Rambling about Rambling

If you ever find yourself in the Highlands, go west. Keep going west. Go west until you’re about to fall into the sea, and you’ll find yourself on the most westerly point in Scotland, a particularly magical place called ‘Ardnamurchan’. If you go at the right time of year you’ll find it is unusual too. Why? Because they experience a rare phenomenon in Scotland, one we know as ‘summer’.
It was hot, surprisingly so. I was told it was something to do with the location. So close to the sea, all the bad weather just gets blown further inland by the strong winds. I was staying in a cabin with my family; there was only one local shop, and the rest of the landscape was dominated by scraggy sheep, rolling hills and sea as far as the eye could, well, see.
In Ardnamurchan, you can pick any direction and be certain that it will hold something interesting. You can cross the sea, pausing to look at the basking sharks, to any of the small surrounding islands: each of them is different and possesses a piece of magic and history all its own. You can walk forests and paths on the mainland and harass the local wildlife. You can go to Tobermory, on the nearby Isle of Mull, if you’re looking for a more tourist friendly, colourful town.
My family have a strange tradition. We like to point at parts of the landscape which stick out and announce, “There! That is where we shall go today!” On this particular occasion, the place of interest turned out to be Ben Hiant, the tallest peak on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Unfortunately, with this style of activity selection, not much time is dedicated to preparing for said activity. After two hours in that strangely warm Scottish sun, when we were barely halfway up and getting low on water, the scale of our self-imposed task was strikingly apparent. For your more experienced hiker, Ben Hiant isn’t anything special, but to us it was an Everest-esque adventure. The sun beat down on us as we climbed upward. Step by step we made our way through the marshland at the bottom and then pulled ourselves up a steep side of the mountain which we found, between heavy breaths, had a much easier path running along the other side. It was worth it though. We made it to the top. As we clung to the cairn, we looked down on Ardnamurchan in all its beauty, reaching out into the sea. Then we turned to find the rolling Highlands of Scotland behind us, a whispered promise of adventure. Even through the haze of dehydration, we knew we were somewhere special.