From Belfast to Ben Nevis

When I was about 5 or 6 I had this t-shirt that I wore all the time that had the outline of a mountain and the words 'I climbed Ben Nevis'...but I hadn't! I was a fraud. Must have been a random hand-me-down or jumble sale purchase. However 40 years on I finally became worthy of that t-shirt thanks largely to this little legend...

We had all run the local Parkrun earlier in the morning and I was all set to collapse in a heap. We went to the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre to enquire about the weather forecast for climbing in the next day or two. It didn't look good but the weather that day was almost perfect. A constant stream of walkers/3-peakers were setting off. Dougal looked up at me and said hopefully 'we could always go today!' Buzz was carrying an injury, Trevi was still having disturbing flashbacks to Snowdon but Dougie had a plan... To walk the 3-peaks before he's 10...this was our best chance. Fuelled by a hasty beans on toast in the van, we bought 4 snickers bars and off we went. Despite one rain shower and one very hairy gust of wind near the summit where we both hit the deck, we had a clear glorious run with 360 views 😍 Dougie was like a super-charged mountain ibex. He could sense I was the potential flaw to his plan if I didn't go the distance and he kept enquiring how my legs felt and offering encouragement and a hand on the tricky bits. A true gent. At the top he was elated (we both were) and he said proudly.. 'This is something I've done that Trevi hasn't'. It's tough being the younger sibling sometimes but boy does it make you resilient!! 

I'm working in reverse this week...before Ben Nevis we drove west of Fort William towards Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, walking to a viewpoint looking down on the Glenfinnan Viaduct in time to see the Hogwarts Express (aka The Jacobite) puffing over. Even on a school day the carpark was half full and we shared the viewpoint with a good 30 other Harry Potter fans with at least another 50 peppering other parts of the surrounding countryside. It must get bonkers in the holidays and I hope the locals tolerate it all, certainly the NT visitor centre seemed to be doing well selling Harry Potter wands and chocolate frogs alongside information booklets on Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Rising. From my point of view (far more into it than the boys!) even with the number we had it was nice to feel the 'buzz' and be part of the gang... Clinging to our youth and our love of the idea of all things magical. We all desperately wanted to be on that train going to Hogwarts! 

The Cobbler.. Hey ooh weeee! 

Before Glenfinnan and 'Big Ben', we walked two more 'Bens', progressively building in size. Ben Arthur (otherwise known as The Cobbler) and Ben A'an in the Trossachs - both with stunning views. The Cobbler has a striking craggy summit, looming and mysterious. The left part I believe is known as King Arthur's seat but the right we thought looked like the head of an Eagle. This led to lots of references to the Angry Birds movie and Eagle Mountain with accompanying hollars! Thank goodness there wasn't a lake just beneath it (you'll need to watch the film for that one :)

Top of Ben A'an

Not disimmilar to Ireland, travelling around and learning about the history of Scotland doesn't tend to make you very proud to be English! We drove through magical and majestic Glencoe where the English Crown had given orders for the Campbells to massacre the MacDonald's, we went to Bannockburn where our guide Cam delighted in getting us all to pretend we were soldiers of Robert the Bruce defeating evil Edward II and his much larger army! But the ultimate humiliation came at our own Battle of Arrochar when we were massively outnumbered and ultimately defeated by hoardes of midges!! Such a pretty spot by a babbling stream, but cometh the dusk all hell broke loose. Bitten and cursing we limped back to Loch Lomond!

View from the campsite at Glencoe (3 deer settled on the grassy area mid-left) 

Before the Trossachs and the Highlands we had a couple of days with some family on my mum's side... Chieftans of the clan Govan... You can see why we don't hang out with these guys much... 

... Ugly bunch... Unable to string a sentence together and such a bad influence on us!! In reality they continued the super-hosting theme of this trip in fine form. My goodness... Our every whim was catered for, and beyond, and my head hurt as a result the next day 🥂🍷🍹🍾 We enjoyed a wonderful sunny day with them - a tour of the local Falkirk area taking in the Forth bridges, Linlithgow Palace (home of Mary Queen of Scots), and Cockleroy Hill for fine views of the area and a fab play park. Huge thanks to you: Andrew, Anne, Cathy & Gordon xxxx

Before Falkirk we swung by Glasgow and did the big 3 must dos... The mural trail (amazing), visit Govan (ancestral home!) and treat the kids to the local delicacies: deep-fried Mars bar and an Iron-bru!! (Actually very tasty and certainly looked more apetising than the one the Wheelers made us a few years back!)

Before Falkirk it was Ayr where we randomly went to the horse racing! Like Monaco, I had nothing smart to wear but unlike Monaco it was windy & cold. That didn't stop the locals dressing up in very little tho! We each had a tenner and saw who could make the most (if any)...5 races. Buzz bet £2 on the first then bought a beer! T & D spent all theirs betting and won nothing and I won on two and came out with £27.60...which I got excited about and spent a good chunk on drinks & cake for all to celebrate!! Adding in the £50 entrance fee...lesson of the day...it'll be a bit of fun but when betting you'll always lose in the end! Randomly, the night ended with Gok Wan on the decks doing a DJ set... 

And finally... We're back in Belfast at the end of our time in Ireland. We visited the Titanic Experience which was beautifully done. It packs a punch with its audio-visuals and its immersive visitor experience, especially considering the thing it relates to is out of reach at the bottom of the Atlantic! I've always had a fascination with the Titanic and I loved seeing the exact spot where the iconic ship was built and launched. You came out feeling a part of the story somehow. Well worth a visit. 

The final thing we did in Belfast was go on a guided walking tour with a very knowledgeable and witty local called Brian. Half way through he made reference to the unofficial national anthem of Ireland 'The Fields of Athenry' which I have always sung with gusto because I love the tune and the reference to Trevelyan... 'For he stole Trevelyan' s corn, so the young might see the morn'. Turns out this Trevelyan was a rotter, an unpleasant English (typical) government official sent by Queen Victoria to sort out the potato crisis, which he seemed to do with very little humanity. As we were walking to our next spot (The Crown Pub) we told Brian we had called our eldest Trevelyan and he raised an eyebrow then announced to the group over the audio speaker 'right folks we're off to the famous Crown pub next and young Trevelyan here is buying the drinks!' 

His talk (plus my unintentionally provocative comment at a friends BBQ where I declared it, after the rain started, 'a true British BBQ'... Awkward silence) actually started me writing a whole other post about identity but it got too deep and complex. I have to admit to feeling a little bit on edge there...worried I might offend or provoke. I chose not to wear my 'Peace' t-shirt in case it could be seen as mockery. Personally I see myself as British, then English but also European and beyond that a Global citizen. I always think broader is better to bring us together but then I've not suffered any wrongs. So many factors affect the way we see our identity and in Northern Ireland it seems to be about as complicated as it gets...and currently the protocol isn't helping! Brian tried to explain the complexities and historical/political backdrop but he finished with a message of hope by saying his daughter is friends with all 'groups'... Those who identify as Unionists, Republicans, Irish, Northern Irish, British, different religious denominations... And in a generation or two hopefully the divisions will be able to be set aside. We finished outside the oldest Presbyterian church in Belfast where he told us the volunteer/amateur historian who greets you at the door is actually a devout Catholic and when he is out he leaves a sign on the door saying 'BACK SOON: GONE TO MASS'.. because he probably has! Small gentle ways to lessen the divide. 

Sorry for the lengthy tome. Next stop Coll... Hopefully too windy for midges! Xx