Visitors to a popular Scottish beauty spot have been warned of major disruption this November.

Across the next two weeks, the C1237 road between Merkadale and Glenbrittle on the Isle of Skye will be closed for improvement works. The single-track road leads to the island’s iconic Fairy Pools.

According to The Highland Council, works will commence on Monday, November 4, and last through to November 15. During this time, the road will be restricted to essential local access only.

Until the works finish, the road will be closed to all other traffic. As stated by The Highland Council, this will “allow the works to progress safely”.

Each day, the roadworks will begin at 8.30am and last until 6pm. This means that evenings will not be affected.

During the restrictions, The Highland Council will undertake urgent remedial works. Passing place extensions will also be put into place, while resurfacing work will be carried out as well.

GLENBRITTLE, SCOTLAND - JULY 26: Cars are seen lining the road as tourists visit the Fairy Pools on July 26, 2021 in Glenbrittle, Scotland. Skye and Raasay attracted 650,000 visitors in pre-covid 2019 with a combined spend of £211 million but last year during the Coronavirus pandemic, tourism completely dried up due to lockdown restrictions that prevented people from traveling. This year tourists are back in their droves with beauty spots like the fairy pools seeing unprecedented numbers and the Scottish Government has made an £800,000 investment to help with the increased volume of vistors. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)
The Fairy Pools have seen an influx of tourists (Image: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

The Highland Council commented: “The local roads team asks non-essential visitors to avoid the area while repair works are being carried out on the road. We appreciate your cooperation and patience as we improve the road condition so that all may benefit from the works.”

The Fairy Pools are a collection of natural pools and waterfalls in Glen Brittle on Skye. They are famous for their vivid aqua blue water and supposed magical properties, and are a popular place for wild swimming.

As previously reported by the Daily Record in September, a local tour business stated that traffic at the site was “total chaos”. Gordon Pearson, who runs WOW Scotland, said that driving to the Fairy Pools had become a “horrific experience” due to the increasing number of visitors.

We also reported that the Fairy Pools were slammed last year as a tourist “theme park” by visitors. Travellers at the time criticised the beauty spot’s “expensive” parking, with one even stating that the “magic has gone”.

More information can be found on The Highland Council website.

Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – sign up to the Scotland Now newsletter here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds