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Skye: The Island and Its Legends
This is a fabulous treasury of legend and wonder; tales of monsters who dwell in lakes, of small people who trap humans in earthen mounds where time stands still; of dark, shape- shifting spirits whose cloak of human form is betrayed by the sand and shells which fall from their hair. In the absence of a written tradition, for generations of Skianachs, these tales, handed down orally, contained the very warp and weft of Hebridean history. They take us far beyond Christian times, to the edge of the Iron Age, and interweave with threads from the wider Atlantic tradition of Gaelic heroic myth and legend.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
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635 people want to read
About the author
Otta F. Swire
7 books13 followersOtta Flora MacDonald Lois Swire, née Tarn, (1898 - 1973) was a Scottish author. She published Skye: the Island and Its Legends in 1952, a collection of fireside stories she had heard from her mother and her grandmother at Orbost House, in the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Her work was drawn from and referenced by many writers, from specialists to popular authors, such as Neil Gaiman.
She was the mother of the medical practitioner and Lockerbie Bombing campaigner, Dr. Jim Swire.
She was the mother of the medical practitioner and Lockerbie Bombing campaigner, Dr. Jim Swire.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 29, 2020
This was a great book for dipping in and out of, I enjoyed it in small doses. It does get repetitive due to the style of writing. It’s a description of the island of Skye , it’s history, landscape and more. It’s told in the tradition of oral history, like she heard all these stories from older relatives, aunts grandparents etc. So there’s stories of the McLeods and the Mac Donald’s, the ‘45 , fairies and fairy cattle, fable , the landscape and people, famous visitors from Walter Scott to kings. It’s lightly humorous and interesting.
July 15, 2019
I was at the Skye Museum of Island Life when I saw this book – given that I love legends and folklore, I knew that I had to have this as a souvenir of our time in Skye. Obviously, I wasn’t disappointed; this was a delightful book that took me through time and back to Skye.
Skye: The Island and Its Legends is a pretty old book with a timeless feel. It’s a tour of the legends of Skye, shown to us by touring the island itself. The book starts in Kyleakin and heads towards Portree before going around North Skye and then heading down to South Skye. As the book heads around the island, Swire points out relevant bits of history and legends. Many of the stories were told to her by her family, passed down from generation to generation, others are common legends, and still others are rooted in historical fact.
The book also has an introduction but you can probably skip that. It’s pretty academic (as opposed to the more casual tone in the book) and talks about the history of the book and its impact on the person writing the introduction. It’s interesting, but I liked the book more so if you just want to enjoy the history and legends of Skye, feel free to start from chapter one.
My favourite thing about this book was its narrative style. Although the book hops through time – from recent(ish) past to a couple of hundred years ago, the prose was very smooth and I had no problem following the journey she takes us through. The smooth transitions reminded me of In The Land of Giants (though I think Skye is the older book), which was a pleasant change from the confusion I experienced in Adventures on the High Teas.
I was also really excited to see the places that I visited, such as Dunvegan. The guide talks about the Fairy flag and it was very interesting to get more detail about the flag and its history. The fact that some of the things in the book was taken from the Official Guide to Dunvegan makes me wish that I got that official guide as well.
This was a fantastic book. I absolutely enjoyed it and I wish that I read it earlier. Actually, what I really want to do is to go back to Skye and explore it with this book as my guide – I know things would have changed since then, but I’m sure enough has stayed the same.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
Skye: The Island and Its Legends is a pretty old book with a timeless feel. It’s a tour of the legends of Skye, shown to us by touring the island itself. The book starts in Kyleakin and heads towards Portree before going around North Skye and then heading down to South Skye. As the book heads around the island, Swire points out relevant bits of history and legends. Many of the stories were told to her by her family, passed down from generation to generation, others are common legends, and still others are rooted in historical fact.
The book also has an introduction but you can probably skip that. It’s pretty academic (as opposed to the more casual tone in the book) and talks about the history of the book and its impact on the person writing the introduction. It’s interesting, but I liked the book more so if you just want to enjoy the history and legends of Skye, feel free to start from chapter one.
My favourite thing about this book was its narrative style. Although the book hops through time – from recent(ish) past to a couple of hundred years ago, the prose was very smooth and I had no problem following the journey she takes us through. The smooth transitions reminded me of In The Land of Giants (though I think Skye is the older book), which was a pleasant change from the confusion I experienced in Adventures on the High Teas.
I was also really excited to see the places that I visited, such as Dunvegan. The guide talks about the Fairy flag and it was very interesting to get more detail about the flag and its history. The fact that some of the things in the book was taken from the Official Guide to Dunvegan makes me wish that I got that official guide as well.
This was a fantastic book. I absolutely enjoyed it and I wish that I read it earlier. Actually, what I really want to do is to go back to Skye and explore it with this book as my guide – I know things would have changed since then, but I’m sure enough has stayed the same.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
August 5, 2025
"But enough of graveyards."
July 18, 2025
Knjiga koju sam kupio na otoku Skye i počeo čitat jer sam bio tamo. Bilo je lipo vratit se u taj krajobraz i taj ugođaj, ali bi volio da sam knjigu pročita prije nego što sam bio na otoku Skye.
Knjiga puna mali lipi crtica i ništa više, nažalost.
Knjiga puna mali lipi crtica i ništa više, nažalost.
May 18, 2013
Bookcrossing review:
I found this book very enjoyable, but it probably does have limited appeal to those interested in Scotland, folklore, and/or people going to Skye. This was written by a woman called Otta Swire whose family were from Skye. She collated all of the stories, legends and tales of Skye, as well as history that she had been told by friends and relatives of the island, and this book was published in the 50s. There is so much in this book - a lot of stories for one island - and you can really feel the love for the place. I also liked the layout of the book in that she's dealt with it all geographically, as if taking a driving tour right around the island. I was there for a week last year, and this made it a lot easier for me to work out in my head where a lot of these places were as I could put everything in relation to the places I had visited and the roads we'd driven along.
There's the histories of the two main clans of the island, the Macleods and the MacDonalds, as well at the histories of specific areas and families, and of course all the tales of the islanders helping Prince Charlie evade capture. There's also a lot of folklore and information about different fairie sites, and places where there are/have been such creatures as kelpies and waterhorses. A lot of this is told as if these things really exist - up to you if you think they do I guess. So many of these things you can imagine being talked about by the fire during long dark nights.
The belief in fairies still exists anywhere. When we were there we visited this fairy glen near Uig. It's a really curious place purely for the land formations if nothing either, but there were also circles drawn out in stones where people had left offerings - small coins, the odd earring, hair clips and even a ring.
I found this book very enjoyable, but it probably does have limited appeal to those interested in Scotland, folklore, and/or people going to Skye. This was written by a woman called Otta Swire whose family were from Skye. She collated all of the stories, legends and tales of Skye, as well as history that she had been told by friends and relatives of the island, and this book was published in the 50s. There is so much in this book - a lot of stories for one island - and you can really feel the love for the place. I also liked the layout of the book in that she's dealt with it all geographically, as if taking a driving tour right around the island. I was there for a week last year, and this made it a lot easier for me to work out in my head where a lot of these places were as I could put everything in relation to the places I had visited and the roads we'd driven along.
There's the histories of the two main clans of the island, the Macleods and the MacDonalds, as well at the histories of specific areas and families, and of course all the tales of the islanders helping Prince Charlie evade capture. There's also a lot of folklore and information about different fairie sites, and places where there are/have been such creatures as kelpies and waterhorses. A lot of this is told as if these things really exist - up to you if you think they do I guess. So many of these things you can imagine being talked about by the fire during long dark nights.
The belief in fairies still exists anywhere. When we were there we visited this fairy glen near Uig. It's a really curious place purely for the land formations if nothing either, but there were also circles drawn out in stones where people had left offerings - small coins, the odd earring, hair clips and even a ring.
August 19, 2025
I read this as I was due to visit the Isle of Skye on holiday. I found it quite fascinating - it's nice that the author goes around the island in a logical manner - though why anti-clockwise I'm not sure. The clan battles between the MacLeods and MacDonalds were quite interesting and it leant a lot more substance to the different castles (both Dunvegan and the ruined ones), and the chapel ruins that I was looking at. Interestingly, this book was written originally in the 1950s yet does not mention the Fairy Glen, either by this name or it's alternative name 'Balnaknock' which led me to wonder about the origins/mythological significance of this site. I took the book around the island with me to refer to . If you have plans to visit Skye I highly recommend it.
August 16, 2021
Skye: The Island and Its Legends recounts the myths and histories of Skye in a geographic tour. The book has the feel of a volume collected for the preservation of its contents, which is both a wonderful and noble aim. The downside is that it's not always the most readable format; I found myself intrigued by some of the happenings (both real and fictitious) but the presentation felt dry and too brief. The presentation centered around a tour of the island, which further served to make the stories feel disjointed by breaking chronological and personality ties between them.
For all that, I'm glad I read the book. There are so many interesting snippets and legends, and the ties to other legends of other cultures is fascinating. I appreciated that the author recounted both the supernatural and the human aspects of the islands. If I ever cross off my bucket list hike of the Skye Trail, I'm sure this book will add a great deal of interest to a trek across the island.
Ultimately, the book's shortcomings keep the stories from rising from cultural record to literature, and that was something of a disappointment to me--though I still appreciated it as a collection of culture that might otherwise slip away.
NB: Goodreads shows this as being the same as the geology-centric Skye: Landscapes in Stone by Alan McKirdy. They are not the same.
For all that, I'm glad I read the book. There are so many interesting snippets and legends, and the ties to other legends of other cultures is fascinating. I appreciated that the author recounted both the supernatural and the human aspects of the islands. If I ever cross off my bucket list hike of the Skye Trail, I'm sure this book will add a great deal of interest to a trek across the island.
Ultimately, the book's shortcomings keep the stories from rising from cultural record to literature, and that was something of a disappointment to me--though I still appreciated it as a collection of culture that might otherwise slip away.
NB: Goodreads shows this as being the same as the geology-centric Skye: Landscapes in Stone by Alan McKirdy. They are not the same.
September 14, 2024
3.5 stars
This book, unsurprisingly given Skye's location, shares a mixture of Scottish, Irish and Scandinavian myth and legend. It also has a bit of clan history (mainly Mcdonald, MacLeod and MacKinnon) with kelpies, fairies, assorted ghosts and monsters, bloody battles, deception and treasure as well as stories around the '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald, who was born on the island.
The book explains how many places got their names (like the Cuillin mountains) and is an anticlockwise trip around Skye, like being driven on a private tour by a friendly and garulous local who loves their place, knows its secrets and is willing to share. She has a vivid descriptive style and paints a picture of the floral and fauna, its landscape and its people.
It can be a little confusing to follow as the author swaps between anglicised and Gaelic names for people and places (and sometimes alternative versions of each of these too, referring to both Tigh-nan-Druinich and Tighnan-Druinich on the same page, for example) and I would dearly have loved a glossary (I cannot find out anywhere what, for certain, a lint mallet is, and there were meant other words whose meaning I couldn't even guess at!).
I did really enjoy this book though; the tone is warm, welcoming and open on her love of Skye, which I love too, after just one visit.
A really interesting read.
"As it twists and turns, one of the most beautiful views in Skye opens out; far below lies Loch Slapin, blue and silver in the sunshine, indigo and purple where the mountains lie mirrored. Beyond can be seen the open sea, with the isles of Eigg and Rhum guarding the entrance; farther away still lies Soay, famous alike for its stone and its sharks. To the north brood the Cuchullins."
This book, unsurprisingly given Skye's location, shares a mixture of Scottish, Irish and Scandinavian myth and legend. It also has a bit of clan history (mainly Mcdonald, MacLeod and MacKinnon) with kelpies, fairies, assorted ghosts and monsters, bloody battles, deception and treasure as well as stories around the '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald, who was born on the island.
The book explains how many places got their names (like the Cuillin mountains) and is an anticlockwise trip around Skye, like being driven on a private tour by a friendly and garulous local who loves their place, knows its secrets and is willing to share. She has a vivid descriptive style and paints a picture of the floral and fauna, its landscape and its people.
It can be a little confusing to follow as the author swaps between anglicised and Gaelic names for people and places (and sometimes alternative versions of each of these too, referring to both Tigh-nan-Druinich and Tighnan-Druinich on the same page, for example) and I would dearly have loved a glossary (I cannot find out anywhere what, for certain, a lint mallet is, and there were meant other words whose meaning I couldn't even guess at!).
I did really enjoy this book though; the tone is warm, welcoming and open on her love of Skye, which I love too, after just one visit.
A really interesting read.
"As it twists and turns, one of the most beautiful views in Skye opens out; far below lies Loch Slapin, blue and silver in the sunshine, indigo and purple where the mountains lie mirrored. Beyond can be seen the open sea, with the isles of Eigg and Rhum guarding the entrance; farther away still lies Soay, famous alike for its stone and its sharks. To the north brood the Cuchullins."
September 7, 2024
As one travels the Isle of Skye on the north western edges of Scotland, it is near impossible to imagine the landscape devoid of legends and tales. I am glad I found this book, displayed proudly at a bed and breakfast on the Isle, ordered it and began reading it upon returning home.
This is an older book that documents stories handed down by word of mouth and then transcribed to retain the past of this mysterious and beautiful island. You’ll circumnavigate the island and cross landmarks known and unknown. The tales of why the Cullins are dark and snow-free to the distrust of strangers, to names you see displayed at Dunveagan castle and whispered elsewhere, to the stopovers by Dr Johnson at places like the eponymous bedroom I stayed in at Ullinish house.
This is not a book one reads start to finish unless one is likely hiking the island, stopping at haunted and hallowed lands described in the book.
I’ll leave you with a poem from the Sleat peninsula
“When Adam first his Eve did meet,
Shimmering bright as morning dew,
The first words he spoke to her
Were 'Ciamar tha thưn dough’
('How are you today?')”
This is an older book that documents stories handed down by word of mouth and then transcribed to retain the past of this mysterious and beautiful island. You’ll circumnavigate the island and cross landmarks known and unknown. The tales of why the Cullins are dark and snow-free to the distrust of strangers, to names you see displayed at Dunveagan castle and whispered elsewhere, to the stopovers by Dr Johnson at places like the eponymous bedroom I stayed in at Ullinish house.
This is not a book one reads start to finish unless one is likely hiking the island, stopping at haunted and hallowed lands described in the book.
I’ll leave you with a poem from the Sleat peninsula
“When Adam first his Eve did meet,
Shimmering bright as morning dew,
The first words he spoke to her
Were 'Ciamar tha thưn dough’
('How are you today?')”
September 20, 2025
A mesmerising old travelogue through the places and roads of Skye, as they were before 1952, with old stories, folklore, myth and legend. It's a glimpse into bygone times and how Skye was, told through the eyes of somebody that dearly loved the place.
Alongside the more mundane tour of places, mountains, cairns and forests, you will find stories of dancing faeries, disappearing pipers, kelpies and ghosts rubbing shoulders with tales of old houses, clan history, battles, murder and kidnappings.
Alongside the more mundane tour of places, mountains, cairns and forests, you will find stories of dancing faeries, disappearing pipers, kelpies and ghosts rubbing shoulders with tales of old houses, clan history, battles, murder and kidnappings.
May 27, 2023
The Good: A tour of Skye with stories pre-dating Christian times passed down through the generations. Every small town, lochs to the woods and hills is covered. Fairies, giants and kelpies with their characteristics gave Skye the colour that it needs.
The Bad: Fact, maybe fiction and humour mixed together.
The Bad: Fact, maybe fiction and humour mixed together.
October 23, 2025
A really interesting read about the incredible number of myths and legends that surround the history of both the land and its people. There are glimpses of a disappearing way of life too. Remember, this book was first published in 1952 and those legends had been passed down and collected by Otta Swire from previous generations.
For anyone in love with Skye, I thoroughly recommend this book.
For anyone in love with Skye, I thoroughly recommend this book.
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May 24, 2024Like a tour guide to Skye, but outdated.
Much information about the Isle of Skye, its roads, scenery, castles and lochs with legends about many of them.
Would have been better if I could been in Skye at the time it was written. I would have been able to see the places described.
Much information about the Isle of Skye, its roads, scenery, castles and lochs with legends about many of them.
Would have been better if I could been in Skye at the time it was written. I would have been able to see the places described.
February 26, 2025
I love this book. I love this Island and country and all it's history. I own a first edition of this work and couldn't be more pleased with the treasure trove of history and folklore within. Basically it is a sight seeing tour with pieces of local lore you probably won't hear many other places.
July 10, 2017
Reading this while on the Isle of Skye made my trip even more enchanting.
March 28, 2020
Been dipping in and out of this one for ages. Pretty whacky
September 4, 2023
I read this, whilst on holiday on Skye. This helped to associate real places that I had visited with the stories within the book.
July 9, 2025
A fun and fascinating read. Confusing at times, but I still enjoyed reading about the legends surrounding Skye.
November 7, 2022
An old travelogue that feels like reading a letter from a friend written a hundred years ago. The legends are often told as "I met a person who told me a story his grandmother told him" - it all feels very personal and intimate. I bought it on Skye, and was glad to have it to read during lockdown when real travel wasn't possible - a nice way to revisit a beloved location and go deeper into its history.
That said: It is very slow, and unstructured to a modern eye. I recommend it as a wind-down to invite sleep.
That said: It is very slow, and unstructured to a modern eye. I recommend it as a wind-down to invite sleep.
September 9, 2025
I really wanted to love this book as I loved visiting the Isle of Skye, but boy, was it rough. Perhaps it was my lack of knowledge of the general locations but I had to literally have a map open to keep track of the locations the author was talking about. Some of the fairytales the author described was no more than a couple sentences with not much detail. For the most part, it was, "This road took you to this location and it was pretty to look at and there was an old church there and some fairies danced, so the legend says."
June 21, 2010
I have read a few of these books on Scottish myths etc and this one wasn't any different. It was the usual hotch potch of fairies and heroes etc and didn't really tell me anything new, either historically or in mythology.
January 9, 2015
Still the definitive book on the legends of this beautiful island.
Perhaps a little dated in its style, but still enchanting, and it's fascinating to trace the numerous crossovers with Irish mythology.
Perhaps a little dated in its style, but still enchanting, and it's fascinating to trace the numerous crossovers with Irish mythology.
October 21, 2015
Great source material for Johnson.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews