On the Fae Path

It was an unseasonably warm day in late May, at the northwest edge of Loch Ness, outside of Abriachan. Scotland. Scotland, and much of Europe for that matter, was in a heat wave, and it was unsettling to be sweating, just standing outside. We had expected overcast weather, misty mornings, and occasional rain, the typical Scottish highland weather, but it was all blue skies and sun. The warm weather was on every local person's mind, it seemed, as it was often the topic of conversation, leading into mentioning climate change. We had packed for 50 degrees F, but it was about 75. Our tour bus had just brought us south from Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, to the mythical, magical Loch Ness. We had a few hours at Loch Ness, with a couple of options. A Jacobite boat cruise on the loch, hanging out at the charming tourist trap combo cafe/gift shop, or a hike into the Abriachan Wood, a trail heading up the steep valley side above the loch. This was an easy decision for me, as a naturalist always wanting to dive head first into a new ecosystem. Silver birch, gorse, bluebells, bracken fern? Yes please, and my traveling companion was happy for this option. An essential piece of being a naturalist is simply continuously putting yourself in the ecosystem, listening, learning, and creating those connections with the environment, new or an old haunt. And I was anxious to meet the flora and fauna of this magical place I was exploring. 

My friend Angela and I were visiting Scotland for the first time. It was an important pilgrimage that I had needed to take, to dig into my very Scottish highland ancestry. I was searching for clues to many issues and generational traumas that I assumed had their roots in the devastating highland clearances. The forced separation from culture has long lasting ripple effects. I was tracing the steps of my people; as many were forced to leave their ancestral land, lifeways, folklore, myths, foods, culture, and language, and begin all over in poverty in Appalachia, continuing the cycle of settler colonialism in North America. This is important work for those of us of European descent, whose ancestors took part in colonial displacement. So, I went with many questions, and every day, every new experience there in Scotland, answered many questions, and soothed a longing for a deep sense of understanding and belonging outside of the extractive, colonial, capitalist paradigms. I was picking up threads that had been discarded and forgotten over the generations. So, this wasn't a vacation, per se, it was more of a cultural immersion, slow and intentional, more of an observation. I was introducing myself to the land and its beings. So, a hike above the Loch!

Loch Ness, Scotland

Loch Ness is the second largest loch in Scotland, at 22 sq. miles, and has quite a reputation. It is world famous for its supposed cryptid lake monster, Nessie, that has been spotted by many over the centuries. Couple this with its murky waters caused by high peat content in the soil, and you get an interesting vibe, a place with living mysteries and myths to share. The scenery was beautiful around the loch, as the tour bus took us through small rural towns and forest. Urquhart Castle, a crumbling castle that dates back to the 13th century, sits on the banks nearby where we had stopped, with many visitors walking through its grounds.

We found the trailhead next to the parking lot for this particular loch-side stop, and began our trek. We immediately saw a sign that read “Welcome Abriachan Wood, Woodland Trust Scotland.” I have since learned that the Woodland Trust is the UK's largest woodland conservation non-profit. The trail had a slight uphill incline, and we were moving slow under the warm day. We were discussing the trip so far, and I was actually interviewing my friend about her thoughts on international travel as a woman, the freedom of movement, and the healing power of mindful travel. I was taking in the ground cover plants, the cute, curled bracken fiddle heads, waiting to unfurl, the wild geranium, tiny buttercup, red campion, wild strawberry, the greater stitchwort, when we came across what seemed to be a tiny ground spring flowing over moss covered rocks. There was a large spider web across it, the sun hititng it just right. It had a lovely, relaxing sound, and I knew this could be a thin place. 

Welcome Abriachan Wood, Woodland Trust Scotland

My life’s interest in Celtic and Fae lore had taught me that small streams and springs are places where the veil between our world and the Otherworld can be very thin. Unexplainable things can happen in such places, people might become disoriented, or lost, or see a being from the Otherworld, or even have a mystical experience. It is almost impossible to have interest or connection to the Celtic world and not know of the Otherworld, or of Fae lore. I have been steeped in these stories from the Celtic world since I was a child, because they called to me, and I sought them out, always excited about the possibility of an entire unseen world right next to our own, interacting with us. I realize now, as an adult understanding my lineage, that those stories called to me because they were familiar in a bone deep way. In Scotland, the beings that inhabit such thin places can be referred to as the “Sìth.” But then you have to worry if they are from the Seelie (benevolent and helpful) or Unseelie (malevolent, dangerous, cruel) court. 

Because I had my suspicions about this location as a thin place, I did what any mindful, respectful wanderer and seeker would do, I spoke to the Fae, acknowledged them, and left an offering. I had picked up a bag of dried wild nettle from an apothecary in Edinburgh just for this purpose, to leave a gift as I traveled the land. This is an important, sacred practice for me as I travel; acknowledging, introducing myself to place, listening. I had noticed that Edinburgh’s urban landscape was covered in nettle, and the bag of wild nettle felt fitting to carry along and sprinkle about as offerings. I left my offering over the small spring, and noticed that some of it got caught in the spiderweb. I took a small video of the location, which I have included here. 

We walked on uphill, and eventually came to a fork in the path. There was a small sign that mentioned “squirrel way,” though I do not recall any other words on the sign. The left side continued at the slight incline, and the path to the right, the squirrel way, was flatter, yet they were parallel paths. We took the flatter path. We were on a time crunch unfortunately, as we would eventually need to get back on the bus with our group. At about the 40 minute mark of walking in one direction on this trail, we decided to turn around to head back to the trailhead. We knew we would eventually arrive back to the fork, and just continue on straight to the trailhead. The thing is though, after about 10 minutes of walking, we were standing again at the trailhead. We never came back to the simple fork. We didn't walk 40 minutes back as we had walked into the woods. We were both very confused! And yet, immediately enchanted. I gasped, “It must have been the Fae! We left an offering, we spoke to them!” It seemed that something had given us a little push to get to the trailhead way ahead of schedule. We had not seen another soul on the trail, and we wondered if the thin place at the small stream had ever been visited or acknowledged before. Maybe it just liked the attention, of being noticed? Maybe our respect and offering made us a friends from the Seelie court. Regardless, we were mesmerized at the event that defied all linear logic and earthly physics. How special it is to experience the unexplainable in a world so focused on logic.

While I have not tracked down any Fae folklore specific to this location around Loch Ness, the Scottish highlands are steeped in magic and myth. I have been welcomed in to the land and culture, and have been reading many stories of the landscape, its people, its trickster and helpful beings alike. I will be back, and I will never forget this experience on the Fae path above Loch Ness. What a gift to have an unexplainable experience the first time here, a myth in its own making. May we all find magic in our lives, maybe at a small spring on an empty trail somewhere in the world.

Map of the trail