I started my Day 199 of the BRIT
2012 mile walk in Clackmannanshire which is Scotland’s smallest historic county
and is often nicknamed “The Wee County”. The motto of Clackmannanshire is
“Look Aboot Ye". In 2007 a re-branding exercise led to the area
adopting the slogan “More Than You Imagine".
Clackmannan, the old county town,
is named after the ancient stone associated with the pre-Christian deity Manau
or Mannan. The stone now rests on a larger stone beside the Tollbooth and
Mercat Cross at the top of Main Street, Clackmannan.
Legend has it that Robert the Bruce mislaid his
glove while in the area and, on asking where it was, was told "Look aboot
ye". The county's coat of arms shows a pair of gloves.
Clackmannanshire became known for
the weaving mills powered by the Hillfoots burns. Other industries included
brewing, glass manufacture, mining and ship building. Now capitalising on its
central position and transport links, Clackmannanshire attracts service
industries and tourism. There are many stunning places of interest including; Alloa Tower, Ben Cleuch, Castle Campbell, Gartmorn Dam and
Menstrie Castle.
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| With young people at the Lornshill Academy in Alloa, Clackmannanshire on Day 199 of my BRIT 2012 mile walk |
My walk was at the Lornshill
Academy in Alloa where I met the Councillor for Clackmannanshire and met young
people attending their Zest Summer Sports Programme and Olympic Flame Festival.
Many of the young people were young children, however what was of great
interest was the older young people giving their time to supervise and support
the activities of the younger children under their own supervision. The Fire
Fighters from Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service came to support me and we
had a thoroughly enjoyable morning walking together.
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| Taking time to listen to the Councillor for Clackmannanshire about the Zest Summer Sports Programme and Olympic Flame Festival for young people in the county |
I then drove on to Clydebank for
my second walk of the day and on the way visited the William Wallace Statue.
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who
became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace
Monument) is a tower standing on the summit of Abbey Craig, a hilltop near Stirling in Scotland.
It commemorates Sir William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero.
The tower was constructed
following a fundraising campaign which accompanied a resurgence of Scottish
national identity in the 19th century. Completed in 1869 to the designs of
architect John Thomas Rochead at a cost of £18,000, the monument
is a 67-metre sandstone tower, built in the Victorian Gothic style.
It stands on the Abbey Craig, a volcanic crag above Cambuskenneth
Abbey, from which Wallace was said to have watched the gathering of the army of King
Edward I of England, just before the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
Along with Andrew Moray,
Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in
1297, and was Guardian of Scotland, serving until his defeat at the Battle
of Falkirk. In 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston near Glasgow and
handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn,
and quartered for high treason and crimes against English
civilians. Since his death, Wallace has obtained an iconic status far beyond
his homeland. He is the protagonist of the 15th century epic
poem The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie,
by Blind Harry. Wallace is also the subject of literary works by Sir Walter
Scott and Jane Porter and of the Academy Award winning epic
film Braveheart.
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| With the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Sea Cadets & Fire Fighters from Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service |
I arrived in Clydebank and was
warmly greeted by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Major James MaCrea, and
volunteering staff and young people from the Sea Cadets. The Fire Fighters from
Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service also joined us and it was an absolute
pleasure to walk with the Sea Cadets and talk to the staff; many of whom had
been volunteering to support young people for decades. Their commitment,
dedication and community spirit is quite extraordinary. They do not seek praise
or adulation, but they have given decades to the service of young people and
they really are unsung heroes of their community.
They told me so much about the
history of Clydebank and in particular, about James Watt and John Brown. James
Watt, one of the pioneers of the steam engine, supervised the channelling of
nineteen miles of the Clyde to enable ships to reach the docks at Glasgow. The
transformation of the river heralded Glasgow's 'golden age' of shipbuilding and
heavy industry. The Clyde yards built ships of all sizes, helping to put
Glasgow on the international map as the 'second city of the Empire' in the 19th
century. John Brown's yard in Clydebank built three of the world's most famous
liners: the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2). From
1870 until the start of World War I, Glasgow produced an estimated 20 per cent
of the world's ships. Sadly John Brown’s yard is now closed, however I was told
that the new Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers are being built in Clydebank.
It was an absolute honour to
spend time with the Sea Cadet staff and we had great fun. In such a short space
of time, I felt a huge amount of respect for these super Sea Cadet volunteers.
From Clydebank I drove on to Loch
Lomond where admiring the views I could not help but stop and walk for a while.
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland
Boundary Fault. It is the largest loch/lake in Great Britain by
surface area. The loch contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest
fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the loch itself is
smaller than many Irish loughs. Loch Lomond is a popular leisure
destination and is featured in a well-known song which was first published around
1841.
The chorus is:
Oh,
ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,
And
I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But
me and my true love will never meet again
On
the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond
The song has been recorded by
many performers over the years, including jazz singer Maxine Sullivan (for
whom it was a career-defining hit), the Mudmen, and Scottish-Canadian punk
band The Real McKenzies. Both Runrig and Quadriga Consort used
to perform Loch Lomond as their concert's final song!
Loch Lomond is one of Scotland's
premier boating and watersports venues and the scenery draws people from all
over Scotland and beyond. The loch is open to every kind of watercraft
including kayaks, canoes, wind-surfers, jet skis, speedboats and cruisers and
they are all very well represented.
Loch Lomond Rescue Boat http://lochlomondrescueboat.co.uk/ provides 24-hour safety
cover on the loch. The Rescue Boat is a Volunteer Organisation and a Registered
Charity.
The National Park Authority also has
other boats on the Loch such as The Brigadier. Strathclyde Police also operate
on the Loch using RIBs and Jet Skis and work in conjunction with the National
Park Authority.
From Loch Lomond I drove on to
Glen Coe. Glen Coe is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland.
It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland
Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is
often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland,
and is a part of the designated National Scenic Area of Ben
Nevis and Glen Coe.
The name Glen Coe is often said
to mean "Glen of Weeping", perhaps with some reference to the
infamous Massacre of Glencoe which took place there in 1692. However,
"Gleann Comhann" does not translate as "Glen of Weeping".
In fact the Glen is named after the River Coe which runs through it,
and bore this name long before the 1692 incident.
Other than a few scattered farms, the only settlement in Glen Coe is the village of Glencoe, which lies at the western end of the glen close to Invercoe where the river joins Loch Leven. About 2 km to the west, on the southern shore of the loch, is the village of Ballachulish, known in the past for its slate quarries, which have been worked since 1760. It was in Ballachulish that I stayed for the night and I am sincerely grateful to all the staff at the Ballachulish Hotel http://www.ballachulishhotel.com/ for looking after me and to the manager of the hotel for kindly gifting my room for the night in support of the BRIT 2012 mile walk.
Ending the day with 734 miles to
go.
Best wishes,
Phil