Highland, Lowland and Island
Three Long-Distance Walks in the Scotland
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In my book Another Shore I wrote about six long-distance walks that I have made in the British Isles from 1980 to 1991. One of these journeys was the length of Scotland from Allendale Town to DurnessDurness in 1982 - I had hoped to finish my journey at Cape WrathCape Wrath though, as I recorded: I made my way to Keoldale, though from what I had been told the previous day it was doubtful whether the ferry would be running. But, there it was, getting ready to leave with a young couple, complete with bicycles mysteriously hired from somebody who wasn't in town [as I had been informed the previous day]. The ferry was not what I had expected - a dinghy with an outboard motor, and looking inadequate for a choppy sea. The ferryman told me that because of the tides he would not be able to bring me across on the return journey and that I would then have to walk out around the head of the Kyle. This would mean another eight miles on top of the twenty-six from the ferry landing to the Cape and back, more than I cared to walk in a day; there were other explorations that I could make without making walking a penance. So I returned a year later and walked to Cape WrathCape Wrath, continuing down the west coast to KnoydartKnoydart, a route said by many to have the finest coast in Britain. Galloway to Iona The walk from the Rhinns of Galloway to Iona was an attempt to complement that from Cape WrathCape Wrath to KnoydartKnoydart, to explore the length of Scotland's western coast. There were many attractions in a route along the south_west coast, starting at the most southerly point in Scotland and finishing in Iona, a place of pilgrimage for centuries. The missing `gap' between the two routes was Ardnamurchan, an area I had visited on my coast_to_coast walk across Scotland in 1981. The Outer Hebrides Anyone who has studied the map of Britain cannot have failed to have been attracted to the string of islands that constitute the Outer Hebrides. They lie like a defensive barrier for the north Scottish mainland, against the mighty waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Many visitors have written of the great beauty, the quality of the light, the hospitality, the peace and quiet. For the long_distance walker there is the attraction of a route of about 150 miles, from Barra to the Butt of Lewis, across a variety of terrain, a number of ferry crossings, and a continuous route open only to the cyclist and pedestrian. The connection between the other two journeys recorded in this book is only the thread of time and the expedition which ended in Iona. And there, on my last morning, I had looked out over the sea to those distant shores on the horizon and said to myself, “One day, God willing, I'll go there.” And so in 1987 I made a two_week journey to the Western Isles. From the lone shieling of the island Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas - Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we in dreams behold the Hebrides. Canadian Boat Song
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About the Book
This book is a record of three of Roger’s long-distance walks in Scotland. The first of these was from Cape Wrath to Knoydart, a route said by many to have the finest coastline in Britain. The second was in South West Scotland, from the Rhinns of Galloway to Iona, a place of pilgrimage for centuries. The third expedition was through the Outer Hebrides—anyone who has studied the map of Britain cannot have failed to have been attracted to the string of islands that constitute the Western Isles. They lie like a defensive barrier for the north Scottish mainland, against the mighty waves of the Atlantic Ocean. From the lone shieling of the island Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas – Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we in dreams behold the Hebrides. Canadian Boat Song
About the Author
Roger Legg was born in South East London, where he spent most of his childhood. He trained as a building services engineer, after which he worked as a research engineer in Glasgow, before becoming a lecturer at the South Bank University. During his vacations, he undertook many long-distance walks in the UK. Since his retirement, he has spent much of his time working with refugees and asylum seekers in the London Borough of Bromley.