Saturday
27th July
Pete and
I have been married for 23 years today and never spent an anniversary apart
until today. We were married in the New
Forest on a beautiful summers day and it was just perfect. I am back in the forests today but this time
on a train journey through the Highlands and what a journey it is. If you haven't done it put it on our 'to do'
list because it is breathtaking. We just
keep climbing and I keep yawning. It is
difficult to believe that people live here but they must do because this train
stops every few minutes - no wonder it takes so long to get to Mallaig.
It is the
scale of the landscape that makes you feel small and so it should. We are all guilty of being full of our self
importance from time to time. This
landscapes reminds us that Mother Nature is in charge and we are but a small
pawn in an expansive and complex game.
You can clearly see where glaciers would have cut a path through the
land and left behind deep and impressive valleys. Every so often the trees part and we get a
glimpse of a loch with its deep blue water and its sense of stillness. Then we are plunged back into green either
side and I feel a little closed in. The
contrast is good for the soul, I think.
The
clouds are low in places and sitting on top of the hills as if they have always
been there. To be up with the clouds is
making everyone sleepy and eyes are closing all around me. You see the occasional flock of sheep on the
lower hillsides and this the odd house completely alone and isolated. There is so much ungrazed land that meadow
buttercup dominates and turn the odd corner a butterfly yellow.
As we
pull into a station I could never hope of pronouncing suddenly we see houses
and lots of them. We see a road and cars
and this little settlement signals a community existing deep in the
valleys. The train shunts about a bit as
we separate in two for different journeys.
I am on to the end of the line so I am hoping people will be getting off
en route because there are too many people on this train. There is also far too much chat although I
have been reminding myself of my school days German. A bit more shunting and a bit more waiting
and finally we are underway again.
Staying in the moment means that Eigg has been lost from my mind as I
focus on the drama that is all around me.
Just the occasional break to text Di and Pete but the rest of the time
is spent being completely aware of my surroundings.
We have
stopped climbing and find ourselves on a plateau with farms dotted across the
fields. A pair of border collies are
herding a flock of sheep as they make patterns on the earth. Quite suddenly a buzzard joins the train and
stays with us for a few minutes. We are
so close we can see the detailing on the wings and his eyes. I watched it glide away towards the other
side of the valley and wondered where its mate was. We start to climb again. Are we not at the top yet? Below is another small village with roads
winding through and beyond.
I see a
river bed completely dry and it is difficult to believe I am in Scotland. The clouds are parting and the sun is
emerging to wash us all with warmth. The
rock outcrops seem to get more and more spectacular as this journey
unfolds. Time for a cup of tea.....
Emerging
out of the the dominant scots pine forests we are flanked by the most stunning
avenue of trees. All individual and all
beautiful even the dead ones that sculpture the view. A huge dry cracked river bed follows our
journey for a while as green grasslands are peppered with scorched brown
patches. This lack of highland water is
a little unnerving and not at all familiar.
It seems like everyone around me is sleeping and all is quiet on the
train at last. Peatlands return us to
scots pine once more with the dead forest floors and the shrinking light. They might be an excellent cash crop but they
offer very little to the eye and I find myself craving my dead tree sculptures
again. The distance mountain ranges
steal the view and you know that you are in the land of the eagles. Somewhere out there there are eagles and this
feel likes their home. We are intruding
briefly as we pass through in the knowledge that the mountains will not give up
their secrets. We will not see any
eagles but they will see us.
Rannoch
seems like a ghost village will dull whispers around every corner. You start to feel that you are not welcome
here either. In the last few minutes you
feel like you are not wanted because this land belongs to others. We climb again. Wild deer are just there, close enough to
touch and looking right at us. Now I
know why we are intruding but they know we are just passing through. No one got off the train and no one got on at
Rannoch. A deer fence begins to stretch
as far as the eye can see and the separation seems artificial but, at the same
time, accepting. The deer graze close to
the fence and everyone is sleeping. I
was the only one who saw the deer. I am
blessed. A little dog barks and
everyone wakes up with a start and I smile.
Heads flop and eyes close once more and peace is restored. I am tired after a hot and sticky night but I
couldn't sleep through this if I tried. The scale of it begs attention and
every valley is different and I don't want to miss a second. Deer are much higher in this valley and edge
the skyline which is not so far from us.
A majestic stag watches us as I count the hinds and make that 24. Lucky boy!
Suddenly a little girl spots them and shouts 'deer' and the eyes are all
awake again just long enough to see the stag take his hinds out of view. My eyes are skyward searching for birds of
prey but part from the lonely buzzard the sky is empty.
The
rivers have stopped flowing into the loch and the rocky edges are exposed. Empty channels litter the hillside where the
water should be and you wonder who has switched the tap off. The loch stretches for miles but still no
rivers flow and the shallow waters are full of silt and weigh heavily towards
the centre of the loch. At last, three
hours into the journey, I see the heather.
Plums and purples seep down the side of the hillside reminding me that I
am, indeed, in Scotland. A river
cleansing the valley floor and the heather sits up and takes notice. The most
majestic colours in the Scottish landscape are not lost on my fellow passengers
as cameras emerge from bags. A small
child is crying so sleep has been abandoned by most and the constant chatting
begins again. The sun washes the train
people start to shuffle. I fear I have
rather taken root. Time to visit the
toilet to get this body moving again. I
will, of course, ignore the pain.
Ok so the
toilet was right at the other end of the train so a good wobbly walk there and
back and my body knows it is awake. My
stick is, of course, in my suitcase which is completely buried under a mountain
of bags. Half way through my wobble a
lovely gentleman stood up and asked if I needed any help. Brushing my disabled thoughts from my mind I
gladly took the help and he steered me to the toilet and I thanked him and
rushed in. When I emerged he was waiting
for me and I was really touched. How
thoughtful and kind and I told him so as he insisted on walking me back to my
seat. I can't sit for this long without
consequences but that experience could have been worse. All that is left is a stagger from the train
to the ferry and off the ferry at Eigg where my beloved daughter will be
waiting. I am beginning to feel a sense
of achievement.
Back to
the journey. Spean Bridge I have visited
before when we had a holiday near Fort William.
It is a delightful centre for walkers and climbers as we are near Ben
Nevis. We are therefore climbing again
and this time we shall reach the top before we turn west. This last hour or so of the journey promises
to be the best. Any Harry Potter fans
out there will know the journey as it is the one the steam train takes on its
way to Hogwarts. A gentle tingling from
within signals some real excitement. I
have done this journey across to Mallaig before in a car but everyone tells me
the train ride is far better. Ben Nevis
is first and not a small mountain by anyone's standards. The couple behind me are planning to climb it
tomorrow because I heard them talking about it.
It will be quite a climb and I do hope they get a clear day for it. I will be safely delivered to my cocoon on
Eigg by then and hopefully sitting on the signing sands painting what I
see.
The
landscapes is opening up as we approach Fort William and cars are most
evident. We are on the edge of
civilisation and lots of people are planning to leave the train. Excellent.
We are probably as high as we are going to get and truly up among the
tree tops and the clouds. The air seems
thin and I am yawning once more. For a
while the track is edged with industrial buildings and housing estates and it
all seems a bit odd. I had quite got
used to the mountains, trees and lochs.
There is a queue to get off the train and this is very encouraging. I do like people but not when I am
travelling. I like to inhabit my own
space and time and people disturb that with their constant chatter. Ok, plan might not be working because lots of
people are getting on.......
Lots of
'excuse mes' and tutting later and we seem to have found seats. Close the doors so that no one else can get
on. I am door watching and hoping
because the seat next to me remains empty and that is the way I would like it
to saty. I am mindful of that lovely ex
army guy who sat next to me on the train from Edinburgh to Retford. When the train killed that person I was
grateful for the company and the two of us jumped into gear helping dozens of
distressed passengers. I wonder what he
is doing today? We got on really well
and he was the perfect companion on a traumatic journey.
At last
we are underway and I feel nothing but relief.
There is lots of chatting but I am trying to zone that out. We are on the final stage of the train
journey and it is to be savoured and remembered me thinks. Journeys are destinations and destinations
are journeys to me and that is why I love to travel. You will, perhaps, understand my frustration
about the difficulties I now face but appreciate my determination to keep doing
it. Travel has expanded my mind and this
trip has been a delight. The Scottish
landscape has shared its hidden valleys and memorising lochs with me and I feel
recharged. The Neptune staircase comes
into view and I am suddenly mindful of my desire to live on a canal boat. Every day could be a journey then and so
enriching as long as I am not in a hurry.
There are lots of important looking cameras emerging from bags and I
think we are getting ready. My shots
have to be taken with my iPad as I switch between typing and taking
photographs. It is perhaps this that has
kept me awake.
The train
is making a different sound now we have stopped climbing. It sounds exciting as it trundles along its
way to the coast. It is like the child
in the back seat asking when will we be able to see the sea. The excitement is palpable. The German guys who have been on the train
with me since Glasgow are now drunk having shared the contents of a welly boot.
I am thinking whiskey by the smell and I don't much fancy their
hangovers later.
Minutes
out of Fort William and words fail me.
It is beyond beautiful as it stretches ahead of us. Deep blue lochs go on for miles and sailing
boats bob up and down as if abandoned to
their own fate. There is a balance to
what we can see now with mountains leading to valleys and onto into lochs. There is also running water down
mountainsides and my familiar view of Scotland is restored. The grey clouds hug the tops of the mountains
and in places it all closes down into a more intimate experience. Then there is the viaduct and I can't get a
shot because I am way too polite and get barged out of the way. Will try on the way back next week. Lots of very big men with important looking
cameras who clearly think they are far more important than me.
With less
than an hour to go I now see what Molly meant when she said you don't really
notice the time on this journey. There
is so much to take away from this but my solo encounter with the deer is
perhaps my favourite moment. I love deer
and these were very good specimens and they were a picture of calm and all that
is well. Perhaps I will come back as a
deer? Beyond the deer it is the scale of
the beauty as it humbles me reminding me of the small space I inhabit in the
world. Largely uninhabitable by humans
the landscape creates its own drama and highlights and it is for us to capture
it in our minds eye so that we can recall I whenever we want to.
Slowly but very surely my head turns towards Eigg but before that the ferry journey and some glimpses of other islands. Islands that I want to visit one day. Skye is high on my list that I don't have because of the dramatic cliffs that are a 'must see'. As the train ambles ever nearer the sea we are weaving our way through smaller lochs with delightful tree islands rising from the middle. Once at Mallaig there is a bit of a wait for the ferry which is then another hour and a half until it reaches Eigg. I am thinking a gentle end to the day with an early supper and bed. I have a meeting tomorrow morning with one of the Eiggbox team so I need to be focused and with the programme. After that I am off to explore the singing sands and see if they speak to me. It is difficult to comprehend an island only 5 miles long and almost totally without cars. The soundscape will be different. The first glimpse of the sea as we begin to track the coast down to Mallaig. I can't help feeling incredibly lucky that this opportunity has presented itself.
Until tomorrow.
Post script
I have arrived and its beauty is quite beyond comparison. Molly appears to have gone native and I have had my feet in the sea. So much more tomorrow. xx
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