In 2003, my husband, son and sister took a road trip around Scotland, England and Wales. We started in Edinburgh, which I loved, but apparently we were very lucky with the weather, and then went north into the Scottish Highlands. This is the most scarcely populated area in Europe after mass migration to urban areas during the Industrial Revolution. It also includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. Geography lesson over.
The Scottish Highlands took me by surprise. I felt an immediate connection and revelled in the dark atmosphere – much like that in the books I write. My ancestors were the Macdonalds from the Isle of Skye and those slaughtered by the Campbells at Glencoe. We were lucky with our two-days on Skye as well weather-wise and actually saw the tips of the mountains – a rarity. This is an island seeped with history and I felt it. There’s nothing light-hearted about the place and that’s fine by me. It inspired me to write a mystery story set here.
Wherever we travelled in the Highlands, I felt the weight of the past and revelled in the majestic scenery. I couldn’t stop photographing the deep valleys, rivers, lochs and towering mountains. It was just beautiful. And I am passionate about castles and ancient homes – I was not disappointed and couldn’t get enough of them.
At Glencoe, I was quite overwhelmed by the grief that hung about the place. I have always been affected by the vibes of where I am and have often not been able to cope with places with a tragic past. For example, the Killing Fields of Cambodia devastated me and I had to make a hasty retreat. Ditto with Mauthausen, a concentration camp in Germany. Glencoe came pretty close and I was not a happy camper there.
Apart from such moments of distress, I absolutely loved the Highlands and they remain high on my list of favourite places in the world – in fact they are number six on my top ten.
I LOVE this post, Suzanne! I visited Scotland in 2001 and my heart longs to go back. While I was there, I felt like I was home. It was a strange, ethereal connection to a place I had never been before. Hard to describe. I loved it all, but my favorite place was the Isles of Mull and Iona. But honestly, every place we went, I fell in love over and over again!
Ah, so you got that feeling too. Do you have Scottish blood in your veins like me?
I do, so I attribute it to that. I seriously cannot wait to go back … some day! 🙂
First you get that money accumulated for leaving your job, then you can aim for Scotland. It’s great to have concrete things you are working towards.