Backpacking Scotland
During the month of August 2006, I backpacked (solo) around the country of Scotland for about 30 days. The trip was nothing short of magnificent and one I'm sure to remember for the rest of my life. I traveled by foot most of the time, taking public transport when necessary and the occasional lift from a local.
I spent many nights in my tent (as I had everything necessary to survive and travel stuffed into my 40 lb. backpack), shacking up in the occasional hostel, hotel or bed & breakfast along the way to get cleaned up for another few days out (this was also the best way to meet other people or travelers).
During the trip, I kept some notes of my adventure and have placed some of them here for you to read should you feel so inclined. There is, of course; far more to the trip than is listed here, but I'm still writing that all out and it will probably be some time before I publish it for anyone else to read.
In the mean time, here is a little taster of the trip along with some photos. This is the online journal I kept while I was abroad so friends and family at home could keep up with me. A majority of my photos are on the photography page, but I have included some here to keep you from going cross-eyed while reading. Thanks in advance for your interest, enjoy.
Jake
Well, I made it. Its
Saturday, I'm in Glasgow and enjoying all I can of the city. When I got to
Glasgow, it appeared I had lost my wallet so I cancelled my credit cards and
Anna wired me some $$ until replacements could get to me in Glasgow... my
brother found my wallet on my couch (it fell out of the front pocket of my
hiking pants) so it is in route along with the new cards... Yes, that's
typical of me. So I'll be here until Monday, then I can get on with the trip.
When I landed in Scotland,
I was expecting some sort of "wave of emotion" to wash over me, or some type
of spiritual experience. You know, the one everyone talks about when they visit
their ancestral land. Well, other than the wonder of being in a new place and
the unavoidable melancholy of sleep depravation and the wallet debacle, I
don't feel a thing. So far its just been busy!
While here though, I've
been making many trips by bus to nearby places and the sights have been amazing.
Yesterday, I went to Edinburgh and covered much of the city, including the Sir
Walter Scot memorial and Edinburgh Castle. What a place! So much history there
and some amazing views. I didn't get a chance to visit the Grand Lodge of
Scotland, or the College of Piping, but hope to make those another day.
I'm planning on making a
trip to Roslyn Chapel today. The bus ride is a long one to Edinburgh again (1
hour), then on to Roslyn.
I'm staying in a
Euro-Hostel in the heart of Glasgow, on the river Clyde. The accommodations
aren't bad for a hostel, but since its in the city, its a bit noisy (mostly
drunk Scots yelling at each other...).
I've met a large
number of people of many different nationalities here, its very diverse. One of
the people I happened to meet was an Army doctor who is the head of the
emergency center in a base in Germany. He said they get all the war casualties
after they have been stabilized enough to transport. Tough job.
I made it a point to thank
him for his service. And true to his profession, he even had his little bag of
tools and drugs in the event he runs into someone needing help during his
travels around Scotland. We should be proud to have such men as Americans.
Well, that's all for
now. At present, its costing about 1 Pound Stirling (around $2) for 20 min. of internet
access so I'll write more when its not so costly.
Well its now the 14th, and
I haven't made much for journal entries. Its been a little tougher than I
originally anticipated to get on to the internet for any reasonable amount of
time. Like everything else here, its a bit expensive to use an internet cafe
when one is found.
Unfortunately, the other
places I've found with internet connectivity are a bit behind the times so I'm
not always able to do much website editing with their machines either. Anyway,
I'm back in Glasgow for a few more hours so here I am, at the only known place
with a functional (albeit expensive) computer.
The trip thus far has been
pretty good. I'm really enjoying Scotland and the people are wonderful. The
large cities are pretty much like any other (except a lot older) wherein the
people seem to be in their own little world and tourism / marketing is
high. But as soon as you get outside the city, everything takes a drastic turn
for the better.
There is still a heavy
reliance on tourism, but the people not only become friendlier, but very
hospitable as well. In fact, its often been difficult to tactfully pry away from
an inquisitive and hospitable shop keeper or bus driver, etc.. Nothing I can say
really does these people justice, they couldn't be nicer... REMINDER: I'm
talking about outside Glasgow here!
So far, I've gone to
Edinburgh a couple times, and the trip to Roslyn was amazing! They have some
scaffolding over and around the chapel with a roof of sorts to dry it out.
According to the guide in
the chapel, someone in their infinite wisdom coated the inside of the chapel
with a gray, magnesium based paint of sorts to seal the sandstone and clear up
all the moss and mildew that had blackened it over the centuries. But sandstone
is supposed to "breathe" so it soaked up water and couldn't breathe it
off, thus the building started eroding and had to be dried out while they figure
out what to do about the coating. The coating was put on in the 50s.
I took a lot of pictures
of the chapel and unfortunately, lost a few hundred of them to a cheap memory
card that came with my camera. Word to the wise: You get what you pay for. Once
in a lifetime pictures, gone, because of a cheap card. I'm really not that upset
about it, but mention it so someone else reading this might learn from my
mistake.
I was here in Glasgow for
almost the entire first week waiting for my replacement credit card which
Washington Mutual has now taken upon themselves to cancel for no apparent
reason. The only excuse they will give is that "the card number or pin
appeared to be compromised so the card was cancelled". Of course, it wasn't
the card holder (me) that cancelled it, nor can the card holder get it
reinstated. I received the card, activated it, even used it a few times, then
all of a sudden it doesn't work anymore. The card holder can pretty much just
piss up a rope as far as the bank is concerned. That will be the end of my
business with Washington Mutual.
Anyway, I still have a
functional debit card (for now) and Anna had wired some money to me while I was
waiting for my replacement cards so I'm doing fine for money, its just a very
irritating experience to deal with while your across the ocean from the source
of the problem. Anna and my family have been great about helping me out. I'd be
a real mess right now without them. Thanks you guys.
On to better things. I
left Glasgow and went to the town of Callendar, then from there started hiking
west toward Loch Lomond. I stopped in an outstanding little hostel called The
Trossachs Backpackers hostel in Invertrossachs and really enjoyed the stay. I
felt a little guilty going from one hostel to another so I spent the better part
of the day hiking (without pack) around the hills of Loch Venacher, saw some red
deer and some outstanding scenery. It was very secluded and peaceful which was a
welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Now THIS is what I was
looking for!
The next day I hoofed it
for quite a few miles. I went past Loch Venacher, took a boat ride down Loch
Katrine (pronounced cat-rin), on a coal powered steamer called the SS Walter
Scott (just over a 100 year old ship and it still looks and rides great). The
ship dropped me off in Stronachlochar (one of Rob Roy's stomping grounds) and I
was off to Loch Lomond from there.
All in all, the above
mentioned hike through the Trossachs was outstanding. It is a beautiful place
with all the peace and quiet one could hope for... I think I'm starting to
understand the aforementioned feeling that people get when they visit this place
(Scotland). It seems to take a while to shed the angst built up in the cities,
but once you get a good taste of tranquility like this, it becomes easy to open
up to it.
I
took a small, diesel powered, personal charter boat (I was the only passenger)
across Loch Lomond from the Inversnaid Hotel on the West Highland Way (East side
of Loch Lomond). The skipper was right out of the story books and made me
wish I had brought a video camera.
He
was a skinny fellow with a scrunched up face, short messy dark hair, and
missing all of his front teeth (fairly common in Scotland whether by a lack of
hygiene or the efforts of another Scot, liberated of his own rotting mashers and
intent on sharing the experience with whoever is within arms reach after a few
shots of the oh-so-popular and ever present Highland Whisky).
I'm
not exactly sure of what he was referring too, but he kept punctuating much of
his conversation by poking his head out a small sliding window next to the
skippers seat and getting a face full of ocean spray, then he would slowly draw
it back in as if computing a large amount of technical data and bellow out
"...aye, she sharr ish frayshe (fresh)... aye tink she's gehttin fraysher
too!... aye shurr." I'm assuming he meant the cool weather was moving in,
but I can't be positive. He would chime out his weather sampling about
every minute or two. I just responded with a hearty: "aye! She is
that" and hoping he wasn't expelling gas or something.
Anyway,
it was south down Loch Lomond by road to a quaint little camping spot on the
banks of the Loch on the outskirts of the roadside town of Luss. It was a
beautiful sunset on the mountains surrounding the Loch (looks quite a bit like
the Columbia Gorge really) and I got some outstanding pictures.
After
leaving Luss and spending another night just south of Alexandria, I went back to
Glasgow to the World Pipeband Championships and watched my friends with the SFU
band take 2nd to Field Marshall Montgomery (they were jipped in my opinion, but at
that level of playing, any mistakes that are made are far beyond the
capabilities of my ear to perceive).
The
band was pretty sober considering they just ranked number 2 in the world. I
guess after you've tasted 1st place 4 times; 2nd place can be a little bitter.
None the less, I thought their performance was amazing and I'm proud of them. I
would later learn that the winning band had a few of their own in the judging
circle...
The World Championships got out pretty late and I couldn't pass up the ale Jack offered me back at the band bus after the competition , so I had to take the last train to Alexandria / Balloch which was the nearest place in which I could find a hostel (everything in Glasgow has been booked solid for quite some time).
The hostel is one of the Scottish Youth Hostels Association buildings and is quite a magnificent old castle of sorts that was renovated back around WWII by the steel workers union for the purpose of housing American soldiers. It is still in pretty good shape for the most part and very cozy....
Yesterday I went and watched Jack Lee compete against 8 other top pipers in the solo world at the Piping Center's Masters Invitational. Again, I thought Jack should have won, but again, I'm a bit partial and there is no way I can detect most of, if any are made, the mistakes that these guys make. The playing at this level is astonishing. In fact, the judging must be difficult as it is based on interpretation, phrasing, tone, etc.. I would be hard pressed to say anyone of the competitors made a "mistake" at any time.
One of the highlights for me was to get to see Murray
Henderson for the first time. Jack took 4th in the Piobaireachd and 3rd in the
March Strathspey and Reel. Willie McCallum took 1st in both. Willie is a juggernaut. Its like watching a Sherman Tank play a pipe. It was great to
watch them compete, and as always; Jack was very accommodating to the many young
pipers around who wanted to talk with him. Always the gentleman.
That's
all for now. I'm off to Oban today and then to the western isles and
Hebrides. I'll write more when I'm able. I hope all is well with everyone and I
look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Ok, slight change in plans. Since I'm in the area, I'm going to Loch Etive and Climbing Ben Cruachan. I will be in the area for a couple days, then I'll take the ferry from Oban to the western isles. The weather is moving in so I expect it to be a bit damp.
Yesterday (the 14th) I spent the day traveling to Bridge of Orchy and walking around Glen Orchy a bit, then spent the night at Bridge of Orchy Backpacker's Hostel (a few small but very cozy rooms setting atop the train platform... that and a hotel are the only things in Bridge of Orchy).
I'm currently in Loch Awe and spent part of the day touring
Kilchurn Castle. Its mostly in ruins now, but you can still walk through the
several compartments of the castle. Many pictures to show when I get home. I've
stopped in a small country store to stock up with food and they happened to
offer internet access (for the usual hefty price...) so I thought I'd take
advantage of that now since I wont be able to do it again for a few days. I'll
try to write again as soon as I'm off Ben Cruachan. That's all for now.
Jake
8/15/06
Well,
I hiked from Kilchurn Castle to the Crunachy Caravan Park and stayed the night.
The next morning, I left the Crunachy caravan park (camp ground) and hiked to Cruachan
Power Station (about 5 miles) and started my ascent of Ben Cruachan from there,
although I did not peak it. I got to within a few hundred feet of the summit and
the weather moved in at a very quick rate so I had to get off the mountain.
When
I started there was just a light mist over the top, but as I approached the top
(one hell of an impressive climb I'll say especially with full pack) the
clouds got thick, heavy, and started dropping down into the valley creating very
low visibility (about 30 feet at that point). The trail wasn't much of a trail
as it was, so finding it in dense fog was out of the question. I didn't care to
make the local paper so I decided to come down. However, while I was up there,
the view was great and I got some pictures (although I was more concerned with
breathing and not falling than with taking pictures).
I
got back to the Cruachan power station, completely exhausted and managed to hitch a ride from another
hiker. I
camped in the Crunachy Caravan Park again (Bridge of Awe), slept like a rock, and awoke the next
morning to a crystal clear day. DAMN! I had intended on camping near the summit
of Ben Cruachan and peaking it in the morning when the weather cleared, but
another climber on the mountain talked me out of it, telling me the forecast was
for rainy, stormy weather which is why I came down and back to Crunachy.
Well,
I didn't feel like rolling the dice with the weather again, at least not while
my body still ached a little so I packed up and had a magnificent Scottish
breakfast at the Crunachy Cafe (2 fried eggs, Scottish bacon, homemade
sausages, toast and homemade black puddin chased with black drip coffee, a
rarity in Scotland it seems).
I
then went to Taynuilt and stayed the night in the hotel and got cleaned up. The
village of Taynuilt is where the MacIntyres originally settled after leaving The
Isle of skye with the coveted white cattle. I was told by the skipper of the
Anne of Etive on Loch Etive (who knew I was a MacIntyre without me telling
him... ) that when the MacIntyres came to the area and settled in Glen Noe, that
a couple of brothers decided to settle wherever the cattle laid down. That
happen to be about 8 miles from Glen Noe, at what is now the front door to the
pub connected to the Taynuilt Hotel where I was staying.
The
village of Taynuilt has a lot of MacIntyre history. There is a memorial to the
men who died in the Great War in the center of town and on it is a MacIntyre. A
stroll through the graveyard showed many, many graves of MacIntyres over the
hundreds of years. The best experience though, beside the town Celiedh which was
a display of much of the local talent including a piper, Gaelic singers, choir
and dancers; was my trip to Glen Noe.
Glen
Noe is the ancestral home of the MacIntyres. Its where they settled shortly
after leaving the Isle of Skye hundreds of years ago. I should say, its
where some settled. Others went to other places such as the Hebrides, Oban,
Glenorchy, Edinburgh and ??? Anyway, I hiked for about 7 miles to Glen Noe (I
took the long, scenic route) and
visited the memorial to the Chieftains of the Clan MacIntyre (and thereon left a
stone). I spent the better part of that day just walking around the land and
taking it all in. Its very secluded and there are only two homes in the area,
one of them in Glen Noe. It was vacant while I was there, but someone does live
there.
Now
I know what people are talking about when they say a place "moves" them. For
some, it could be the place where they grew up, for others; where they fought a
war. Yet others, like myself, seem to get much the same sense from a land such
as this. A place that they have never been, yet if feels like coming home. I
don't know, it could be that I've worked myself into a lather (after all,
this is somewhat of a pilgrimage for me) or could it be some type of "genetic
memory"? I don't know, but I like it.
I
followed the River Noe up the glen and camped next to it, drawing a little water
from the river for dinner and to refill my drink bottle. The river has a lot of
waterfalls and runs over ancient lava flows, carved smooth and flowing by the
current. The hardest part of camping was finding a place to pitch the tent that
was relatively flat and didn't have sheep poo on it (the latter being the bigger
task).
It
was a great experience camping here with my tent facing west to the mouth of the
glen (draw) opening to Loch Etive and the horizon was framed with two mountains
on the other side of it, the sun setting in the saddle of them. Watching the
sunset between these two mountains and over the loch, the last rays lighting
Glen Noe with a gold hue as I ate my dinner, was second to none. The day
closed off with the wind really picking up and knocking the tent around a bit
and the sun lighting the cloud filled sky a bright orange, then crimson.
The
wind was pretty rough through the night, and it rained a bit, but the tent
held up well. I woke up in the morning to no rain and little wind (which proves
a favorable environment for the midges. A little critter about the size of a
flea, but it looks like a mosquito, they come in clouds, and they are very
aggressive biters). I packed up and wondered around the land some more, taking
pictures both with the camera and mental, then hiked back out and back to
Taynuilt..
I'm
now in Oban and am staying the night in a hotel (again to get cleaned up) then
I'm taking the ferry in the morning out to the Isle of Mull and the Isle of
Iona. I'll take the ferry out to the Hebrides the next day and hike up South and
North Uist.
Sorry
I haven't been able to upload pictures, but I'm having a hell of a time getting
on a computer that can both load pictures into them as well as trim them down
for internet use (most of the pictures I have are extremely large files so they
would take an eternity to load on most computers). I hope this finds everyone
doing well and I'm looking forward to seeing all of you again soon.
Jake 8/19/06
Well, I can't stay too
long here. I'm racking up the internet time and have to try to catch the last
bus out of Oban soon. But a little of what I've been doing since my last entry:
I left Oban with the
intention of going to the Isles directly. Well, I did... sort of. I spent the
first day taking the ferry to the Isles of Mull and Iona (by way of bus tour
which is guided). It was a very informative trip, albeit I spent nearly the
entire day in the seated position. Both Mull and Iona are Islands steeped in
history and lore. Iona is said to be the birth place of Christianity in Scotland
and has Iona Abbey which was first built around 560 AD.
Both the isles were
also subject to the highland clearances where the presiding landlords decided
that sheep would be much more profitable than tenant farming so they kicked
everyone off the land and filled it with sheep... effectively destroying the
land and displacing thousands of families, damaging the clan system, and so on
and so on. Although peppered with sheep, the many of the isles current day
inhabitants are crofters (small farmers of one type or another).
I came back to Oban and it
was too late to go anywhere so I stayed another night, then off to Mallaig by
train. Stayed the day in Mallaig and got some great sunset shots, then off to
Skye (by ferry) the next morning. I traveled around the Isle of Skye a bit,
visiting Dunvegan Castle and the like, camped in Dunvegan, then traveled across
Skye to Uig and took the ferry again to the Outer Hebrides (North Uist,
Benbeccula, and South Uist to name the main bulk of the Hebrides).
I spent the night in N.
Uist then spent the next day traveling south. The Hebrides are a relatively
small strip of Isles and the population is quite spread out, so there are only a
couple "villages" that are of any size (over 100 people... during
tourist season...). I stopped in the Hebridean Jewelers, a local jewelry maker
that is well known all over Scotland, and the world for that matter, for Celtic
jewelry of all types. There you can watch them at their craft and I'll keep this
short by just saying its very impressive to watch.
I had, at this point, a
fully developed stress-fracture in my left arch so; although I had no intention
of slowing my pace, any further hill climbing or long distance hikes were out of
the question.
After waiting on a South
Uist road for 2 and a half hours for a bus (3 of which had passed me by now), I
gave up and went to a local B&B and asked to use the phone to call a taxi (I
was currently in the north end of S. Uist and wanted to go to the south end to
catch the ferry back to Oban the next day). Of course I was allowed to use the
phone at no charge, but only on the condition that I sat down and had a cup of
coffee, an outstanding homemade eclair, and some good conversation... how could
I say no?
It was a nice visit and a
good way to shake off the attitude I was forming over the ever crappy bus
system. I was later told by the taxi driver that the reason I had been passed by
the 3 scheduled busses, after I clearly flagged them down, was because they were
carrying school kids that time of day and they don't pickup regular fares during
that time... probably something they could stand to include in the bus schedule
I'd say. Walking is always an option, however; your walking from no-where to
no-where in particular. There is nothing but home after home and they are often
1/2 mile apart or better. Not the best scenario given the ever present 'discomfort' I had in my left foot.
Anyway, the taxi driver
gave me a guided tour of S. Uist, telling me of not only the recent
history, but some of the ancient legends and lore as well. He also was gracious
enough to stop and let me take a picture here and there. And the taxi meter?
There wasn't one. At the end of the trip, he said: "eh, tha'el be bout
twentay poonds" (around $40 US). All in all, probably the best money I'd
spent all week.
Well, that's about it for
now. I just got off the 5 1/2 hour ferry ride from Lochboisedale in S. Uist and
am now off to Inverness. I'll write more if I have the chance, but most likely
I wont before I go home next Wednesday. I hope this finds everyone doing well.
Jake 8/25/06
As of this writing I'm in
Oban again, on my way to Inverary. I just got in from the Great Glen (Loch Ness
and Urquehart Castle to be specific). After the last entry, I left and went to
Ft. William by way of Taxi (3 other travelers shared the fare with me on that),
where I took a little time sniffing around a very wet and dreary Ft. William
before jumping the bus to Inverness. The trip up The Great Glen or Caledonian
Canal was spectacular. Some amazing views and the countryside is a little better
forested than much of the rest of Scotland.
When I got to Inverness in
the evening, I decided I would get a hotel and stay a day or so, but first gave
a call to the MacKays, some friends of Joe MacIntyre's from when he lived in
Scotland. Well, that call changed my plans.
"Where are ye?"
*the bus station* "I've got to go into town to pickup Catherine and can be
there in aboot 15 minutes, canye wait?" 15 minutes later, Jim and Catherine
MacKay pulled up and I was whisked away to their little B&B, a mere couple
miles away. They are the friendliest of people and were more accommodating than
necessary. It was a relief to stay in a real home for a couple nights, get some
real home cooked meals, and have the good conversation that we did.
The first night, we (Jim,
Catherine, and myself) hitched a ride with their grandson, Graeme who was
playing the accordion at a converted castle in Taine. We had a great dinner (I
had the haggis, tatties and neeps), and quite a few shots of whisky as Graeme
covered better than half of my personal bagpipe repertoire on the accordion. He
played the tunes better on the accordion than most pipers do on the pipes! The
guy is an amazing player. So is my host, his grandfather. The two of them, along
with Tom, Graeme's father and other family members form the Jim MacKay dance
band.
Anyway, we went home after
a 3 1/2 hour performance, it was about midnight now. Thinking I was headed to
bed, I began the evening's salutations when Jim appeared with a couple whisky
glasses... he had no intention of ending the evening so early! So He, Catherine
and I sat up until about 2, drinking Jim's over generous renditions of a
"nightcap" and talking about everything under the cloudy Scottish sky.
The next morning, there was the usual Scottish breakfast waiting for me... Jim
and Catherine were up at the crack of dawn! I peeled myself out of the highly underestimated
comforts of a REAL bed and was at the breakfast table by 0800. Jim and Catherine
were already way ahead of me.
I spent the rest of the
day with their grandson Graeme, his wife and their two small children traveling
to Aviemore for a motorcycle rally which was mostly rained out (nothing like
seeing a gruff looking biker, in all the classic American Harley attire, ...who
talks with the thickest of Scottish brogues...). We then took a little trip up
the mountains of the Cairngorms. I enjoyed the view and even more; being able to
get there by car instead of the usual bus or huffing it up the hill with a
backpack. I took some pictures, then we headed back to Inverness.
That night, the MacKays
cooked a nice steak dinner for me with fresh veggies from their garden, topped
with homemade meringue and toffee dessert (I had been lamenting how I was unable
to find a steakhouse in Scotland... apparently, they have restaurants with steak
on the menu, but no steakhouses... heathens. No wonder our family migrated to
Montana). We chatted a little more at the
table and then it was off to the living room for you know what... more of Jim's
nightcaps! This night very much resembled the previous in this respect so I'll
not repeat myself.
The next day saw me out of
the rack and at the seat of the breakfast table again, then off to Inverness
where I got fitted for a new MacIntyre kilt, matching vest and a selected a new
sporran to match. Of course the credit card was declined again, so again I
called Washington Mutual and they said it hadn't been activated. I asked:
"Then the purchases I made since the last time I "Didn't activate
it" don't exist right?" "....uhm... thank you for calling Mr.
MacIntyre, we're sorry for the inconvenience, is there anything else I can help
you with?" In my kindest and calmest voice: "No thanks miss, you were
never help to begin with. Have a nice day". The card worked this time, but
who knows for how long.
I then took a bus to
Urquehart Castle on Loch Ness and camped out down the road at the Borlum Farm
(horse ranch) in Drumnadrochit, after snapping a few
pics. It rained pretty heavy so I think I'm currently carrying an extra 5 lbs.
of water in the rolled up tent in my pack. This morning saw me up early (never
really slept very well anyway) and on the road by 9. I ended up catching a bus
back to Oban and now off to catch another to Inverary. That's all for now.
Take care everyone, and I'll write more soon.
Jake 8/29/06
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