Reflecting on history and the scenery at Gaskan, Loch Shiel.

Nestling at the SW end of Gaskan Wood is Gaskan cottage, all that remains of the hamlet of Gaskan. It was here that the MacDonald's built their birlinns (fast galleys powered by sail and oars) using the plentiful supply of oak. Later the forest was also used to manufacture charcoal which was shipped to the iron furnace at Bonawe on Loch Etive. This was 120km away down the River Shiel, into the sea and round Ardnamurchan Point which was quite a journey!

The author and naturalist Mike Tomkies lived in Gaskan cottage for nearly two decades in the '70s and the '80s. His book "A Last Wild Place" described the time he spent in this cottage at Gaskan which he called "Wildernesse".

SW of Gaskan the scenery was bathed in the golden light of early morning.

Below an area that had been cleared of trees...

...were the remains of an old dry stone sheep fold.

The water was so still that paddling near the shore was again quite disorientating.

Ian spotted a lovely little beach and although...

...we had not paddled far...

...we had seen so much that...

...a stop was called for so that...

...we could drink in more of the wonderful view and properly savour what we had seen.

Eilean Comhlach, a surreal meeting place on Loch Shiel..

I was glad I had taken the trouble of stopping to clear the condensation from my camera lens because the combination...

..of mist and...

 ...early morning light created a surreal effect on the waters of Loch Shiel.

By this time Ian and Mike were just dots on the horizon and added scale to the scene.

 As the sun rose it gradually burned the mist off Gaskan Wood, which was just as well because...

,,,there was not a breath of wind to blow it away.

The cold grey mist still hung about the higher crags and contrasted with the warm rich russet browns of last year's bracken.

For some time my eye had been drawn down the loch to Eilean Comhlach which, with its reflection, made such a pretty picture. Its name could be isle of the meeting place, fellow warrior or suckling pig.  Several lochs have islands where warring chieftans met without fear of being ambushed by each other's men.

However, I resisted the temptation to be completely captivated by the isle and turned to face the way we had come.

 I was rewarded by this scene of mountains and mist closing in round the heads of the loch.

We had each been paddling in our own space but were all drawn to...

 ...paddle towards...

 ...the magical isle of Eilean Comhlach, where we regrouped and met.

We circumnavigated both it and its smaller neighbour.

 We lingered as long as we could but the...

 ...sun was now rising quickly and we had a long way to go. It was with some regret that we left Eilean Comhlach. We each agreed that it was already one of our most memorable days on the water and yet it was only 08:22!

Some matters concerning frost, condensation, mist, "evaporation", disappearing water and the golden light of dawn on Loch Shiel.

The skies cleared about 1a.m. and turned into a bitterly cold night on the shores of Loch Shiel. We had planned to rise at 6am and right on cue a timber lorry rumbled down the forestry road on the far side of the loch. It was the first sound of human activity we had heard since leaving Glenfinnan the previous day.

The sun had not yet risen and the frost lay thick on the ground round our camp site.

We rubbed our hands to keep them warm while our water boiled then after breakfast...

...we loaded the boats. At least, being a fresh water loch, we had not had to carry them far due to the lack of tide! However, the "tide marks" on the sand showed that the level of the loch had dropped 15cm overnight. This might not sound much but Loch Shiel has a surface area of 19.3km2! That is a huge volume of water that had disappeared overnight. Since it clearly had not evaporated it must have gone somewhere else and that somewhere is where we were going....!

We launched just as the first rays of sun hit the mountain slopes high above. You will note that I had brought my Aries 155. It swallowed gear and food for 3 nights and 4 days in winter with no bother though it was right down to the seam.

We were still in deep shade when we launched but by the time our cold fingers fumbled with the spray decks...

...the sun had risen above the mountains.

We turned our backs to the sun and aimed our bows...

...to the SW...

...down the long defile of Loch Sheil. A layer of mist on the water began to rise leaving the...

...air crystal clear in the golden light of dawn. Ian and I snapped away with our DSLR cameras but they were so cold and the air was so humid that the lenses misted up with condensation.

The light was so wonderful that I really did not want to miss any shots. So I landed and spent some time with lens tissues and holding the lens to the sun to warm it.

The tattie stick of Loch Shiel.

 After our "tea stop" we continued down Loch Shiel and passed...

 ..the delta of the River Aladale which flows out of Glen Aladale, the ancestral home of the Jacobite MacDonalds. We were keen to get as far down the loch as possible before night fall so we pressed on. Just as the sun was setting a cold SW wind got up and made finding a camp site more urgent.

We came to a spot where there were two potential camp sites a few hundred metres apart. One had better ground but was exposed to the cold wind. We were getting tired and visited each site twice before making our final decision.

 In the end we decided on the more sheltered location and soon had the tents up and our evening meal cooking.

We got all our things in order by the time darkness fell over Loch Shiel by which time, it was time to get the camp fire lit.

0Baked potatoes were cooking in the embers as we warmed our toes by the fire. We toasted the success of our first day with several malts before the tattie stick was produced to howk the tatties oot the fire. One thing the prudent camper must not do is to chuck all the sticks on the fire before the potatoes are removed. One suitably long stick must be retained! With some butter and salt, the baked potatoes were absolutely delicious and were unanimously voted the best ever.

Reflections on Loch Shiel. All is not what it seems; shown the water and across the water.

As we proceeded down Loch Shiel in the early evening, the waters of the loch became...

 ...even calmer.

It was down this loch the Prince Charles Edward Stuart the "Young Pretender" to the British throne made his way after the defeat of the Jacobite army at Culloden in 1746. He knew he was safe here. MacDonald of Glenaladale, on the NW shore of the loch was a staunch Jacobite. George II's soldiers hunted Charles down ruthlessly but despite a £30,000 reward, none of the Highlanders who sheltered him betrayed him. In 1746 the Highlands were in turmoil, a long way from the calm of the loch today. The Jacobite cause was complex. It was not just a simple Scottish/English or Highland/Lowland or Catholic/Protestant divide but it led to the destruction of the traditional Scottish Clan system and the clearing of the many small communities that populated the Highland glens. Even the wearing of tartan was banned and it was not until over a century later that Sir Walter Scott and Queen Victoria re-popularised Highland culture and the wearing of tartan became acceptable again..

There was no sign of spring in the rugged mountain slopes though...

 ...the snows had receded to the high corries.

As we paddled steadily down the loch...

...we passed many headlands...

 ...backed by deciduous woodland.

 Their rocks had once been polished by ice but...

...were were now reflected by the calm water.

It was quite disorienting paddling close to the shore, sometimes it was not easy to say what was up and what was down!

 There were surprises round every corner such as...

 ...Eilean Dubh and if you did not look back, you might miss...

 ...some lovely beaches.

 The only sign of man's influence was the forestry track on the SE shore.

 The striking thing about the symmetry in Loch Shiel was that...

 ...sometimes....

...the reflections were...

 ...more vivid than the reality.

We had been paddling in silence for some time. Each of us was immersed in our own thoughts.

 At last I turned back and looking at the now distant head of the loch, realised how far we had come.

 It was definitely time for an early evening tea stop.

We found a delightful beach just north of Glenaladale to stretch our legs and take a refreshment. We were of course deep in the Highlands of Scotland where "tea" does not necessarily come from a bush.

Oh no! We are talking of refreshment that comes from the barley. Ian produced a flask of cask strength Linkwood. Liquor of this strength requires to be "shown" a little water to bring out its full flavour and avoid numbing the palate.

Where better to get some water to show to the whisky than the crystal clear waters of Loch Sheil? In true Royal Navy tradition, we remained seated during our toasts. As it was a Tuesday, we toasted ourselves, our expedition and our friends, in that order. In times gone by, the MacDonalds of Glenaladale would have toasted the "King over the Water" i.e. the Young Pretender, Bonny Prince Charlie. If they were at a function where they had to give the Loyal Toast to the Hanovarian King George, they would pass their glass over their finger bowl as the said "The King!" In so doing the whisky passed "over the water" before they drank it. Thus although they pretended to toast King George, this was a secret sign that their loyalty lay instead with the King over the Water.

After 1746 so many people did this that even the Hanovarians realized what was going on and such was the fear of another uprising that finger bowls were banned from formal functions where the Loyal Toast was to be given. Jacobites quicky developed a new sign, they passed their hand over the top of their glass before drinking. Again this symbolised "over the water". It was not until after Edward VII came to the throne in 1902 that he felt the Monarchy was by then secure enough to allow finger bowls to placed on formal tables again.

Alexander MacDonald of Glenaladale was a Jacobite descendent of the MacDonalds who had sheltered Bonny Prince Charlie in Loch Sheil. For many years he wanted to build a monument at the head of Loch Shiel to commemorate where Bonny Prince Charlie raised his standard at the start of the 1745 Rebellion. It was only after the significant part played by Scottish infantry and cavalry regiments in the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 that Hanovarian concern about another Jacobite rebellion had eased and he was finally given permission. Unfortunately he died before it could be completed.

The design was a simple tower with a statue of "a highlander" on its top. MacDonald had to swear that the statue was of a simple and "anonymous highlander" and to this day the exhibition at the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre tells the same story. However, modern day Jacobites such as A Circle of Gentlemen and the 1745 Association know differently.

Photo by Kutsa from Wikipedia of the statue of the "Anonymous Highlander" on the top of the Glenfinnan monument.

This is no Anonymous Highlander! The tower is high so most people cannot make out the detail of the statue. It is worth looking through a pair of binoculars. Then just look at the fine tailored jacket, the fold of cloth on the left shoulder to represent the common Highlander's untailored plaid (the Feileadh-mhor), the wig, the feather in the bonnet that represented the chief in battle and the Star of St Andrew on his left breast. This is a statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie himself! Here is a contemporary description of the Prince by John Home, a Hanovarian, when the Prince entered Edinburgh after leaving Glenfinnan:

"He was in the prime of youth, tall and handsome, of a fair complexion; he had a light coloured periwig with his own hair combed over the front: he wore the Highland dress, that is a tartan short coat without the plaid, a blue bonnet on his head, and on his breast the star of St. Andrew."

From Wikipedia, this is the portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie as he arrived in Edinburgh by William Mosman painted ~1750.  It  hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland.

In Loch Shiel, all is not what it seems. On the beach at Glenaladale, where the MacDonalds once trod, we gave the toast slàinte mhòr! (great health!) This too is not what it seems. At first it looks like a variation of the common Gaelic toast  slàinte mhath (good health) but it is also a Jacobite toast with a hidden meaning, "health to Marion", which was a code word for Bonnie Prince Charlie! With a code name like that , was he a cross dresser? Well, yes he was. While on the run from Hanovarian troops in 1746 he escaped from Benbecula dressed as Flora MacDonald's maid!

To this day Jacobite sympathisers gather at Glenfinnan Monument on the 19th of August each year and raise a toast to the statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie at the top of the tower, "Slàinte mhòr!"