Tues 5th May
Today I woke up later than expected. I had considered getting up earlier and going for another jog but was also planning to go for a walk around the wood that I had parked next to, so all was not lost. It was a lovely sunny morning and was pretty seeing the sun light up the bluebells and silver birch outside my window. I wasn’t 100% on what I was going to do today, I had looked online last night to see my options and had several mini ideas floating around in my head. I had seen that there were beaver walks not far from where I had cycled yesterday, but these were on a Wednesday evening, so I considered staying in the area until then. One option was for me to walk from my parking spot up to Kilmartin House Museum, as this looked interesting online, and I could incorporate all the standing stones I’d clocked on the map within this walk.
As with every morning, I went through the same routine; fold up the blankets; fold up the pillows; put away the sleeping bag; pull up the rock and roll bed; put the blankets on the sofa; put the floor mats out. Done, time for my morning cuppa and some toast. I sat and enjoyed my breakfast with the door open looking out into the woodland. These moments are so easy to get complacent with or rush, so I try to make a conscious effort to appreciate them and remember how much I wanted to have these simple moments before I set off. My morning breakfast is often my favourite time of day, sitting back, taking my time to drink, eat and watch the world outside, feel the sunshine on my feet and face.
There had been a few walkers come and go to walk round the short trail that I was about to embark on. After a quick wash and dress, I headed out on the trail. It was very easy under foot, and I passed a small area which is used as a forestry school, with weaved fences and domes. I continued round and mounted boards gave information on the Moine Mhor conservation area, like yesterday, talking about the wildlife that thrives in the area. There was a boarded walkway that diverted off like a pier towards the bog, so I went to read the info board at the end of it. While I was reading, I heard steps approaching, turned to greet said person and a young man earnestly said ‘Hello’ back. He then went very quickly to explain he was autistic and liked to find out about people so would I mind answering some questions. I didn’t mind at all, always up for asking the odd question or two myself. He asked my name, where I was from, if I was here alone, and if that was my van back in the car park. At this point I felt terrible for thinking it but wondered if there was an ulterior motive behind his questions. I’m always wary of telling people I’m on my own. I mean I’m happy to and can be a bit naive sometimes in trusting people but am aware of the stories out there of those rare incidents, so am always cautious. Jack (as I’d asked him for his name) then asked if I was allergic to anything, or if I’d had any illnesses. This raised even more alarm bells. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, if he was genuine I wanted to be informative and friendly. I asked if he was on his own and he’d told me his Dad was in the car. Oh! I hope my van is ok, and he’s not using Jack as a distraction to get into my van. I continued giving truthful answers and we had a nice conversation, I just kept my guard about me. The conversation hadn’t really gone on for too long in the grand scheme of things. I decided to say I was thinking of heading back, and did he want to walk and talk, but he said he’d stay as he was waiting for his dad and uncle to walk and meet him. I think that may have made me feel a bit better. Again, I was toing and froing with my feelings, I wanted to accept him as genuine but also needed to be sensible. I got back to the car park, and the only other car was a car that had been there from earlier in the morning. They couldn’t have been sat in it all that time could they. Anyway, Jack was lovely and it was nice to speak to him, but it made me change my plans slightly. The car park was pretty much on its own down a country road, out of the way, although it had felt safe last night, I now decided to drive to Kilmartin instead. I could still go to the museum and walk around the area.
Kilmartin was only about a mile up the road, and as I drove into the village, I saw a hotel on the right and a parking area on the left, and it hit me… I know this place! We had come on holiday to Dalmally when I was 18, which is about an hour’s drive away. So, I was aware of Dalmally, Loch Awe and Oban as places we had previously visited but had forgotten about Kilmartin. This is where I had come on an anniversary meal with my then boyfriend and we had ended up getting engaged! We had both decided to ‘pop the question’ in our anniversary cards, from what I can remember. Needless to say, it didn’t work out, we didn’t get married, and we split up a while later. I was heartbroken, being my first boyfriend, but immature and naïve, it was a good outcome.
I went to the museum and found it was c. £17 entry fee, hmm do I go in? You know how I am with justifying my spend. I wasn’t exactly sure what the museum offered; I wanted to make sure it was value for money if I was going to part with that much. There was a leaflet in the entrance which explained a bit more, and the feedback book was on the side, so I read a few comments. It looked reasonable, so I went for it. It was the right decision. The museum was very informative, interactive, varied, easy to digest. I started walking round, and I must have had at least 20 later visitors overtake me. I’m a slow reader, I find it hard to digest information and sometimes have to read things several times, as my mind can wonder while reading, so it has to be something I’m interested in, and can understand. As soon as big words and complicated phrasing is used, I find it hard to stick with it. I doubt all the visitors read all the info anyway, but as I say I wanted value for money, and for my own benefit to understand as much of the ‘story’ as possible, and skipping bits wasn’t going to help me. This is also the advantage of being on my own. If I was with someone else, I would feel pressure to go round at a similar pace to them. They may not read everything or may read quick, and I wouldn’t want to slow them up.
The museum provided information about the Kilmartin area over the years, and not just the last hundred. This provided detailed information up to around 6000 years ago. The timeline at the very beginning gave a great summary of Kilmartin/Scotland, giving an overview of the temperature, animals, and vegetation changes, alongside historical landmark events in the UK and worldwide, to help compare these changes. Kilmartin is part of an area called Moine Mhor, the big moss, which I’d cycled through yesterday. It is a lowland area made up of peat bogs, which meet the salt marshes of the sea to create a diverse eco system. Its use has changed over the years. 6000 years ago, hunter gathers would live in the area, but as is their nature they did not settle in one place for long, they were always moving. Around 5900 years ago continental visitors came to the country and showed us a different way of living. Working the land for crop cultivation and rearing cattle. It was used in this way for thousands of years, clearing the vegetation, including the peat bogs and the temperate rainforests, for growing crops. In the 1700’s we started to use and work into the land, using the peat as fuel and the clay buried deep under the peat to make tiles and pottery and such like. This destroyed a lot of the big moss ecosystem, which is now protected and under conservation regeneration.
What we can tell about the people living in this land over the thousands of years though is their spiritual beliefs. When excavations were done in the mid 1800’s many monuments were found, that had been buried under the peat. There was evidence of an early avenue created out of timber poles used for ceremonial occasions c. 5900 years ago. Standing stones were found, believed to be places for spiritual occasions. They also discovered 5 large cairns, within a 2.5 mile stretch. These cairns were covering up cists (chests) used as burial chambers. They have found minimal human remains in them, as the acidity of the soil would have destroyed the bone, but they did find pottery and artifacts such as arrow heads and beads. This signifies that they wanted the dead to have important objects and sustenance (drink) to go to the afterlife with. They believe these cairns were used for thousands of years to honour the dead, with one cairn having been used 1800 years after the original cairn was built. As civilisation expanded an open craggy area was built on, called Dunadd, and became a royal centre, known as the capital of the kingdom of the time Dal Riata. It was a centre for trade and craft. Pottery remains with dye remnants in them show they used to dye their textiles. Casting stones show they created intricate broches. It was a beneficial area for defence as the kings could see the distance of their realm, to the islands of their borders, and was raised above the bog, deterring enemies from attacking.
After absorbing as much info as I could I needed some lunch! I headed to the van where I was going to cook up a bit of a cooked breakfast. I’d bought some lorne, square Scottish sausage, reduced the day before, and I had some eggs. I cooked them up and made a sausage and egg sandwich. Only I cooked up all the lorne, which would make two sandwiches. I ate the first one and I was stuffed! I had a rest while catching up on my friends posts on her Cape Wrath Trail, then attempted the next sandwich, but could only manage half!
I’d realised the standing stones and cairns on the map I had seen were in fact the ones referred to in the museum, and there was a designated footpath that took you to all of them, in fact I had been to part of the stones yesterday on my ride. It was a lovely afternoon, sunny and warm, if it did have a slight chilly wind. I had been to 3 of the 5 cairns and was on my way to the standing stones, which were next on the walk route. When I got there, I realised again… I’ve been here before! My memory was jogged back to that same holiday, we had been to see some standing stones, I’d remembered this anyway, but hadn’t realised it was these stones! I remember the two large stones that me and my cousin had used to pose for a photo pretending to score a goal. It was 20 years ago, how strange to be back here.
After walking to all the cairns and standing stones I had clocked that there was also a route on the map to Carnasserie Castle. It looked to be just over a mile in the other direction, it was coming up to 5.30pm, I had plenty of time, and with these lighter evenings it made these kinds of plans so much easier. I was still stuffed from lunch so didn’t need to worry about dinner; I could just have a bit of cheese later. It was a lovely walk, only I was tiring a bit, but guess I was still walking at quite a pace, I must have been conscious of getting back in good time. The route was mainly track, which made good walking. I made the castle at 6.30pm, knackered myself walking up the hill to it, then knackered myself even more walking up the stairs to the ramparts. I was ready to get back now.
I was glad to see the final path back up to the visitor centre, the sun had gone now, and it was starting to get a little chilly. As I got back to the van, I noticed some lads with drums walking to the green area I was parked beside. Then people with instrument cases turned up, so I asked what they were doing. It was a bagpipe rehearsal outside. I hung around while they got ready and watched as they practiced marching. How lovely to have an impromptu performance. It reminded me of band when we used to rehearse outside during covid, even in the chilly evenings, and once during a hot summer rain storm, I loved it, got soaked to the bone.