The Written Word
for August 22, 1999

There is some unspoiled country still left in this world that is easily accessible though God only knows how long it will take to screw it up too. I speak of the very north of Scotland.

That it is largely unexplored by North Americans is understandable. For the average person may never have a chance at all to go to the United Kingdom and if they do, it’s natural that they want to see what they’ve heard so much about – Buckingham Palace, St Pauls, Westminster Abbey and, if time permits, places like Salisbury Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, York and Canterbury. If Scotland is to be done, it’s Edinburgh.

Don’t get me wrong – Edinburgh is a wonderful city and a vibrant place. But it is scarcely representative of Scotland. And it sure as Hell isn’t the Highlands.

The best access to the Highlands, I think, is north of Glasgow, past Loch Lomond (the traffic on that stretch can be very heavy) up through Tyndrum, past the Bridge of Orchy, through historic and moody Glencoe through to Fort William. You are now definitely in the Highlands with its gloomy yet spectacular mountains all covered with heather which is in magnificent bloom from August through to October. But even though you are now out of range of most tourists, you’ve only begun your Highland adventure. As I write this I think of those who will be protesting that the best access to the Highlands is through Perth and up through Balmoral with perhaps a side trip to Loch Rannoch and a wetted line in the Tummel. Fair enough but I’ll take my way.

After leaving Fort William it’s the Isle of Skye which even an abominable bridge across the Kyle of Lochalsh can’t spoil. This is where Flora Macdonald is buried and everyone on the island seems to be a MacLeod or a Macdonald. But if you want solitude with wonderful tramps through the heather with a flyrod in your hand take the little ferry from Skye to the Isle of Raasay which lies alongside Skye. But having got this far we’re still a long way from where I’m talking about. What you want to see is that which so few ever get to see – the Northwest corner of Scotland called Sutherland – so named because for the Vikings this was the "Souther land." It is here that the roads get narrower and narrower until they are one way with lay-bys when traffic approaches. This is where people and even sheep and cattle are scarce as hen’s teeth. This is where the tramps through the heather and the drives past the magnificent lochs are at their best. There are hundreds of lochs, big and small, where permits to fish are easily obtained. In fact if you stay at a hotel, like Rhiconich Lodge where we are, access is usually free to dozens of lochs. No fishing in Scotland on Sunday though!

There are lots of things you won’t find – such as McDonalds or Pizza Hut: such as shopping centers or malls. Indeed you must be careful to note where you can get petrol if you’re on a long haul although towns and most villages will have some pumps. What you will find is spectacular scenery and the most hospitable people on the planet. If you have lots of Scots blood as I do, you will feel your connection to this magnificent part of the world and perhaps feel that you have been here once before in another life.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out that the Hebrides are reached from this part of Scotland, either from Oban in the Southern Highlands or Ullapool in the North. So is Orkney from near John O’Groats. And if you are taking a long vacation in this part of Scotland, say a month, these trips are terrific.

I would recommend that you get an Illustrated Road Book of Scotland put out by AA. I say this advisedly because I have the 1974 version, never having seen the need to upgrade it except by having a current road atlas. Perhaps they are now out of print. The AA book has scores of different routes for you to take but of special interest is their descriptions of everywhere you go down to the tiniest hamlet.

I hate to say it – especially to those who have been to Edinburgh and Glasgow and think you’ve seen Scotland – but if you’ve more than a drop of Highland Scots in you, you have to go the very North to say you’ve been to the motherland.