My Summer of 2023

Chapter 4: Scotland – Maralyn and Graham

August 8, departure day to Scotland.

Boarding the Delta Airline flight in late afternoon I was soon on my way to Amsterdam where I would then connect to the flight to Glasgow, Scotland.

Having previously flown(uncomfortably) overseas in coach class, I decided to upgrade to Delta’s Comfort Class seating. It was not first class but significantly better than coach for such a long flight.

Intentionally, I tried to stay awake for the entire 7+ hour flight to Europe. A couple of meals were served during the flight, and I watched a couple movies, only briefly dozing off as we crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Arriving early morning, August 9, I had a few hours layover before the hour or so flight on to Glasgow, Scotland.

A first for me was that my luggage was the first to arrive on the carousel and I was quickly able to proceed to meet Maralyn and Graham waiting for me beyond the baggage pick-up area. It was great to see their beaming smiles as we greeted each other with hugs and laughter.

Arriving at their home in Torrance, a bit north of Glasgow, they helped me get settled in. I was to have my own bedroom on the first floor. Still quite awake they took me out for a hike nearby into the surrounding countryside, up hills for wonderful views, through wooded areas and down one lane country roads, circling back to their home.

Admittedly, I don’t recall much of the rest of that first day, as I still wanted to remain awake even though I had already been awake for more than 24 hours. Then, well after darkness, I relented and crawled into bed for a much-needed shutdown and recharge.

A foggy, misty morning greeted us in the morning as we loaded the car with the provisions needed for the next several days sailing. A light rain was falling and although the clouds draped heavily over the mountains obscuring the sunlight, lush green vegetation shone brightly through the haze.

Still not fully acclimated to the time change, I frequently dozed off during the 2+ hour drive to Bellanoch Marina on the Crinan Canal where Maralyn and Graham’s boat, “Lucky Linzy” was docked.

On the way we passed Inveraray Castle just prior to arriving at the little town of Inveraray where we stretched our legs and walked along the quaint streets with its varied shops and restaurants. As we neared Bellanoch Marina the weather cleared revealing a beautiful blue sky.

The Crinan Canal is one of several inland waterways that connect to Lochs and the sea. These canals also provide miles of very pleasant walk and cycle pathways meandering through forested areas, hills, mountains and world-class heritage sites. This canal was completed in 1801 and offered an improved more direct route from then industrialized Glasgow to the Western Isles. I recently also discovered that Queen Victoria traveled through the Crinan Canal on her honeymoon which resulted in it becoming a very popular Victorian pastime.

From the Bellanoch Marina it is a very short cruise to the Crinan Locks which allows all the boats to be lowered down to the sea level and thus out into the ocean. Likewise, upon returning, the locks are flooded bringing boats back up to the canal level.

Once at Graham and Maralyn’s 42-foot boat, “Lucky Linzy”, we unloaded their car of all our necessities needed for the next several days sailing and brought it all aboard. My bedroom was in the bow (front) of the boat. The bed conformed to the narrowed shape of the bow, being wider at the top end and narrow at the foot end. Above the bed a skylight/hatch could be opened permitting in fresh cool air and a retractable shade that permitted light to enter brightening up the small room. A compact toilet was adjacent and though tight for space, it provided for my bodily functions and cleanliness.

As one might expect on a boat of this size, living is compact. The galley (kitchen) is small, the main sitting room in the very center of the boat has cushioned seats on either side of the boat, a dining table has leaves that drop down when not in use, when the leaves are up, the cushioned seats area that surrounds the table becomes the dining room. Adjacent to the living area is a small desk that is the workstation for charting and communications. A short hallway, having a couple of bunk beds, leads to the larger bedroom, with its own bathroom, in the aft (rear) of the boat. Graham and Maralyn made me feel welcome and comfortable. I felt very much at ease on the boat.

We would not be sailing on this first full day, but my hosts took me to see some nearby historic sites in the area known as Kilmartin Glen. Located in the quiet countryside, sheep grazing in the fields, this historic site’s remnants date back over 5000 years, with many stone structures dating back over 3500 years ago. There are no large buildings, but rather, stone structures consisting of cists (burial chambers), chambered cairns (burial mounds) and standing stones that are large, narrow slabs of rock that are planted in a large meadow. Much of these are laid out in a straight line forming a linear cemetery. At least 150 of these monuments date back to pre-historic times. Kilmartin Glen is a beautiful location set amidst rolling forested hills, fertile level farmland and quiet country roads bordered with ancient rock walls. Some believe the standing stones and surrounding area were not only burial sites, but for ceremonial gatherings, while others speculate that the standing stones are astronomic alignments with the sun and moon. Other such stones can be found throughout Scotland.

A sidebar about standing stones: in the TV series Outlander, the main female character touches standing stones (not the ones at Kilmartin Glen) to be transported back in time. I touched the Kilmartin stones but was, alas, deprived of any time travel either into the future or the past.

A few miles south of Kilmartin Glen, was Dunadd Hill on top of which was Dunadd Fort.The fortress is long gone, but from this hillside it offered a strategic location with sightlines for miles in all directions offering great natural defenses. This site was the power center of the kingdom of Dal Riata which appeared in the early AD centuries after the Romans abandoned Scotland. Of significance upon this hillside fortress are carvings and remnants of stone walls that once protected the fort. Into a prominent rock is an indentation shape of a foot. It is said that the one destined to become king would place his foot into the indentation and from this place kings were proclaimed and believed to be crowned.

I placed my foot into the footprint indentation and miraculously it fit me perfectly! Graham and Maralyn bowed down honoring me as the newest King of Scotland! From that high perch, I proclaimed my kingdom of all that was within my sight over the fertile farm fields below to the high mountains, all of Kilmartin Glen and beyond to the Western seashore in the distance.

Does that make me a member of the Clan McDonald? Is it possible that Dunadd is the same as Don ald?

Returning to the boat and dinner, I spent my first night onboard, sleeping soundly anticipating our voyage out to sea.