Pit Stops En Route
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After the stop at Glenfinnan to see the loch and Jacobite railway (see last post) it was full steam ahead to the coast (sorry, couldn't resist that pun). As the road across from Glenfinnan to the West Coast is so scenic I made a couple of pit stops at aesthetically positioned lay bys on the way there. Although unplanned, I feel that when travelling anywhere it is impossible to stick to a rigid plan or route. Spontaneity and travel tend to go hand in hand.
'All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.' Martin Buber
One of these lay-bys had information about the famous Glencoe massacre (1692), one of the darkest points of Scottish history. In a place of such majestic magnificence it is sad to think of what happened there so many years ago but thankfully episodes like that are confined to history in and around Glencoe.
While stopped at one of the lay-bys I did a quick sketch in my ever-trusty Moleskine sketchbook. After standing sketching for a little while I found that if I went back a bit and leaned against the back of the car I could sketch with surprisingly comfortable support! The late-morning sun was pleasantly warm directly above me so I felt I was in the prime spot for sketching at that point.
It was a view from further into the photo below that I was sketching. The focus of my composition was the viaduct you can just about make out in the upper left quadrant of this picture.
Although I was enjoying the suns soothing rays I knew I needed to get to the coast as soon as possible to catch the best of the day there. I hoped to time my visit to the coast when the weather conditions allowed for the water to appear turquoise and the sand to be as white as possible at the beaches there. Ever since passing that part of the West Coast on the train as a child when I saw the water there for the first time in all its beautiful turquoise glory I have wanted to go back to the area and not just pass by but be able to walk along the beach and embrace the surroundings. It amazes me that despite Scotland being located where it is in the world, an area that no-one could ever think of as being 'tropical', it has bays and stretches of coastline that one could easily mistake for belonging to a tropical country. Only visually, that is; the climate is the continual reminder that the beach is in fact in Scotland and definitely not a tropical country!
It was time to continue the journey to the Coast in search of tropical-looking waters and white sand.
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Read more in my next post
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Helen C Redman
