and you can read my own selkie tale in my novella Lore.
Glencoe
We made another quick stop off at Glencoe, again despite the awful rain. Sometimes, however, dire weather conditions and poor light can only add to the drama of the landscape:
Driving through the Scottish Highlands in the heavy rain |
Larig Gartain Mountain, Glencoe |
Larig Gartain Mountain, Glencoe |
A rainy stop-off in Glencoe |
A man and his dog taking in the scenes of a rainy Glencoe |
Abandoned Shoes, Scottish Highlands
Reaching The Highlands of Scotland on our route to the Isle of Skye, the rain became rather torrential. I couldn't pass this abandoned pair of shoes, however, without getting out of the car to take a quick snap of them:
Rainy Loch Lomond
Despite the wind and rain and cold, we could not pass Loch Lomond without stopping off for a quick exploration of the area. There are stories of a sea monster living in this immense stretch of water, but we did not spot any signs of its existence this afternoon.
On the banks of Loch Lomond |
The Inveruglas Pyramid, Loch Lomond |
The viewing platform on the Inveruglas Pyramid |
Yours Truly at Loch Lomond |
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