Scotland - Day Eight

cazphillips2
Nov 18, 2024
3 min read

I’ve come to realise that most of the Scottish scenery is more dramatic than me. Hard to believe but true.

It feels like we are really experiencing the Highlands now and it’s superb.

This morning saw us travel to Mallaig to grab a coffee and have a bit of a mooch. It’s a pretty place, we watched the ferry set off for Skye and then enjoyed the real stillness and peace. I’m quite sure it’s more hectic in season, but not today. One of the two reasons we picked visiting in October; the Autumn colours and the fewer people.

From Mallaig we took a detour to Mora Bay and Traigh beaches, also deserted. We needed a dog. I should’ve taken the one in the pub last night. I tried, but the owner was forceful and fierce in her reluctance to share. Selfish.

But today was really all about Clan Cameron, and therefore by default, the Favourite Husband. I said to him that I wished I knew how it felt to have a day where everything was about me. He didn’t respond. I assumed he didn’t hear. So I informed him that from here on in every year we will declare my birth month the Festival of Caroline. He heard that. He scowled slightly and replied “isn’t it always?” How rude.

On our drive to The Cameron Museum we passed Neptunes Staircase. I’d not heard of it so I looked it up. It’s a series of eight locks on the Caledonian Canal, apparently this makes it the “longest lock staircase” in Britain. Who knew that was a thing? So, if you’re more of a locks than a lochs person then here is your jam.

The road to the museum is mainly single track but a good surface and heaps of passing places. Lead Foot Larry did make a few appearances with several hard brakes and had me wishing I’d worn a sports bra, but generally it was a great drive.

We loved the museum, especially the Favourite Husband. I think he was hoping to stake a claim on the house but nobody could understand his Kiwi accent.

On the way back we stopped at Glenfinnen. We were outside of the steam train passing so it wasn’t too busy. The monument was the standout to me. It was erected on the shores of Loch Shiel to commemorate the 1745 Jacobite rising. Eight months before the battle of Culloden, 1200 Highlanders met here, shared a brandy (I like that detail) and went to fight for Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart or Bonnie Prince Charlie if you prefer, and to regain the British throne for a Stuart king. At the top of the monument is a lone Highlander in memory of those that lost their lives. You can book to go inside the monument and up to the top but we didn’t. I asked the Favourite Husband if he felt anything, standing in the same place his ancestors had before they lost their lives. He thought for a long while before profoundly declaring …”nope.” So I pinched him. He felt that.

We walked a short path up to the viaduct scenic viewing point and had the place to ourselves. We’re not Harry Potter fans (of course I think J K Rowling a fabulous author) so we didn’t hang around for the steam train. If you are a Harry Potter fan and like me aren’t a huge fan of people, I recommend the viewing point by the Monument visitor information centre.

(I’ve nearly finished I promise.)

We walked up to the Saint Mary and Saint Finnan Church as it was on my list. A couple of coaches went past us on their way to the viaduct, I could hear bagpipes. I assumed the coaches were playing music. But they’d passed and the music was getting louder. It was a lone piper in front of the church. It was eerily beautiful and haunting at the same time. (We’ll ignore the fact he had a tripod and iPhone filming himself for social media no doubt and pretend it was just for us. All of us.)

It’s these unexpected speckles of delight that bring me joy and warm the heart.

And as we left the deserted church, he had gone as if he’d never been there. More tourists arrived and the moment was gone. Which does make me wonder, do we repel people? As when we leave, they appear.

I can live with that.