The turquoise water
Pools so clear the colour looks unreal, at their best on a bright day after a dry spell.
gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K — CC BY 2.0 · gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K — CC BY 2.0 · Balon Greyjoy — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Balon Greyjoy — CC BY-SA 3.0
The water is so clear you half suspect someone has dyed it: turquoise over pale rock, gathering in a chain of small pools and waterfalls, none more than a few metres high, on a burn tumbling off the Black Cuillin into Glen Brittle. Photographs shared online turned this corner of Skye into one of the busiest spots on the island, so it is fair to say what you are actually getting. These are pools the size of a small swimming pool, not lakes, and the falls are modest. What earns the trip is the whole picture at once: the coloured water, the bare slopes, and the serrated Cuillin skyline filling the horizon behind you. From Portree it is roughly a 40-minute drive south then west via Sligachan and Carbost, the last stretch a single-track road with passing places, so do not hurry it. The car park at the head of the glen holds 177 vehicles and is run by the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland; it costs GBP 8 per car per day, up from GBP 6 in 2025, payable by contactless card, Apple Pay or cash at the machines. In summer it fills between 11:00 and 13:00, and parking on the verge is not allowed, so arrive before 10:00 or after 16:00. Facilities stop at the toilet block: no cafe, no shop, so bring water and something to eat. The path starts at a gate opposite the car park and drops on gravel towards the burn; it is about 2.4 km there and back to the first big waterfall, anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and a half depending on how often you stop for photos. The lower section is fine for older children in proper shoes, but there is no place for a pushchair. Two footbridges put in during 2022 replaced the stepping stones people used to slither across, though the path beyond them is rocky and boggy after rain. The water is ice-cold all year, swimmers wear wetsuits, and the level rises fast after heavy rain, so keep children away from the edges. The best you can hope for is a bright day after a dry spell: that is when the turquoise shows at full strength and the mud recedes. In July and August expect crowds and midges on still evenings; from November to March the glen road can ice over and the light goes soon after half past three. The verdict: two hours that deserve their place on any Skye itinerary, provided you start early and dress for rain.
Pools so clear the colour looks unreal, at their best on a bright day after a dry spell.
Serrated peaks closing the horizon behind the pools, the view that made the place famous.
The first big waterfall is about a kilometre from the car park, reachable even on a tight schedule.
Glen Brittle, near Carbost, Isle of Skye IV47 8TA
They are entirely different places despite the shared name. The Fairy Pools are in the south-west: water, waterfalls and mountains, two hours including the drive. The Fairy Glen near Uig in the north is a pocket of oddly shaped hillocks you can wander in half an hour with no real walking. For scenery worth photographing and a mountain setting, the Pools win; with small children, a pushchair or a wet day, the Fairy Glen is easier and less tiring.
You can, but it is not a leisurely dip: the water is ice-cold even in August, and those who do it wear wetsuits and get out within minutes. Do not let children into the water, especially after rain when the level rises suddenly and the current strengthens; there are no changing facilities and no lifeguards.