Monika Strell joined the Discovery blog team in early summer 2016 and her first post brought you to the wild and beautiful expanse of the Assynt Peninsula. Here, in her second piece for Venture North, Monika will introduce you to our most important treasure - the people of Assynt, Caithness & Sutherland.
My last Discovery blog reflected on the impact the astounding landscape Assynt had on me during my very first visit 15 years ago. The vast expanse of mountains, lochs, beaches, heathland and ever-changing light and colours seemed to go hand in hand with the remoteness, because where else would there be enough space to accommodate all these treasures?
It was not just the remoteness that struck me on this first journey, it also was the emptiness, the lack of people. It’s not unusual to drive from Ullapool or Lairg to Lochinver and see only a handful of other cars, sometimes none at all! Over the last few years more and more aerial images and videos have become available providing a chance for a bird’s-eye view of the North-West Highlands and my husband (a local-born-and-raised) rolls his eyes at my predictable “Look! Isn’t it amazing there are actually PEOPLE living there!?! It looks so empty!”
Indeed Assynt and most of Caithness and Sutherland are sparsely populated. Assynt has a population of around 1200, which is a significant increase since the 1950s, when there were only around 600 people in the parish. There is a lot of space for everyone, even during the busy times of the year when we double or triple our own population due to visitors.
Undoubtedly, many visitors come here for the emptiness, the space, the solitude. You might arrive here for some peace and quiet on a mountain peak, or a wild camping retreat, or even a North Coast 500 drive where you actually ‘move’ in your vehicle rather than spend most time stationary on a southern motorway or city centre. Our space allows people to reconnect with nature, centre themselves, go back to basics and gain a real perspective, even just for a moment.
But still - what about people? With all the stunning landscape the North has to offer, would you miss much if you did not meet, and connect with, the people of Assynt or elsewhere in Sutherland and Caithness? I firmly believe you would! Without them, venturing North would not be quite the same - the landscape barren, you would miss the human passion, ingenuity and care which also makes the area what it is.
People have shaped this apparently untouched, wild landscape to make it into what you see today, and are still, every day, giving a soul to the place you see. Don’t you love the Highland cattle and sheep dotted around - reared in the ancient tradition of ‘crofting’? The local seafood - caught by the few remaining local boats that specialise in crabs and lobsters caught just off the coast? Freshly grown fruits and vegetables bought at one of the produce markets in Lochinver or Elphin, cooked in one of the local restaurants or turned into yummy jams and chutneys for taking home a taste of Assynt?
Local mountain/fishing/kayaking/canoeing guides will share their passion for nature and ensure your safety, taking you up mountains, out fishing, along the coast, describing the natural and historical wonders you see along the way. Craftspeople transform the produce of the land and create wonderful mementos as well as functional products - pottery, wooden spoons, a knitted jumper, dyed silk scarf, a painting or photo to take home and remind you of the wonderful time you had. Some of them will even invite you to learn their craft, whether it’s mosaics, carving, felting or spinning wool.
Many of these passionate guides and producers you can meet in person, when they take you on an adventure, or when you encounter them in their shops or at the local craft & produce markets. There is often the opportunity to connect with our people online, via their Social Media accounts, websites or blogs - well, you are reading this for a start! Hello there!
Some local passion is conveyed through words or in videos, and has been for a long time. No musings about Assynt would be complete without remembering one of Scotland’s great poets, Norman MacCaig. An ‘adopted’ local he spent his summers in Assynt for nearly 40 years, from the 1940s to the 1980s, leaving a poetic legacy of more than 100 poems about this special place he once referred to as ‘this most beautiful corner of the land’. Many would not have discovered this area without his evocative poems. New poets and writers have come to live in Assynt too, who are continuing to put some of the beauty and special character of Assynt into words to spread them near and far.
But for all the artistic impressions Assynt inspired, we must not forget or underestimate the more mundane contributions people make and have made over time, that are nonetheless so essential in making ‘Venturing North’ an unforgettable experience. Seldom seen but surely always appreciated - there are dozens and dozens of hard-working local people running the hotels and B&Bs from the crack of dawn long into the nights, those who clean and maintain the self-catering houses, wait tables and prepare delicious meals in the restaurants, work long days, often 7 days a week for many months in a row during the ‘season’. Working these hard, long hours through what is the most divine time of the year means these locals miss an awful lot of it and deserve our appreciation for enabling others’ experience of our region’s wonders.
And then there is yet another group of people that safeguard the visitors’ (and locals’) lives every day of the year - the volunteer lifeboat crews and mountain rescue team members, who train all year, in all weathers, at the expense of a lot of personal time and often putting themselves in harm’s way to save others. Most of us will fortunately never meet them in this guise, but that same waitress that served you coffee, or the guy who gave you directions at the petrol pumps could very well be a life-saver! Without these volunteers, exploring this incredible land and seascape would be a much more dangerous prospect indeed.
Finally, let’s not forget those who are even more invisible - the people of the Highlands who just came to simply live here, for a small piece of solitude maybe, or to just get on with their lives, busy making a living in an economy that is challenging in many ways but rewarding in so many others. They generously share their home with you, the roads, the shops and services. You can still appreciate that some people need to get on with their everyday business when you can enjoy time-off, or an adventure. Move to the side on the road when you want to explore the landscape at a slow pace, share a smile. It costs nothing but means a great deal.
All of Caithness and Sutherland is full of these special kinds of Highlanders. Many of them ‘born and bred’ here have roots going back many generations, some are just starting out on that path as ‘New Highlanders’. Originating from elsewhere in Scotland or Britain, Europe and beyond they have chosen this corner of Scotland and made it their home, helping to shape it for generations to come. All of them have amazing tales to tell and experiences to share, so please do not miss out by focusing only on the landscape and neglecting to engage with people. Your experience will be richer and more rewarding for reaching out. Guaranteed!
The landscape is magic but if you also appreciate our people you gain context, can make a connection, maybe even develop a friendship.
It is the people that will make you feel truly welcome.
Photo credits: Images are copyright of Nigel Goldie, Tim Hamlet, Andrea Kant, Helen Lockhart, Dorell Pirie, Russel & Bridie Pursey, Steve & Amanda Webb, Stewart Yates.