📌 Black Cuillin, Isle of Skye
★★★
The Fairy Pools are one of Scotland’s most popular beauty spots – and at the same time, a byword for Skye’s overtourism problems. As recently as the early 2010s, this series of waterfalls and plunge pools on the burn issuing from Coire na Creiche in the Black Cuillin Hills was relatively unknown, and relatively unspoiled. Since then, promotion on social media and a strange obsession with everything called “fairy” this and that has caused a visitor number explosion. Infrastructure improvements are finally catching up (a car park expansion from a few spaces to a few hundred spaces is a stark illustration), but the constant presence of fellow sightseers, selfie-takers and serious erosion has ruined the magic somewhat; any fairies must be long gone. There are dozens of similarly attractive rocky burns all over Skye (not to mention the rest of Scotland) with few or no visitors; if that sounds appealing, pick up an O.S. map and start exploring. Our photos were taken late in the afternoon on a typically cloudy Skye day and are in chronological order leading upstream from the car park. They aim to paint a “true” picture rather than the idealised shots saturating Instagram et al.
Fairy Pools from the car park 
Initial descent to the main burn 
Allt na Fhamhair tributary waterfall 
Wide path to the Fairy Pools 
View down the Allt Coir’ a’ Mhadaidh main burn 
The main path often strays from the stream, with eroded ground in between 
Underwater arch – a popular “wild” swimming spot 
Looking back from the top of the Fairy Pools 
Above the Fairy Pools, Coire na Creiche beyond
🌍 Location
📌 Off minor road 3 mi north of Glenbrittle, Skye
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NG 434257
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.249676,-6.255128
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park (charge) at 🧭 NG 424258 / 🛰️ 57.249962,-6.273180
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s roughly a 30-min walk (each way) to the Fairy Pools, depending on exactly how far up the burn you explore (⬤ Easy). Paths are excellent following major upgrades, though still involve some ascent / descent. Viewpoints have rocky, uneven ground and unprotected drops – care required.
