Prayer for St. Symin by Jennifer Parsignault

Leaving the main A82 Glasgow to Inverness road at Invergarry, the A87 quickly passes through the village and then takes a few twists and turns before reaching a viewpoint above Loch Garry. By moving around a bit and having a vivid imagination, the vista from the viewpoint offers a rough outline of a map of Scotland: Whether or not the view suggests the same to you is another matter, but either way, it’s a pretty good scene nonetheless.

From the viewpoint, the road skirts the eastern edge of Loch Loyne, and is then joined by the A887, a road that runs through Glenmoriston between Loch Cluanie (where the River Moriston emerges) and Loch Ness. At Loch Cluanie, the wooded valleys of Glengarry and Glen Moriston then give way to a more barren landscape.

Loch Cluanie is fed by the River Cluanie at the far end of the loch, and technically speaking, should really be called a reservoir. In the 1950s a dam was constructed here at Glenmoriston, and the valley flooded. It provided a head of water for the Garry-Moriston Hydro-Electric scheme and is currently operated by Scottish and Southern Energy.

Changes to the natural environment are not always welcome, but not only does the loch/reservoir utilise the abundant supply of water that the skies above frequently provide, it also seems to have seamlessly blended into the natural landscape as well.

The road follows the loch’s northern shore and there are plenty of pulling-in places from where you can enjoy the views. Below are some images that I took looking up the valley towards Glen Shiel, and looking back down onto the loch shrouded in mist. How’s your glass of Scotch whisky going down by the way?

The loch is about 4 ½ miles long, and if the disappearance of water doesn’t give a clue that we’ve come to the end of it, then the appearance of the Cluanie Inn will. The pub used to be a typical Highlands wayside inn, but on my last visit I was surprised to see that it had been brought into the 21^st century with all mod-cons. I’m not always in favour of modernising historic pubs, but I couldn’t see anything to complain about here.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the magnificent scenery. To me, this is the point at which Glen Shiel begins, and the picture below shows what the scenery is like outside the front door of the Cluanie Inn.

Glen Shiel runs for about nine miles between the Cluanie Inn and Shiel Bridge, and it’s difficult to keep your eyes on the road with all this wonderful scenery around, but I don’t suppose supporters of the Jacobite cause were admiring the scenery when they were fighting British troops here back in 1719.

The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10^th June in the hills above the glen about half way along the valley. It ended with defeat for the Jacobites and was the final blow for the Rising of 1719 which aimed to overturn the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and restore a Catholic King to the throne after King James II (VII) was deposed.

Those of you who are interested in this part of Scottish history might like to know that the main battle took place on Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, and alongside it is Sgurr nan Spainteach (Peak of the Spaniards), named after the Spanish troops who fought alongside the Jacobites.

I’ll resist the temptation to go into any more detail about the battle or the Jacobite cause here because this is about a scenic drive through the Scottish Highlands, and I’ve still got a little way to go before I can warm up with my own glass of malt.

Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe (3370ft) and Sgurr nan Spainteach (3248ft) are two of the Five Sisters of Kintail. The other three are Sgurr na Carnach (3287ft), Sgurr Fhuaran (3505ft) and Sgurr nan Saighead (3047ft). Some people argue that there is a sixth – Sgurr na Moracih, but at 2874ft, it’s the only peak along the Kintail ridge that isn’t a Munro.

For anyone unfamiliar with the term, Munro is named after Sir Hugh Munro who compiled a list of Scottish mountains over 3000 ft in 1891. The list has been added to and amended since, but today there are 282 on the list. People who climb to the top are known as Munro Baggers, and I’ve even read about one who calls himself the Munro Bagpiper; and it got me wondering as to what it must feel like, having struggled to climb 3000ft up a Sottish mountainside, only to find a bloke at the top in a kilt playing the bagpipes when you get there.

At the end of the glen, the River Shiel flows into Loch Duich near the village of Shiel Bridge, and the road crosses over Strath Croe before skirting the north side of the loch.

Loch Duich runs in a north-westerly direction for around five miles, where it is joined by Loch Long at Dornie to flow into Loch Alsh. Where the three lochs meet is a small island dedicated to St. Donan, a 6^th century Irish missionary, and one of Scotland’s most photographed landmarks – Eilean Donan Castle.

The first fortification on the island was built in the early 13^th century to help protect Kintail from the Vikings. Scottish history around this time is less than straightforward as various factions were fighting for control. Not only were the Scots at loggerheads with the Vikings, there was also the problem of the Lords of the Isles to contend with. These rulers of Western Scotland and the Hebridean Islands were descendants of Somerled who had a Gaelic-Norse background, but by 1266, thanks to the Treaty of Perth, the situation had settled down, and the castle came into Scottish hands.

The MacRae Clan are the family most closely connected with the castle, and the first association came about when Charrich MacRae was appointed Constable in 1509, but it was the castle’s involvement in the Jacobite Risings that had the most devastating effect.

The first of the three Jacobite Risings occurred in 1715, and as soon as the British Government got wind of what was happening, they installed a garrison at Eilean Donan: The men of Kintail, being supporters of the Jacobite cause, wasted no time in kicking the Government troops out, and then rallied their own men here before marching off to the Battle of Sheriffmuir. Both sides claimed victory in the battle, but in truth there was no decisive outcome.

As I’ve already mentioned, the second Rising of 1719 ended at the Battle of Glen Shiel. The Spanish troops involved were briefly garrisoned at Eilean Donan, which they also used as a gunpowder store. The British Government sent three warships to bombard the castle, but in the end needed to send troops ashore, who then used the gunpowder to blow up what was left – and for the next 200 years, the castle was left in ruins. The third and final Rising incidentally, ended with defeat for Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite followers at the Battle of Culloden Moor in 1746.

As for the castle, it was not until 1911, when John MacRae-Gilstrap acquired it, that restoration plans were put in place. The original idea was to maintain the castle as a picturesque ruin, but his accomplice, local stonemason Farquhar MacRae, had a dream in which he visualised how the castle would have looked before it was destroyed, and so a year later, using rubble from the ruins, they embarked on a project that would take twenty years to complete.

The final piece of the jigsaw was the stone bridge that transports people over to the island, and an official opening ceremony took place in July 1932. Unfortunately for Farquhar MacRae, he died before the bridge was finished, but it wasn’t all bad news for the stonemason. According to Marigold MacRae, the mother of the current Baroness and President of the Clan MacRae, she says that “The extraordinary thing is that after the restoration was completed, the plans for the castle were discovered in the archives of Edinburgh Castle, and lo-and-behold, they were exactly as Farquhar had dreamed them to be! That is why Eilean Donan Castle is known as the Castle of Dreams.”

Understandably, the castle is a magnet for tourists, but when we visited in December 2019 we were the only ones here. How lucky was that? To be honest the castle isn’t overly big, and apart from The Keep, there’s not a great deal more to see.

First up is the Billeting Room which was surprisingly homely, but with a reminder of the castle’s history in a collection of cannonballs used in the 1719 Government assault. The main feature of the castle though is without doubt, the Banqueting Hall, where we were met by a jovial Scotsman in a kilt and a female volunteer getting the Christmas Tree ready. There was a lovely log fire burning away, but I don’t think it was that which was giving the guide his rosy red cheeks somehow. I’ve seen what Scotsmen keep in their sporrans and it often comes in the form of an amber liquid. Christmas seemed to have started early from what I could see of it because when I mentioned to him that it was a shame that photography wasn’t allowed, he replied “Och Aye! Take as many as ye like” – or something like that. He even told me where to get the best shots.

There’s not a lot more that I need to tell you about Eilean Donan really: There are some bits and pieces from the Jacobite Risings and one or two other things on display, but one thing you should know about is the Clan MacRae WWI Roll of Honour on an outer wall of the castle.

One of those on the list is John MacRae, a Canadian member of the clan who was a medic at Essex Farm Medical Station near Ypres in Flanders. Having been there, his name is etched in my memory because he was the man who wrote the poem, In Flanders Fields. It’s a story that I need to talk about in another post really, but I wouldn’t want you to miss the connection.

We’re nearing the end of our journey now because just a 15 minute drive away is the Kyle of Lochalsh, which until the Skye Bridge was built, was the end of the road.

For 400 years, people had been transported across the Sound between the Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin by boat, but after the new bridge was officially opened in October 1995, the ferry was immediately decommissioned.

Built by a private consortium, the crossing used Eilean Ban as a stepping stone, so in actual fact it is really two bridges. (Eilean Ban, incidentally, was the last home of Gavin Maxwell, author of Ring of Bright Water). When it opened, the majority of people (but not all) thought it was a great addition to the community, but that euphoria soon died down when people realised how much it was going to cost to use it. After a lot of protesting by locals and wrangling by politicians of all colours, the tolls were finally dropped altogether in December 2004.

We’ve made it across the sea to Skye at last. It’s a fabulous destination to come to, but I hope you think that the journey getting here wasn’t too bad either.

Now where’s that whisky glass? I think it’s time for a wee dram of Talisker now, don’t you?

POSTED – JANUARY 2022