Last week, one of my best friends was visiting from Canada – she’d been to Scotland, but not the Highlands, so we embarked on a trip up North, braving the wind and rain for plenty of walks and adventures. During the trip, I was reminded of various folklore and folk tales, which my friend (mostly willingly) listened to me recount as we went, including time travelling fiddle players, weird woods, fairies, Scotland’s own Romeo and Juliet story, and more. I usually include a Scottish folklore fact or two in my monthly newsletters, but I thought I’d mark the trip with a short blog looking at the various folklore sites we visited! So, here are some on-location folklore and tales!
Inverness
The Fiddlers of Tomnahurich: Tomnahurich Hill overlooking Inverness is said to be a fairy hill – and fairies are often at the centre of mischievous deeds. Here, two fiddle players fell victim to a trick when they were invited by a mysterious man to play music at a party. With the promise of gold, fine food, and ale, they followed the man, to be greeted with a grand party atop Tomnahurich Hill. They played their music until dawn when the mysterious man paid them and bid them farewell. The night of festivities over, they wandered back to Inverness. But everything looked strange – the town and buildings had changed, and even the people were dressed differently. They wandered aimlessly, coming eventually to a church where they found their names engraved on a tombstone. Alarmed, they ran to find the Minister, but on passing the threshold of the Church the gold turned to leaves in their hands, as they themselves turned to dust.
The fiddlers had been tricked in the Kingdom of the Fairies, where they had played music for not only one night but 100 years. I first found this tale in a book from the 1800s while researching for my Scottish folklore collection, and I just loved this idea of time-travelling magic! Now the Hill is the site of a cemetery, which was quite the unique walk, with an eventual lovely view across Inverness.
Loch Maree
The Lovers of Loch Maree – The Isle of Maree in Scotland is said to be the resting place of a Viking Princess and Prince. The Princess one day staged her death to test his love and see how he would react. But the Prince in his grief when he thought his princess was dead, took his own life. The Princess wracked with guilt and unable to live without him followed him. The tragic lovers were buried side by side on Isle Maree, under gravestones still visible today.
The Isle of Maree also had more local lore, related to a pilgrimage taken to the island and its supposed curative properties. It was believed that some ailments could be cured by sacrificing a bull on the shore, drinking from the holy well on the island, and then being plunged into the healing waters of Loch Maree three times.
Loch Maree is also rumoured to have its own monster, much like the famouse Loch Ness Monster. It is called the Muc-sheilch, which translates in Gaelic to “turtle-pig” (to give you an idea of its apparent appearance.)
Gairloch
The Ghillie Dhu of Birchwood Forest: In the birch woods by Gairloch, on the North West Coast, it was said that the Ghillie Dhu – a tree guardian – wandered here and there, cloaked in leaves and moss. Though he’d often help lost children, he wasn’t so kind to adults. I’m particularly fond of this folklore as I grew up in a house called Birchwood in Gairloch (in pic below!), where woodland stretched behind the house, and I found myself thinking of mythical beings lurking in the trees. The idea of a Green Man that roams woodlands is a common occurrence in British folklore and beyond, but I do enjoy the interpretation of the Highlands one.
Isle of Skye
Set against the backdrop of Skye, Eilean Donan Castle, a myth of the Kelpie is told, a creature that lurks in the water beside the castle. The Kelpie and the similar creature Each Uisge are found in bodies of water across Scotland – in lochs, rivers, and the sea. They’re shape-shifting creatures that may appear in different forms to lure humans to the water, then they drag the victims to watery depths. Usually, they are depicted in their horse forms, manes dripping, pondweed or seaweed in their manes, but in some tales are said to be able to disguise themselves as humans.
Fairies of Skye
The Isle of Skye is full of mythology of Scottish fairies or “sidhe”, said to be found in different landscapes and landmarks across Skye, including the famous Fairy Pools, the Fairy Glen, and Dunvegan Castle. There’s a real liminality in all these places we visited, especially with the mist of “The Misty Isle” rolling in while wondering amidst the magical scenery.
The legend of the fairies on the Isle of Skye begins at Dunvegan Castle, where it was said a Clan Chieftain married a fairy princess, a “bean sidhe”. But the Fairy Princess’s father, the King of the Fairies, disapproved of the marriage, allowing her to stay only a year in our realm, after which she had to return to the Otherworld, the land of the fairies. During her year in our world, she gave birth to a boy, and after returning to the Otherworld would often hear him crying. Desperate to help her son, she snuck into our realm for one night to comfort the baby, wrapping him in a silk shawl, and singing him a Fairy Lullaby.
The silk became a Fairy Flag, used by the Clan, and said to have supernatural powers, helping to secure good fortune and victory. (There are different versions of this story, but either way it seems like the fairies were thought to have power over this mystical land!)
Dunkeld and Perthshire
Wishing Trees: While walking in Dunkeld, we came across a wishing tree (pictured here). Though nowadays there are signs to discourage the practice for the sake of wildlife, there are some trees across Scotland where it is said metal, often a coin, placed in the trunk would make a wish come true.
There is also a tree like this on Isle of Maree, where it’s said that removing any of the coins would bring great misfortune.
There’s loads more Highlands folklore I’ve not touched on here, but these are just a few tales from locations we visited over the week. It was really nice to be revisiting spots from where I grew up, reminding myself of the dark and strange stories from familiar places, as well as visiting new locations.
If you want to read more about Scottish folklore, I share a fact a month in my newsletter (sign up here!) and I also published a recent essay with The Deadlands on Omens and Death in Scottish folklore – read it here! Thank you for reading!
LYNDSEY CROAL 