Duane Richards
Google
I know the Trotternish Loop and Old Man of Storr etc get most of the attention on Isle of Skye, but the southern parts of the island are just as spectacular and worth an extra day to explore. We decided to head south before we even hit Portree, taking the one-lane road out to the Fairy Pools and following the west side up toward Dunvegan, and eventually our destination in Uig.
As the pools was our first stop on the island, we were so happy to see plenty of parking (though it was crowded in July), with easy access to the trail head for the descent into the valley and eventual rise following the pools.
The valley was full of wonderful photo spots, small creek views, and lower falls, along with the chocolate colored water (my son called root beer) and the hills in the background. The trail itself was easy enough, but there were plenty of options to explore, including in the river itself. We saw people cliff jumping, swimming, and wading, and we even followed in one area to scale the side of a waterfall simply by scrambling up the side of it! Eventually there were some wonderful areas with wider shallows for us to remove our shoes and wade into the clean cool water. It's hard to express the beauty in words, but the place was pretty unbelievable - I guess "fairy pools" is the best description, something familiar, but feels a bit surreal and fantastical when you're there.