The Fairy Pools, Skye: Honest Advice Before You Drive Four Hours

The Fairy Pools are a series of clear blue-green pools and waterfalls on the River Brittle below the Black Cuillin mountains in Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye. They are one of the most photographed natural sites in Scotland and consistently appear on best-of-Scotland lists. They deserve the reputation. They also have a significant crowd problem on summer days that is worth knowing about in advance.

The Parking and Crowds

The car park at Glen Brittle was expanded to 120 spaces and now charges £6 per day (cash or contactless), which has helped manage the long-standing verge-parking problem. Even with this, the car park fills quickly in summer, and the busiest window is 11am to 1pm. Arrive before 10am or after 4pm to have a meaningfully different experience. Clear Saturday mornings in July are the worst case scenario; plan around this.

Scottish summer daylight starts around 4:30am from June through August. An early alarm call for a 7am arrival gives you the pools in near-complete silence, with better light for photography and the specific experience of standing in a silent glen under the Black Cuillin with steam rising from the pools.

The Pools

The walk from the car park follows the Brittle River upstream through a series of pools and waterfalls for about 1.5 kilometres. The first major pool, below a waterfall, is the most photographed: turquoise from the mineral content of the glacial water, hemmed in by black basalt rock. The water temperature is 8-12°C year-round. People swim here; it takes commitment and a willingness to feel extremely cold very quickly. Many visitors bring wetsuits.

Continuing upstream, the pools become smaller and quieter. Around the sixth or seventh pool there is an underwater arch you can swim through – genuinely remarkable if you are prepared to duck under rock in near-freezing water. The path continues past the pools toward the Cuillin, transitioning from smooth trail to hillwalking terrain.

Getting There

The Fairy Pools are in Glen Brittle, about 30 minutes south of the Skye Bridge via the A87 toward Sligachan and then the B8009 through Carbost. The road to the car park is single-track for the last section. There is no public transport to the Fairy Pools; a taxi from Portree costs around £25-30 each way.

Staying Near the Pools

The Glen Brittle campsite, operated by the MacLeod Estate, sits a kilometre from the car park at the beach below the Cuillin. It is the most atmospherically located camping on Skye and books out in July and August – reserve in advance. Carbost village, 8 kilometres from the car park, has a pub (the Old Inn) and the Talisker Distillery, which has been producing single malt since 1830.

Other Skye Highlights

The Old Man of Storr is a basalt pinnacle above the A855 on the Trotternish peninsula, an easy 1-hour hike from a large car park. Go early or late; very crowded at peak times. The Quiraing, a few kilometres north of the Storr, is less visited and more dramatic: tilted basalt tables and pinnacles formed by a massive landslip, traversed by a path across the face with Staffin Bay below. The full Trotternish loop from Portree – Storr, Flodigarry, Quiraing, north tip, west coast back through Uig – covers most of what makes Skye worth the journey.