I can see clearly now......
by - 15:32 on 13 February 2007
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve written in guides something like ‘Scotland isn’t a big place. For instance, you can see the Trossachs Hills, on the very edge of the Highlands, from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle.’ To which anyone from, say, Illinois, might respond ‘So what?’ (I must have been writing for the UK market.)
But it’s true. Scotland really isn’t a big country. That’s part of the charm. For instance – and once again, any mystified Illinois readers will have to bear with me – I can remember standing on top of Ben More Assynt which is a fine day’s hike in the north-west Highlands, north of Ullapool. It was a clear day and from the summit I could see, to the west, the long chain of the Western Isles. Round to the north, the island archipelago of Orkney was perfectly plain – and I could see south-east to the Inner Moray Firth. Basically, I could see all round the top of Scotland.
At the other end of Scotland, if you take the hill road over the Lammermuir Hills from Duns, then at a certain point in the rolling moors you can stop by the roadside and look back to the big dome of The Cheviot which, dammit all, is actually in England. Turn around and through a gap you can see the Lomond Hills of Fife. And if you want to continue the chain, the Lomond Hills are visible from quite a lot of places in the Cairngorms, from where you can see the Moray Firth….and so on all the way to Fair Isle, visible from Orkney, then Shetland, visible from Fair Isle.
So it strikes me that our ideas of distance stretch and contract, especially when it comes to our perceptions of Scotland. (As an aside, presumably the consultants who advised that the Western Isles, mentioned above, should be referred to in tourism material as the Outer Hebrides just wanted to make them sound further away – cf outer darkness, Outer Mongolia. Personally I liked the romance of the ‘western’ bit, but what do I know?)
To summarise: if you’re travelling in the Highlands, then, thanks to folk like me, you’ll hear all about the ‘Scotland’s last wilderness’ stuff. Do not be intimidated. It really isn’t very far from anywhere, especially to the 24 hour megastores in Inverness (if you must).
Meanwhile, if you’ve a moment - and you know your way round already - send in your favourite long-distance views to record those occasions when you saw the extra mile.
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