Photo Friday: Hill walking in Scotland

Inveraray, Scotland; June 2009

The population density of the United Kingdom is one of the highest in the world – there are 61 million people packed into a rather small island. You wouldn’t know it in the hills of Scotland.

About five out of six people in Britain live in England and within England, the population is centred on London and the South-East. The population of Scotland is a nudge over 5 million, with many Scots living in the large cities such as Glasgow.

As a result, rural Scotland is rather empty of humans. There is nothing natural about this – it’s largely because of brutal land clearances in 18th and 19th century Scotland when the feudal lords decided that sheep were more profitable than people. This is when many Scots emigrated to places like Canada and New Zealand.

Whatever the reason, it does mean that Scotland is a lovely place to visit for anyone who appreciates nature and solitude. There are many places in the Highlands that are remote – some places are more than 30 miles in any direction from a human settlement. I have to admit, when I first heard this I wasn’t overly impressed since I come from the vast, empty country of Australia. However, five years in London taught me to be impressed.

Most land in Scotland is privately owned – the descendants of those feudal lords may still be running sheep, or perhaps growing pine plantations for timber or farming salmon in the rivers and lochs. Very often large parts of the estate may not be used at all, especially if it’s boggy.

In Britain, private ownership doesn’t mean you can’t go there – too much of the country would be locked away from the general public to make that a feasible option. Although the law varies somewhat in England and Wales versus Scotland, the ‘right to roam’ is enshrined in law both north and south of the border. (Do look up the details and your own responsibilities, as well as rights, if you ever plan to use this opportunity).

Now some hill walks are more popular, and therefore crowded, than others. But there are vast swathes of countryside that rarely see humans.

I recently visited family in Scotland near Inveraray in the west of Scotland. Most of the land around these parts is owned by the Duke of Argyll who has a flashy castle down by Loch Fyne. My aunt and uncle own their cottage and the land around it but I’m pretty sure the surrounding countryside is all owned by the duke. Nonetheless, my cousin and I were able to do our own hill walking directly behind her parent’s cottage.

There were no marked paths but nor were there any trees so the view was open clear down the glen (valley) and it would have been very difficult to get lost. It was a clear, sunny day and we weren’t going far from home but we still packed plenty of food and water and warm clothes as a precaution – you hear too many stories about tourists getting stranded on Scottish hills after a sudden change in weather.

I loved the physical exertion of climbing the hill, which was a steep scramble in parts, and the satisfaction of the view at the top. We saw a family of wild red deer and smaller wildlife such as frogs and beetles – my cousin has just finished her degree in zoology so she was able to help identify all the animals. At the top we saw the peat bog covered in fluffy white bog cotton and flowering red moss and a hidden tarn – or small fresh water lake. We didn’t see another human being, which was really refreshing after several weeks on the road.

It is tempting to think of this as wilderness, and it’s certainly wild, but I must also point out one fact. My mobile phone, including the 3G internet signal, worked perfectly the entire time. Next time, I might leave it at home.

For more photographs, see the Flickr set from this trip. You can also read an account on my personal blog.

This post is part of Photo Friday, a weekly blogging feature hosted by Debbie of DeliciousBaby Journal. Please check out all the other submissions and see my own previous entries.

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