In search of Hamish……..

---

After nearly 2 weeks in the English midlands we made it to Scotland. From our first night in Ballach, on the shores of beautiful Loch Lomond, the remoteness and ruggedness was a contrast to the gentleness of the English midlands countryside. When the sun shone and the mist lifted we saw snow -capped mountains, fast flowing streams and loch after loch.On the Ben Nevis Range Harry and Eliza were able to feel snow for the first time and experience the joy of a snow fight. Although we did not see the snow fall, it was with us by the side of the road and on the hills as we drove around the Isle of Skye and on the hills as we cruised Loch Ness.

One of the motivations for travelling to Scotland, and especially the Scottish highlands, was to experience the scenery and atmosphere featured in both the Hamish Macbeth series and the movie Local Hero . We found this in Plockton which was the actual town where Hamish Macbeth was filmed.

We stayed in the Plockton Hotel, by the waterfront of a row of historic prettily painted shops and houses. It was warm and friendly with an award winning restaurant. The next morning was misty, drizzling, sometimes showery, and occasionally the sun would shine through. We walked the brae above the town and then on the advice of a local walker took a path through a private estate. The path followed the peninsula through woodland, with views of small islands and inlets in the bay. The variety of colours in the autumn trees, the sea-weed, algae on the rocks, distant snow-capped mountains were all contrasted and then reflected in the surrounding waters.

Nothing we had seen in the TV series, postcards or the photos we took can portray the magic of the place.

Linda

PS if you didn't see the Hamish Macbeth series in the 1990s it worth watching when repeated on TV.

---