One of Scotland’s most dreamy isles, the Isle of Skye, is full of rugged landscapes, a gorgeously disheveled coastline, endless wandering sheep, and peculiar legends. One of those legends will bring you to the Sligachan Bridge in search of eternal beauty.
Basically, you can stick your face in the river water of the Old Sligachan Bridge for eternal beauty.
Here’s the story.
Legend has it if you stick your face in the water under the Old Sligachan Bridge for 7 seconds and let it dry off naturally, you’ll be granted eternal beauty.
The story is that Skye once had a fierce female warrior named Scáthach who was the world’s greatest warrior. Ireland got whiff of her talents — Cú Chulainn, Ireland’s favourite warrior, to be exact.
Cú Chulainn traveled over to Skye to fight Scáthach. Scáthach was fearless with her Hercules-like strength. The battle raged on for weeks and weeks, and Scáthach’s daughter grew tired of all the fighting. She was worried for her mother’s life.
Her daughter ran down to the Sligachan River with her eyes filled with tears. She begged for the fighting to stop, and she was in luck. What she did not know is that the water is a gateway between the faerie world and ours, and as such the faeries heard her plead. They instructed her to stick her face in the water for 7 seconds and she’ll have her solution.
Then, she ventured around Skye gathering the loveliest herbs, meats, nuts, and any item of deliciousness that the land produced. She brought them home to prepare the perfect meal.
The smell of the meal was so intensely delicious that it lingered around Skye. Cú Chulainn and Scáthach quickly got a whiff of the meal and were salivating so much that they decided to take a break and enjoy a feast back at Scáthach’s home.
The feast marked the end of the battle, just as her daughter wished. By eating in the home of Scáthach, Cú Chulainn had become a guest, and as a guest you are compelled to do no harm to the host, the guest, or anyone within. You can’t fight someone who has hosted you, ever. So that was the end of the battle and the two made a truce.
Due to the Scáthach’s beauty and her tears of love that she poured into the river, the faeries will grant anyone who sticks their face in Sligachan River eternal beauty.
2 Responses
I lived on skye.the local call the bridge :the slig.:
I have a feeling that by keeping the myth alive it serves a commercial interest even though this is folk lore.
Interestingly enough there is a very ancient account of a woman drawing water from a well, jesus asked for a drink but then spoke of eternal life giving waters.
John 4v 13,14. That account still holds true .
Thank-you for your time.harry.