The following, by John Randall, Chairman of The
Islands Book Trust, appeared in the September 2012 issue of Scottish Islands
Explorer
EXPLORING THE ISLES OF THE WEST
John Randall introduces two new books by Marc
Calhoun
Marc Calhoun is well known
to readers of Scottish Islands Explorer since he is a regular contributor of
beautifully-presented articles and photographs in the magazine.
Less well known is that he
hails from and still lives in Seattle in Washington State in the far north-west
of the USA, some 5000 miles away from the Hebrides.
Marc has been fascinated by
the landscape and history of the Hebrides ever since seriously beginning to
explore the western islands of Scotland over twenty years ago.
He is an adventurer who has
got to places on foot or by boat which many Scots have not even heard of, let
alone visited. He has camped in some of the most remote and fascinating spots
in the world. And he has undertaken meticulous research into the history and
previous descriptions of Scottish islands.
So it was a red-letter day
in Stornoway this June when the Islands Book Trust launched two beautifully illustrated
new volumes which Marc has written and illustrated with his own photographs,
covering over fifty Scottish islands. We were delighted that Marc and his wife
Shawna were able to be present for the occasion – when Marc gave a presentation
of over 100 wonderful slides, many of which appear in the books.
The two new books are
entitled: ‘Exploring the Isles of the West – Firth of Clyde to the Small
Isles’; and (2) ‘Exploring the isles of the West - Skye and Tiree to the Outer
Isles’. In them, Marc describes his own personal experiences in visiting and
exploring the islands. They are not guidebooks but offer the reader fascinating
glimpses, through landscape and history, of remarkable places seen at a moment
in time.
Marc admits to ‘island
madness’. Here are some excerpts from an introductory passage:
When
my friends ask “Where are you going on vacation?” they already know the answer,
and shake their heads in dismay.
“He’s
going there! Not again?”
Sometimes
I’m tempted to lie. To say “This year I’m going to Hawaii.” They are islands after
all, so not a big lie. But year after year I go. I just can’t seem to stop.
Even worse, I happen to live 4000 miles from the islands of my obsession. No
one in Seattle has ever heard of Eigg, Rum or Muck, let alone St Kilda.
“Oh, isn’t that one of the Virgin Islands?”
“Oh, isn’t that one of the Virgin Islands?”
And
then there are some destinations I would never dare mention aloud.
“This
year I’m going to Muckle Flugga and Yell.”
How
did it all happen? What follows is a
tale of one man’s slow descent into Island Madness.
In
1989 my wife and I, along with my parents, went to see where our ancestors came
from in the seventeenth century: the Dumbartonshire area of Scotland. While
there, on a whim, we decided to go to Iona. Along with about thirty others we
boarded the ferry at Fionnphort on Mull. Once across the Sound we all spewed
out of the ferry onto Iona to join the multitude already there. Most of the visitors
were day-trippers from Oban. They had to return to their tour buses on Mull
later in the day, but we’d been lucky, and had found accommodation on the island.
Once the last ferry of the day departed everything changed. It was peaceful,
and beautiful. I climbed Dun-I, and found the view astounding. Set in a
turquoise sea, islands galore sparkled in the sun to the north, east, south,
and west. I went on to explore more of the island: the white beaches, the Port
of the Coracle, and another climb up Dun-I. I fell in love with the place.
While
there I tried to get a boat trip to Staffa to see Fingal’s Cave. But the sea
swell made landing impossible. Disappointed, I had to settle for a book, and so
I bought The Wondrous Isle of Staffa
by Donald MacCulloch. Reading this book at home I came across a fascinating description
of the once inhabited Treshnish Isles. This led me to read the books of Fraser
Darling who lived in the Treshnish for a while. Soon I wanted to go back, to
see Staffa, Lunga, Rona and the Summer Isles. And eventually I would, but it
would take many years.
Year
after year I returned to Scotland, and to feed my ever-growing addiction I frequented
every used bookshop I could find. Bit by bit I built a library of island books.
Several 747s had to guzzle extra fuel to carry our suitcases home, as they
would be loaded with dozens of old books. Some were tattered and moldy, and my
copy of Alasdair Alpin MacGregor’s Searching
the Hebrides with a Camera smells strongly of dog, but I would never dream
of parting with it for a better copy. Some books had their pictures sliced out
by barbarians, some had their covers varnished, but they all held the keys to
future adventures.
It is not possible to
capture the breadth and depth of Marc’s writing in just a few words. The maps
accompanying this article indicate the range of places described. And the following chapter
headings just for Lewis and Harris give an idea of the interesting anecdotes
and historical references which are contained in the books:
· Laimishader of Lewis
· Dune Tower and the Stone of
the Peats
· A Night in the Beehive
Village of Aird Mhor
· A Night in Aird Bheag
· A Night in Crola and the
Postman’s Stones
· The Scholar’s Road to
Direascal
· The Rope Climb of Eilean
Mhuire: The Shiants
· On the Seven Hunters: The
Flannan Isles
· Inside Ronan’s Cell
· Return to Rona and Afloat
off Sulaisgeir
The islands are indeed magical
places. These are books to savour and take on journeys for Marc’s insights and
enthusiasm certainly help us all to enrich our own explorations and whet the
appetite for more adventures.
Further Information
The books are published by
the Islands Book Trust, price £9.99 each, plus P and P, and can be obtained
from www.theislandsbooktrust.com
or by phoning on 01851 830316.
