At the Glen - Do Not Curse!

Ah, faeries, dancing under the moon,
A Druid land, a Druid tune!
While still I may, I write for you
The love I lived, the dream I knew.
― William Butler Yeats

You can imagine faeries dancing through the trees.

It's a lovely spot.

Lovely.

The fairy glen is on the Isle of Skye near UIG. It is an extensive place with striking topography. Some of the hillsides look like wrinkled beds. It is thought to have been created by a "land-slip," or landslide.*

Striking.

I'm getting ahead of myself. I should say that I thought it was the "fairy" glen, but discovered it could be the "faerie" glen. What's the difference? Like many folks I thought the words "fairy" and "faerie" could be used interchangeably. Not so, says one source and I quote:

[F]airies are friendly and nice. They are also good-looking and more handsome then the faeries. Unlike the faeries, fairies can be a bit mischievous but are not dangerous. The faeries are evil, unfriendly, and cruel spirits. The faeries are a bit dangerous also.**

Apparently there were no historic tales or folk stories to share about the activities of the wee or wild ones at this particular place, but plenty of mischief does occur here. Tourists have done their destructive bit - stacking stones and building spirals of rocks on the level ground and sometimes on the hillsides. Locals regularly topple the stone towers and scatter the rocks of the spirals, but to no avail. Visitors return and quickly rebuild. Those tricky tourists also climb all over everything and make general nuisances of themselves.

No fairy built this spiral.

No fairy stacked these stones.

But what is the good of a spirit-filled landscape if there's no story...so here is mine.

As we began to explore the place we were warned by our good guide, Nory. "Do not put your hands in your pockets and do not curse!"

Why these rules? No "hands in pockets?" No "cursing?"

I could only guess. The fairies/faeries probably don't trust you to have your hands in your pockets because they don't want you to have something that you could use against them (like a four-leafed clover that would allow you to see them and keep them from disappearing or a shamrock, considered sacred to them).*** The prohibition on cursing likely has something to do with avoiding insult.

Whatever the case, we all set off up the trail and around corners of hazel, bracken, and foxglove. The glen began to disclose it's ruffled hillsides and basalt stones. And we saw the mischief of stacked stones.

The path winds through the hazel.

Stone peeks through the bracken.

Foxglove and bracken edge the hills.

I slowed for photos and, just as I was reaching a slight incline, I observed some other tourists climbing up the highest rocks and slipping/tripping. A mild curse might have escaped my lips. "Well, I suppose I'm done-for now as I am too far along to turn back," I thought.

Spying a little trash on the ground I pocketed it. "Maybe the faeries will appreciate me attempting to tidy things and forgive me."

My good deed made no difference. Suddenly the clouds that had been threatening us that day gathered and it began to rain. And I still had a long walk to the bus.

One friend came back to make sure I was okay and together we hustled.

What kind of a rain was it? Well, it is said the Scots have a hundred words for rain.**** It wasn't a smirr (a fine drizzle) as we had experienced earlier. It was a goslet, a soaking downpour.

And the rain came down.

It was the only time on the trip that I was drenched. I had no dry clothes. I shivered.

When we finally stopped for dinner I saw T-shirts for sale in the restaurant (they advertised the drive that is the Scottish equivalent of Route 66). Hurrah! I was saved! I wouldn't catch pneumonia. And it would be my reminder - my charm. Do not disrespect the faeries!

Even now I wonder if it was the faeries showing their displeasure at my breaking the no cursing rule or simple bad luck. I don't know.

All I can say is in the lands of the Celts there are all kinds of stories. Some are good. Some are true.

You decide.

Other photos of this weird and wonderful place: