Fairy Glen is a bizarre landscape of bright green grassy cone-shaped hills that looks like it has been pulled out of the pages of a fairytale.
Fairy Glen is small valley hidden in the Uig Hills on the Trotternish Peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The term “glen” means a “narrow valley” in Gaelic and the name is given to any valley that is long, narrow, U-shaped and glacially concave. Its fairy reference is due to the landscape having playful unnatural shapes that look like they could be a land where fairies live.
In addition to the unique hilly landscape the trail through the glen passes by ponds, an unusual hill that resembles a ruined castle (named Castle Ewan) and a man-made stone spiral that seems appropriate for being in Scotland.
Cone-shaped Hills of Fairy Glen
The primary feature of Fairy Glen are its unusual cone-shaped hills. These unnatural looking hills look like they could only be man-made but they were shaped during the Ice Age.
Castle Ewan
Castle Ewan is a hill that looks out of place in the glen. From a distance, it looks like the ruins of a Scottish Castle. It is possible to climb onto the top of the flat top hill but it is a little tricky to squeeze between the narrow passage that is the only access to the hilltop.
A small trail leads to the entrance to the flat hilltop but going through the steep rocky crevasse is slightly difficult. Make sure to go slowly and have secure footing when going up and down through the tight entrance.
View from the top of Castle Ewan
Getting to the top of Castle Ewan is a little challenging but there are wonderful view of the entire glen. Looking from above it is easy to see the cone-shaped hills the pond and the beauty of the surrounding glen.
Hiking Trail
The hike from the parking lot is a dirt path that passes through the fairy glen hills, native rowan trees full of berries, ferns and a beautiful pond.
Stone Spiral
At the base of Castle Ewan is a spiraled rock formation that looks like the perfect decoration to the fairyland setting. The legend or myth is to walk the spiral into the center then leave a coin as an offering to the fairies for good luck.
Lochans (ponds)
The green grassy hills are beautiful but the small pond near Castle Ewan completes the setting. Seeing sheep grazing on the grassy hillside with Castle Ewan in the background and its reflection coming off the water really sums up the entire experience of being at Fairy Glen.
The Dust on My Shoes
Fairy Glen is in the lower half of most lists of places to see on the Isle of Skye. I think it should be in the top 5 place on the Isle of Skye and it is a place that should be experience when visiting the island. It is beautiful and it has a very unusual sandscape that you will always remember.
The Isle of Skye has a long history involving Fairies. The Fairy Glen doesn’t have any legends of stories involving fairies but the playful looking cone-shaped hills have caused it to be nicknamed the Fairy Glen.
Walking along the trail as it winds around the small cone-shaped grassy hills with picture perfect lochans (ponds) gives Fairy Glen a mystical feeling. While Fairy Glen doesn’t have any fairy folklore, there is a feeling that this could be the setting for childhood stories or legends that were passed down for generations at campfire gatherings.
Beautiful landscape with strange rock outcroppings is common on the Isle of Skye but don’t just focus on the most famous places. Some of the less popular place can be one of the top memories of your trip.
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