Sligachan Bridge on the Isle of Skye
by Ian Good
Title
Sligachan Bridge on the Isle of Skye
Artist
Ian Good
Medium
Photograph
Description
An aerial photo of the old bridge at Sligachan, with the Cuillin mountains behind, on the Isle of Skye. Sligachan Bridge crosses the River Sligachan along the main road to Portree in the north of Skye. This old bridge is no longer used by traffic, having been replaced by a new road bridge about a hundred years ago. The old bridge is a popular tourist attraction and is right across the road from the Sligachan Hotel.
Legend has it that the waters of the River Sligachan under the bridge have magical fairy powers to bestow eternal beauty if you hold your face under the stream for 7 seconds and then let it dry naturally. This comes from the story of Scáthach, a famous Scottish warrior woman who lived on Skye. Cú Chulainn, another great warrior from Ireland, heard of Scáthach's great strength and came across the Irish Sea to challenge her. A furious battle raged for weeks, shaking the mountains and scaring all the animals away from the Isle of Skye. Scáthach's daughter, fearing for her mothers life, fled crying to the river under the bridge at Sligachan and begged the fairies for help. The fairies told her if she held her face under the water she would learn the knowledge to end the battle and save her mother. When she did this, the fairies gave her the wisdom she needed and she went around Skye gathering ingredients to cook a most delicious broth. When the smell of this broth reached the warriors, they stopped fighting to share the feast in the house of Scáthach. This meant that Cú Chulainn had become a guest of Scáthach and Celtic customs dictate that a guest can cause no harm to someone who has hosted them, so the battle was ended.
I wasn't aware of this legend when I visited Sligachan, so will have to go back again to see if the magic works!
Uploaded
September 14th, 2016
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