A wee quiz game for a bit of fun.
How’d you go?
If you liked the picture, it’s one of mine :) I’m quite proud of it to be honest. There’s more of my art and photography over on Stray Visions: The Stray Thoughts Art Shop if you felt like checking it out (all money raised there is donated to charity).
There’s also more fun and games to be had over in The Game Zone on this very blog.
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.
A rambunctious video double featuring the mighty collossos metropolis of Portlethen (!) and then an incredibly bizarre coda featuring Aberdeen beach in the middle of a mighty gale and rainstorm! Enjoy.
A video which is a little different than those published so far during this trip.
Bored one evening I began playing around with editing so rather than just post the “video blog” there are a few additions and a bit more historical information to this video. I could say “does anyone smell cheddar?” as it does get a wee bit cheesy, but hey, this was an atrocious chapter in British history so I think I’m allowed a little edammy-leeway here and there :)
Drumnadrochit, or Drum as it will hitherto be known, is a small township of only 600 (approx) lying midway up the North Side of Loch Ness. Which, unless you’ve been living in a remote cave somewhere in the Himalayan wilderness for the last century, is home to the ‘Monster’, or Nessie as she will hitherto be known.
There have been tales of strange sightings and occurrences at Loch Ness dating back to the time of St. Columba (the Irish monk who established the church upon Iona and whom attempted to convert the Highlands to the ways of Christianity. These sightings have varied from Sea Serpents and Sturgeons to the more mythical explanations; water kelpies and unknown monsters (i.e. Nessie)
It wasn’t until 1933 that Nessie sightings took off and began making a name of Loch Ness across the world. It was in this year that, following a somewhat biased article in the Inverness Courier (the local paper), Nessie sightings began to become regular occurrences.
Then, in April 1934, this picture appeared:
Without question the most famous photo of Nessie which has yet to hit the general population. Surely this shows the infamous Nessie in all her beautiful, somewhat blurred glory? Well…actually, what most people don’t know is that this photograph was released the press on April 1st - All Fools Day! Yet for over half a century, until the late 1990s this photograph was widely heralded as the most concrete proof that something did indeed exist in this mighty loch.
Only it was then revealed it was a fake; it is in fact a toy submarine with a toy dinosaur stuck on top. Yet it was a photograph that captured the imagination of the world, kick started over half a century of research, ignited thousands of people into becoming amateur Nessie hunters, created a massive tourist boom around the loch and cemented the name Loch Ness into the annuls of history.
I will stress straight away that I am a believer. Colour me naïve, but I am positive there is something lurking in the murky waters of this loch.
If you haven’t been there, some basic facts:
I will, however, stress almost as quickly that I am not saying it is a Pleiseosaur or other prehistoric creature. I said I believe there is something in the loch, which I’m sure there is. It might be a giant eel, a befuddled whale, a ravishingly beautiful naked mermaid or even a never-before-seen species of water based badger. It might be anything, because what it is isn’t important to me, what is important is that I believe something is there. And as Isobel says:
“No Mr Dempsey, you have to believe it before you can see it,”
I believe in Nessie, kelpies, dancing wee faeries and ever staring Gwyllions. I believe in bogles, brownies, wartless witches and ravishingly beautiful mermaids. We all need something to believe in, and the hidden magic of the world is what I believe in - well, that and the inherent goodness of humankind, but in today’s society this is getting harder to find than Nessie herself!
That’s just me.
However, until you have seen Loch Ness it is difficult to truly understand the scale of this body of water. This is no mere puddle or lake! It takes over an hour to travel from one end to the other, it’s over a mile at it’s widest point and there are so many geological and natural phenomena occurring in it’s waters all the time that it’s no wonder so many people have seen something.
In the short space of time I was there I saw three localized whirlpools created out of the weather and tidal conditions on and below the water’s surface. Otters and seals have been known to live in the water, and an explanation for many of the “horned head” sightings can be attributed to deer swimming across the loch.
[Click image for larger view]
It is hard to stand on the shore’s of the loch and not have a casual glance over the surface to see if you can spot Nessie. I do it every time I’m there, and this occasion was no different, I am yet to see anything which I can’t explain though. I believe in Nessie, yes, but I’m also willing (and able) to factor in those deer, whirlpools and water based badgers instead of allowing myself to believe anything my eyes throw up.
My excursion for the first day I was at the loch was a visit to the Loch Ness Monster Exhibitionin Drum. My last visit here was waaayyyyyyyy back in 1997 and my recollection of it was a half interesting/half annoying collection of monster sightings, brief history and recollections and an overwhelming sense of trying to convince you the monster was there. They have however spent a lotof money updating and transforming the exhibition in the 11 years since my last visit and I was surprised to find an exhibition which wasn’t in the “there definitely is a monster so go frack yourself” camp. Here is an exhibition which paints an honest portrait of not just the Nessie phenomenon but gives a stunning amount of information on the Loch and area itself. It’s history, nature, ecological function, challenging the visitor to think more about the loch as an environment rather than a habitat for a (potentially) long since extinct dinosaur. I can whole heartily recommend this exhibition to visitor’s, the cost of admission is well worth it, ad you can also skip through the fluffy Nessie kingdom of it’s shop at the end, if you so wish.
But who out there could pass up the chance of owning a pair of Nessie emblazoned knickers? Surely the ultimate in erotic apparel, no?
Meanwhile…
Whilst couples frolic in the Drumnadrochit hotel with their Nessie knickers in various states of dress, the mighty ruin of Castle Urquhart stands ever watchful over the deep waters.
My first visit to the castle was, again, in 1997 when I risked retribution and surreptitiously leapt over it’s walls after closing for a wee trespassing poke around. My second visit to the castle was in 2000, when I spent a couple of hours there with a lovely girl from the hostel I was staying at (a meeting which had occurred when I walked into her room whilst cleaning it and found her standing there half naked, and let’s be honest, perchancing to bump into gorgeous woman in their underwear is surely the point of becoming a hostel cleaner isn’t it?)
But, oh, how time’s have changed. You can now no longer risk a smacked bottom by illegally entering the castle as you’d break your neck with the drop they’ve created, and rather than walking around a few crumbling stones you can now learn all about the castle courtesy of their shiny new visitor centre.
Built in the 13th Century this castle has been pillaged, ransacked, destroyed, rebuilt, ransacked, pillaged, destroyed, rebuilt, ransacked, pillaged and destroyed more times than it’s conceivable to believe. In fact, pretty much every one who passed the castle during the 14th and 15th Centuries decided to attack the thing and try to seize it for their own! Perhaps they liked the view. But with everyone and their sheep attacking you is it any wonder the owners finally decided to blow the thing up themselves and move on to pastures new in 1692?
Many people pass their noses up at the chance of visiting this castle - why would I pay to wander around a few piles of bricks? They ask - well, as with the Nessie Exhibition above, I can whole heartily recommend shelling out those few pounds. The brand spanking new exhibition and visitor centre gives a complete history of the castle, and there is something very tranquil about wandering around the ruins of the castle. In fact, I would prefer to pay to walk around this form of castle rather than the complete examples - they’re just much more interesting, and oozing with delicious historical emotions.
And oh, all you Melbournians clinging to the strange fascination that you experience four seasons in one day (something I can’t adhere to having lived there for five years) in the two hours I was at the castle we had: blistering sunshine, a torrential thunderstorm, hail, more sunshine, gale force winds, more hail, a wee bit more rain then blistering sunshine again followed by a five minute snow fall!
Umm, my attempts at Rhum were hysterically bad. Here are two of the attempts, the first the most successful version I shot that day (attempt #6) and then the “obscurity” of (attempt #9) which follows it - and I have still to figure out exactly what happened to the camera here!
And pray I don’t ever post any of the out-takes!
…and yes, I duely deserve a spanking from all your film school students out there for breaking the fundamental rule of “don’t shoot into the sun!” (because, well, the results are fairly obvious aren’t they) So this can serve as a lesson to all!
Day #7 - Glen Nevis and Cow Hill
This was meant to be a “quiet day”, I like having them every now and then; just a day full of short strolls ’round town, nude sunbathing in the torrential rain, that sort of thing - so obviously I decided to go on a 25km hike up Glen Nevis!
Without doubt Glen Nevis is one of the most breath-taking examples of a Scottish Glen, and has over the years earned itself the award of “Addy’s most visited Scottish Glen” as I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been there.
My most memorable visit to the glen however was in mid 2001 when Lucy and I took a camping trip to Banavie and then into the glen on the way home. Now, the glen is notorious for it’s population of Highland Cows (i.e. hairy coos) and on this occasion we happened upon a field jam packed with these grass munching animals of exquisite cuteness. Venturing in for some photographs I started snapping away and then looked over to where Lucy was standing - the expression on her face being pure shock, extreme excitement or cack-yourself-with-fear terror. For standing less than a few centimeters from her was an only slightly hungry coo sniffing her. It must have been trying to decide if it should take a break from grass and chow down on something tastier instead. Fortunately for me it decided not to bite, which was unfortunate for him as he missed out on a rare morsel of tender tastiness. There is however a delightful photograph of this curious coo and a slightly befuddled looking Lucy.
This trip however, all the coos were elsewhere (possibly on a day trip to Rhum, who knows?) so I merely walked the glen to the falls and then began the trip back.
As I did I decided to return via an alternate route, which was up and over Cow Hill, which stands between the town and the Glen. It was a marvelous stroll and despite the grey damp weather offered fantastic views and made a change from the well worn paths I am used to trotting up and down the Glen.
Following this rather lengthy and utterly delightful hike I found myself watching what I can only assume is how the Fort Willians relax on a day-to-day basis…
…and I think more towns should adopt this strategy to entertain (and indeed exercise) it’s citizens!
Just a quick note to say I have been having a great deal of difficulty in uploading any posts and certainly the videos (which all keep getting bounced back to me) over the last few days and hope I will have the problem rectified soon so you can all catch up with what I’ve been up to - so far we’re only seven days behind with my adventures!
Which isn’t too bad I suppose :p
So just to bide you over, here is an awful self-portrait taken whilst I was in Glenfinnan!
“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 2nd 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
Heart Full of Napalm Secret Life of a Manic Depressive
