If there’s one thing you should know about visiting Scotland’s Fairy Pools, it’s that the journey there is just as magical as the destination… assuming you define “magical” as “a series of increasingly absurd events that will make you have a moment of existential reflection.” But don’t worry, I’m here to recount my experience—because nothing says “vacation success” like a comedy of errors involving winding roads, parking on a cliff, and a flat tire. 🤪
Let’s start with the drive to the Isle of Skye Fairy Pools. There’s a reason that getting there feels like you’re entering the mythical realm of, well, chaos. It starts with the roads—roads that look innocent enough at first but gradually reveal themselves to be something out of a driving simulator designed by a sadistic road engineer. And so, Amelia and I begin our journey.
On a side note, Amelia had to do all the driving because I didn’t have my license…..it had gotten stolen in Athens two weeks prior by a pickpocket, but that is a story for another time. So, I was the navigator 🧭and the DJ 🎶for our adventure.
The directions were simple enough, or so we thought. "Take the A87, turn left onto a single-track road, and then follow the signs.” This sounds like something you could do blindfolded, right? Wrong. If you’re lucky, you might get a sign that points vaguely in the direction of the Fairy Pools. Ha!
You see, Scotland’s single-track roads are like a test of fate. There's barely enough room for two cars, let alone one. But that’s okay, right? We can do this. Until, of course, we encountered other cars coming in the opposite direction. How does this work? You just pull into one of the preciously rare passing places — often consisting of just enough space for a single tire, a slight hope that nothing else is coming the other way and the fear of slipping off onto the rocky section - which is exactly what happened.....
And oh, I should mention there was a lot of traffic, in both directions. We thought we were venturing to some hidden, peaceful paradise in the Scottish Highlands, but no—apparently, everyone else had the same idea. It’s like everyone in Scotland was on their way to the Fairy Pools that day, and they were all very determined to take the narrowest roads possible.....but, I should say that was the only option, in addition to fact that there was only one way in and out of the Fairy Pools.
Finally, after what felt like hours of driving through the world’s most anxiety-inducing labyrinth, we arrived at the Fairy Pools. The parking lot was as magical as the destination itself—if your idea of “magical” involves parking on a sloped hillside with a view of an imminent drop-off. The spaces were at a steep angle, and the entire lot had the feel of a reality show challenge where the goal was to park without falling off a cliff.😬
Somehow, we managed to wedge the car into a precarious space, with the parking brake on, praying that the clutch didn’t suddenly rebel against us. Because if it did, well… that would be our problem and probably a local news story.
But that’s not the worst part. Oh no. After all the winding roads, lack of road signs and the steep parking lot, we actually made it to the Fairy Pools, only to notice.....a flat tire. Of course!
At this point, we were ready to surrender our entire existence to the vastness of the Scottish Highlands. How had this happened? I mean, who gets a flat tire on a magical vacation to a place where the clouds seem to float just for your Facebook photo? Us. We were the ones. The only ones.
The tire was flat in the way that only tires that are about to make your life miserable can be. We cursed our luck and glanced at the surrounding area, considering our options. Being in a rental car with no spare tire, there was only one thing to do: call roadside assistance. Thank goodness we purchased the extra insurance protection. We were in the middle of nowhere and were told that no one could rescue us for at least had two hours. We proceeded to ask other visitors how long it took to get to the fairy pools and back to the parking lot. One hour…..no problem. Let’s go check them out…..that’s why we were there in the first place, right?
Okay, okay, we’ve all seen the photos online. The Fairy Pools are often depicted as a serene, magical paradise, with crystal-clear turquoise waters and waterfalls that seem to flow straight out of a fairytale. But let me tell you something—reality is wildly different. 🤔
Thinking we had plenty of time, we strolled along the rocky path through the valley along the River Brittle with views of the Cuillin Mountains. Bathing in the vistas of the Scotland landscape, with the gurgling turquoise stream and tiny cascades, we took many pictures as we went. It was pretty but nothing grand like the magical waterfalls that had been promised online. So, we kept looking and hoping for these famous cascading waterfalls and pools.
Reality:
Online:
As the stream got smaller and smaller, we took a look at the time. Oh, crap! 😧 It had been over an hour and we only had an hour to get back to the car to meet roadside assistance. Running back toward the parking lot, we realized that we were now engaged in the “Fairy Pools Sprint.” There we were—panting and sweating more than we ever expected—dodging tourists, swerving around rocks, and just barely keeping our lunch down as we huffed our way down that dodgy path. Who knew we would get that kind of workout while on vacation? 😰
But finally, after much sweating, we made it to the parking lot just in time. The roadside assistance guy arrived and bless him, calmly replaced the flat tire as if this was a perfectly ordinary Tuesday for him. Meanwhile, we were breathing heavily, sweating, and wondering if we could ask him for an ambulance. Once he finished, we stood there for a moment, just staring at him in disbelief, wondering if we were ever going to recover from this.
But then, just as we were about to leave and ponder the fate of the tire and our dignity, something happened. The clouds parted. And there, in the distance, a full-on rainbow 🌈appeared over the Fairy Pools, as if the universe itself was offering us some small consolation for the chaos we had just endured.
It was magical.🪄
So, after all that—after the windy roads, the terrifying parking, the flat tire and the running—there was a rainbow. It was like the universe was saying, “You’ve suffered enough. Here’s your sign of redemption.”
You think that was the end, right? Nooooo!🫨
Let’s set the scene: We're ready to leave. Tire fixed. Beautiful rainbow. All is good…….We were in a rental car with manual transmission. We were facing the steepest parking incline of our life. There we were, on the verge of rolling forward into oblivion, shifting gears like we were trying to land a plane. We could feel the car inching closer and closer to disaster every time we put the car in gear.😬
If parking was an Olympic event, we’d have taken home the gold in “Most Terrifying” and “Least Graceful.” But somehow, we did it. 👏We got the car reversed and turned around, held our breath, and prepared ourselves for whatever catastrophe came next.
So, after the tire was fixed, the car was still intact (miraculously), and we’d taken the obligatory pictures of the underwhelming waterfalls, we realized something: It wasn’t about the Fairy Pools themselves. It wasn’t even about the flat tire, the roads or the parking. It was about the journey. Because at the end of the day, Scotland is one big, wild adventure—and as long as you don’t drive off a cliff , you’re winning with a rainbow to make it all feel worth it.
And as for those Fairy Pools? Well, next time, we'll just pretend they’re even bigger in our photos. 🤪