Tag Archives: Argyll

Another narrow escape!

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Hmmm- I am beginning to wonder if someone as got it in for me (“Infamy! Infamy!….)

(Or perhaps someone is really looking out for me.)

I had a brush with danger again this morning. Driving on the narrow road between Arrochar and Helensburgh I encountered an articulated lorry coming the other way, filling the whole width of the road.

I was not going very fast, but our combined speed must have been around 50 MPH, and I met him on a corner.

I had a choice- the lorry or the ditch, so chose the latter.

Ripping two tires to bits in the process and bending one wheel like a banana.

And the lorry?

It did not even stop.

And no, I did not get the company or the registration.

Ah well, in this case, it is only money…

The roads of Argyll- they take their toll on us all.

But there are some compensations to being around here of course-

My commute…

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I spend a lot of time on the roads around Argyll. In the winter, this is a fair challenge at times- but you do get used to the long journeys. You also tend to slow down- as these roads are amongst the most dangerous in the country.

But to be in the presence of these wonderful mountains and lochs is always a blessing.

And traffic jams? Well this is one of the few that affect me- where the road has been undermined by landslips.

Not that it is ever that busy.

I have come to appreciate my time in the car, and even to feel slightly resentful when I share this time with others. It is head space- to think and listen to the radio.

And to appreciate the scenery….

Cycling down the road to hell…

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I have been doing a fair amount of cycling recently in an attempt to up the fitness levels. I have taken the bike up some mountain trails- which has been fun as it is a ‘hybrid’- not a full mountain bike, and has no suspension.

Today however, we were picking Will up from a cub scout weekend in Lochgoilhead, so I took my bike on the back of the car, and Michaela dropped me off to cycle up over the pass and down Hells Glen.

Hells Glen has a steep single track road that winds down through precipitous wooded slopes. Cycling down there is a white knuckle ride, with mouth firmly closed against the insect life. It is so named because it was a place once black with the fires of smelting and charcoal burning- impossible to imagine now, as few obvious traces remain.

The climb out of the Glen up to the A83 at the top of the ‘Rest and be Thankful’ is quite something. It starts out kindly- climbing through leafy Birch forest next to a lovely stream. But half way into the 700 foot climb the slope goes brutal.

Which kind of brings me to an Evangelical moment…

The road to hell is swift and seductive, but the climb in the other direction is very, very hard…

And by way of proof, a few photies;

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Wilderness on my doorstep…

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I am just back from a tramp around the hills above Dunoon. Exercise, I feel, is overdue.

What a lovely day- crispy frosty grass underfoot- bogs the more friendly for a creaking coat of ice. Views opening up over the distant hills and mountains.

For those who are used to walking in England- the hills of Cowal were mad busy today. I saw more people than I saw deer! (For the record- two people, one deer.)

The downside for this lack of use is that there are few if any paths, and so progress is hard and potentially fraught with wrong turnings. Today I found the summit of Bishops Seat, cold and whipped by thin clouds. But an attempt to find a trouble free and easy descent was foiled by fallen trees and areas of clear-felled forest. I emerged very muddy but satisfied, tramping through all the clean dog walkers on the path around the reservoir with pride at my obvious adventure.

I have come to love the kind of local walking that follows a known route, then extends it into the unknown- a new peak beckoning, or a clamber alongside a burn as it forces it’s way through the forest. I do not use a map for these outings- they are of little use in the forest anyway (planting and felling changes the landscape all too frequently.) A compass is useful to ensure that a firebreak is in the right direction, but beyond that- it’s about following the nose…

And today, it was wonderful.

I know myself blessed to be able to live amongst such beauty.

Today, it was good to be alive, and easy to worship God.

The compensations of landscape…

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I had a tough meeting yesterday- one of those where you suddenly find yourself isolated and scapegoated by people who appear to be out for blood.

But the drive to Lochgilphead was stunning.

I spent some time thinking and chewing and grinding my teeth on the drive home, forgetting again the peace of the Spirit, losing my anchor for a while. Forgetting to bring these things to God.

Not that I believe that God waves a wand to make all the tough stuff go away. But I think that the possibility of a deeper and more loving life is present within all our encounters- and the seeing of these is the work of the Spirit, should we allow this.

As for me, i am blessed by landscape- by the stunning perfection of the Highlands in late autumn.

It is no small compentation

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