Overcoming Mental Illness

“Rhum possesses a unique field mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus hamiltoni, which is said to live nowhere else. Could this perhaps be the “fairy mouse” of the Hebrides, which has strange and terrible powers? If a fairy mouse runs over the back of a man or beast, the creature so treated will become totally paralysed and never move again. There are cures, but they rarely work. Even the flick of the tail of a fairy mouse on and or foot may have dire consequences. Some have claimed that the fairy mouse is the lesser shrewmouse and that the greater shrewmouse, if sacrificed or even passed over the paralysed one, can remove the disabilities put on by it’s lesser brother. But no natural history book that I have consulted knows the lesser shrew under that name, nor the greater shrew either, just “shrewmouse.” However, water in which the head of a shrewmouse has been boiled will cure “bite of shrew,” and a shrewmouse can bite. It is bravest little creature imaginable. Hebridean mice were believed able to sing, but it was death to him who heard them. To find a dead mouse was also a death omen, but eating a roasted one will cure whooping cough and jaundice.”

Day #6 - Rhum and then an evening with Nevis

The first Scottish island I ever visited was Skye, although now it is connected to the mainland, is it still technically an island? Following this I jaunted to Orkney, then Mull, then the Western Isles; Lewis, Harris, North Uist, Berneray, South Uist, Benbecula. Iona was to follow next, and then repeated visits to Mull, Iona, Orkney, and - of course - my regular excursions to the Western Isles. It has long been a dream of mine to visit all of the islands that dot this coast - including St. Kilda, and island I would adore the chance of visiting. So it came with great joy and excitement that I am able to add another to this list, Rhum (or Rum, depending on which guidebook you read.)

Rhum is one of the four islands which are collectively known as the Small Isles, the other three being Muck, Canna and Eigg. They lie of the west coast, nestled in the Sea of the Hebrides between the Ardnamurchan Peninsula and the Isle of Skye.

The island is entirely a nature reserve owned by the SNH and is long considered to be the jewel of the Inner Hebrides - it’s peaks soar to over 750m and the entire island is noted for it’s effluence of wildlife. Wild goats, deer, manx shearwaters, golden and white tailed sea eagles and of course the humble Apodemus sylvaticus hamiltoni!

Even though I knew Rhum was considered to be a beautiful wee island it was not my choice of which of the small isles to visit. This would have been Eigg, but a combination of the ferry time-table and the utterly gorgeous weather I was treated to this day meant Rhum was the ultimate destination for the day.

In a way I am glad, as without doubt, it truly is one of the jewels. Granted I was only on land for about 2 hours (due to the strict timetable) my blink-and-you’ll-miss-it trip to the island was well worth it.

I dropped down from the ferry into the hamlet of Kinloch where stands the castle, most appropriately called Kinloch Castle (which was built by the Bullough family who owned the island between 1888 to 1957) and was in a state of repair during my visit. Following this I just started roaming this desolate, almost unpopulated island (at most times around 20 people), and found myself hugging the coast across moorland at first and then into a wooded area where birdsong filled my ears and I attempted to record the second of my video diaries. Perchance I disturbed a mouse’s nest as every video I recorded on this day was atrocious but one will be posted following this entry none the less!

Then, as I was recording I spied the ferry making its way down the bay and began a speedy return to the pier. As I did so my boot was swallowed by some odorous liquefied peat in one of the numerous bogs dotted around the woodland.

I did however make the ferry.

Even though I was on the island for a mere couple of hours part of the fun with island hopping in Scotland is the journey. There is something almightily joyous about ferry travel and it easily surpasses the pleasure of flying (is there any?) and almost touches on train travel as the greatest way of seeing the world. Not only do you get a sense of scale, unlike planes, but for seeing the dramatic and varied coastlines of this country there is nothing better. The weather, being as spectacular as it was, threw up the veritable vista of; the Morar hills, Southern Skye, the greatest view of the Cuillans I’ve seen and then the indominatable body of Eigg with it’s distinctive basalt peak the ‘Sgurr of Eigg’.

CalMac ferries have always been a pleasurable experience for me; from the mini-cruise I took to Mull in January 2000 to the bordering on erotic experiences between Mallaig - Armadale, and later journeys to the Hebrides. It was, after all, a CalMac vessel which ferried me to the point where I would lose my virginity. As such, the initial stepping onto the boat was, dare I say it, orgasmic?

Even though my day had begun incredibly early in order to journey the Road to the Isles to Mallaig by train, it did not end early, for when I returned to Fort William that evening I took in the second ‘bout of enjoying the Festival festivities. The previous night I had enjoyed the Film Festival evening, this night, was the Nevis Connections evening.

The theme was ‘Nevis’ - i.e. the mountain, the glen and the area. A celebration of all things Nevis. There was music, readings, short films, discussion and a debate on the issues affecting the area and the possible directions which the region could be going in. Music was provided first by the ‘Lochaber Community Wind Band’, and was a rousing (at one point almost tear inducing) movement celebrating the ravishing beauty of Scotland. Secondly, there was the delightful music from ‘Flutes in the Fort’, a small group of flautists beguiling us with their trade. This was set to video footage, although my seat obscured the majority of this - instead allowing me only to see the posterior of one of the players, which in itself wasn’t such a bad thing!

The leader of the debate, Cameron McNeish, is unequivocally the 2^nd most contagiously passionate person I’ve ever met; his adoration for the area and the outdoors made me want to run naked through the hills! I didn’t, but there is still time!

If you would like more information on the Nevis area, or perchance become a Friend of Nevis, you can visit their website at www.friendsofnevis.co.uk

And to close, a small poem from Kenneth MacLeod which I unearthed during my research on Rhum:

The grail of the dream land, the youth land, is love lit,
Beside the hill water a foam to sea,
Like tangle at noontide, like snow-wreath in moon-light,
And thou who art yearning, shall yearn them to be
O Bride! ‘tis seaward, the dream land, the youth land
O Bride! And seaward the coolin of Rum