Day Sixty-Five - 14/11/2012 - Achnacarry, Scottish Highlands

     It had become clear through much research that there was no easy way to visit sites of significance to Clan Cameron.  I had to resort to the rather expensive option of hiring a private taxi to shuttle us around between various sites.  He came to pick us up at the hostel, a friendly Scot named Peter who had spent his whole life in Fort William.  The first destination on the list was Torcastle, a complete ruin of the medieval Clan Cameron castle.  Peter drove us from Fort William to the nearby Torcastle area, which is now mostly privately owned farms.  We passed Neptune's Gate on the way there, a massive, multi-level water gate on the Caledonian Canal that allows ships to move vertically along the canal.  The nearby area around Neptune's Gate was all peat land, according to Peter.  There was some construction going on, to which Peter remarked that they were building a Tesco.  "Everyone needs a Tesco's in their backyard these days".  Peter said the Lochiel, or leader, of Clan Cameron owned this peat land, and sold the lot for the Tesco developers.  What Peter could not figure out is why the peat was not being harvested and sold.  Peter said, of the Lochiel, that he is a very obliging sort of fellow, and when Peter had conducted a similar tour for a Cameron before me, the Lochiel actually came down from Achnacarry House to meet him.  By this time, we had started on the narrow dirt road through Torcastle area.  Ironically, Peter had grown up around here and remarked on new houses or farms that had popped up since his youth.  His friends used to play around the farmsteads here.  After a few kilometres of farmhouses, we arrived at a stone tunnel dug out under the Caledonian Canal.  Barely large enough for Peter's taxi to fit with not more than a couple inches on either side of the mirrors, I was once again impressed by European driving skills.
     Presently, we stopped at a crossroads, which was as far as Peter said he could drive, and nonetheless, as far as he could remember.  Saving us the awkwardness of being lost, Peter escorted us to one of the nearby farms, and we found the farmer with his three friendly dogs, who kindly gave us directions to Torcastle.  We followed the farmer along a wet, muddy path, walking past plowed fields and a pigsty.  The farmer dumped buckets of food into the pigs' trough, an illuminating experience for one unaccustomed to pig's dietary habits.  As the farmer was feeding his pigs, we received directions that roughly included a green gate, walking until you see the river, turning right and hugging the bank of the river, then climbing to the top of the hill.  Despite a slip and fall in the mud leaving half of me brown, we eventually made it to the base of the hill and began the climb on wet leaves.  Just having rounded the bend, Torcastle came into view.  The first thing to come into sight was a grown-over stone wall, about three metres tall, with the stone work clearly visible.  There is a tree growing out of it, along with many mosses and grasses, yet it is undeniably part of a wall, which has stood for some 500 years.  There are two other walls in the area that roughly outline what would have been the castle tower and grounds.  All are heavily overgrown, but if you climb up a portion of the main wall, you are greeted with the spectacular view the occupants of the tower must have enjoyed.  The Buinn' A' Chait, or Cat Pool, is just below, its calm waters contrasting with the nearby Cat Rapids, which imbue the vista with a melodious ambiance, and the stunning hills surrounding the area dominate in the distance.  At once peaceful and inspiring, I stood for a few minutes just taking in the view.  The Cat Pool gets its name from a certain episode with Ewen MacAllan Cameron, XIII Lochiel, who rebuilt Torcastle, roasted a stray Lochaber cat on a spit, on the advice of Gormshuil, the Witch of Moy.  The Lochiel was looking for penance for his previous indiscretions, and soon Cam Dubh, the King of Cats, arrived, agreeing to tell him his penance if he released the cat on the spit.  Ewen did so, and the cat sprinted off near Torcastle and jumped into the River Lochy, where Cat Pool is today.  Amidst all of the peace and history, I heard snorting coming from somewhere nearby.  Meng realized in terror that some of the farmer's pigs had come up this way, and were digging around the ruins, trying to find food.  Not sure if pigs can bite, and not wanting to deal with a pig on slippery footing near a cliff overlooking some rapids, we retreated to the top of the ruined wall and waited for the pigs to pass.  They had us surrounded, and if it weren't for the remoteness of our location and our fear, it may have been a funny situation.  After what seemed like hours, the pigs wandered off in different directions and we began the descent.  Walking along the narrow path just over the river, on the infamously slippery leaves, I came face to face with the four-legged beasts.  The big one charged right at me, but I cooly stepped aside, and the pig continued thrusting forward, paying me no attention.  The pigs seemed hardly to care about our existence at this point, right after Meng realized she had been carrying two apples in her coat pockets.  On the way back up the farm we encountered the hog (thankfully behind a fence), roosters and chickens, and the friendly dogs from earlier.  Peter came back to pick us up, and we met him by the tunnel under the Canal.  Peter told us that he and his friends used to go swimming in the Cat Pool.
     The next destination was Achnacarry, the current seat of Clan Cameron land, and home of the Lochiel himself.  As we were driving through the hilly side of a valley containing the Caledonian Canal, Peter became irritated by the fences we kept passing by.  Ten years ago, he told us, there were no fences in Scotland.  There was no need for them.  As there is no trespassing law, putting up a fence is something of an act of futility.  What annoyed Peter was that the views of the land were obscured, and taking walks in the countryside was becoming increasingly difficult with the introduction of these new fences.  Peter viewed it as a sign of the decline of Scottish hospitality and tradition.  We drove along, passing stone bridges and tree-lined roads, pulling to the side to let opposing traffic pass by.  I looked out at the land that my ancestors had controlled so long ago.  To this day the land is Cameron land, respected by locals and tourists alike.  Peter explained that after the Jacobite Rising, many Highlander customs were made illegal.  It was no longer legal to wear a kilt or live in clans, or have jointly owned land.  This required the clans to largely disband.  Furthering the damage to Highlander culture, a crashing economy and job discrimination drove many Highlanders down into England and others to America.  The Lochiel of Cameron, like many other chiefs, tried to employ their fellow clansmen.  The main project and source of employment was construction of the Caledonian Canal, which had to be built and later modified for flow before it could be opened.  After the Canal was finished it became difficult for anyone to find work in the Highlands.  Many Chiefs sold their lands or moved away, and the ones that stayed are no longer rich.  Being a chief of a Scottish Clan is a secondary job, since it is near impossible to live off of the estate alone.  Right as the hilly landscape gave way to an expansive forest, Peter announced that we had entered Achnacarry.
     Peter drove up to the museum and let us off there.  We had beat the curator, and so had some time to explore.  A ceremonial cairn was erected behind the museum, from the 2001 International Gathering of Clan Cameron.  The idea was to create a "living cairn" with stones inscribed with the locations of various clan members who attended the gathering.  Turning around from the cairn, I noticed the Cameron flag flying above the museum.  Achnacarry Castle was situated at the top of fields and grazing land for horse and cattle.  The museum was about halfway down the fields from the Castle, on the edge of the bordering forests.  We walked along the fields, looking at horses and trees as the curator showed up.  She got out of the car and opened up the museum.  As we entered, we learned that she was actually the wife of the curator, but was kind enough to come out to open up the museum as I had called the day before.  They were closed for the season, but opened on our request.  A few other people had arrived at the museum that day but only by chance were they able to go inside, as I was the only one who had called ahead.  The museum was small but informative, and contained a lot of interesting Cameron artifacts, like the sporran of previous clansmen and a rifle, used by Ewen, said to have killed the last wolf in Scotland.
     After the museum, we walked up to the last remaining part of the original house at Achnacarry, a gable with a tree growing out of it, built in 1655.  The house that the Lochiel lives in was built in 1802. Unfortunately, we did not meet the Lochiel, but the wife of the curator was kind enough to offer us a lift to the nearby town of Spean Bridge.  In Spean Bridge we found a Woolen Mills which had a restaurant attached.  For £10 total, we got a three-tiered lunch special with sandwiches of our choice, scones with butter and jam, mince pies, christmas cake, and unlimited coffee and tea.  After a fantastic lunch for such little money, we called Peter, who was somewhat baffled at our sudden change in location.  He took us back to Fort William, where we walked around the city.  We walked to the West Highland Museum  which featured the "secret portrait" of Prince Charles.  After the Battle of Culloden in 1746, it was treason to support the Stuart claim to the throne, and as such, supporters of Prince Charles would place a circular mirror on top of a specially designed cloth.  When viewed from just the right angle, the reflection would reveal a portrait of Prince Charles, showing their allegiance.
   We took the train back to Edinburgh, and then to Glasglow, and finally to Prestwick to await our early morning Ryanair flight.