THE WONDER OF Waterfalls
Beautiful to behold, the frothing, fizzing, foaming flow of a waterfall is one of nature’s most impressive spectacles. Here are some of our Dream Escape favourites…
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Words | Adrienne Wyper
tanding by a waterfall, watching the endlessly falling whitewater and listening to that rushing, roaring, thundering sound, in awe of its power, is an uplifting experience. And it’s beneficial, too. The air around waterfalls has the highest concentration of negative ions found in nature. These are atmospheric molecules charged with electricity, and exposure to them can ease stress, regulate mood and even reduce depression. Watching the unceasing cascade is mesmerising, as is the ‘white noise’ sound, used in sleep apps for its soothing and relaxing properties. Although the water flow may not be at its fiercest in the summer months, it’s the best time to be spritzed with that fresh, cooling spray – and to enter the world behind the waterfall and gaze out through that misty curtain.
Scotland
On the Isle of Skye beneath the Black Cuillins are the famous Fairy Pools (pictured right). This series of small falls are renowned for colour and clarity: turquoise so clear that you can pick out mossy pebbles in the depths. Some are swimmable – brrr! Further north is Mealt Falls, which cliff68
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dives from Loch Mealt to the rocky coast below. From here you can also see Kilt Rock, with its pleated-effect basalt folds (pictured next page). Dream Escape will also take you off the beaten path to more peaceful falls without the crowds, such as Glen Brittle and Sligachan Waterfalls - or on a boat charter to explore the stunning coastline of the Isle of Skye from the water on a luxury sea tour. We may have poet Robert Burns to thank for the gorgeously wooded landscape at the Falls of Bruar at the southern edge of the Cairngorms National Park, in Perthshire. When he visited in 1787, Burns found the surroundings somewhat bare and was inspired to write, 'The Humble Petition of Bruar Water' to the landowner, the 4th Duke of Atholl. Written from the water’s viewpoint, it entreats: ‘Would then my noble master please/To grant my highest wishes/He’ll shade my banks wi’ tow’ring trees/ And bonie spreading bushes.’ The Duke took Burns’s advice and, in an innovative forerunner of modern seed bombs, he fired Scots pine and larch seeds from the opposite bank from a cannon. The lowest fall of peat-brown water through the forested rocky gorge has an arched stone bridge, and a natural rock span just downstream.
