THE JOURNEY
Hamish Harrison has travelled the equivalent of almost one- and- a- half times round the world – to play shinty.
The 26- year- old has clocked up the incredible mileage to turn out for his team, Col-glen, recruited from the villages of Colintraive and Glendaruel, in the Cowal peninsula, Argyll.
Hamish and his camanachd teammates play in South Division One, the third tier of the shinty league.
For the past three seasons, the young electrical engineer starts work in York every Friday at 5.30am so he can finish early and catch the 2pm train to Edinburgh Waverley.
He then continues his six- and- a- half hour journey cross-country by train, ferry and car to the club’s pitch – a round trip of 506 miles.
Hamish, from Colintraive, said: “Ever ything going smoothly, it usually takes sixanda- half hours door to door. But, if things go wrong, it can take me up to eight hours.”
Hamish, the team’s player of the year in 2018, has so far made 66 trips including home match days, p re - s e a s o n training sessions and away games held on far-flung pitches.
He has travelled 33,396 miles, almost one- andahalf times the world’s circumference of 24,901 miles. On weekdays in York, he trains with a football team and hits the gym after work.
The weekly, long- distance commute, including rail fares and ferry crossings, has to date cost £ 5,610, all of which Hamish has paid for out of his own pocket. But his enthusiasm for his beloved shinty team and its important role in the community is clear.
He said: “The club is so important to Colintraive and Glendaruel. We’ve always had a problem losing young players when they go away to university or the Central Belt to work.
“As one of the older players, I feel I have to lead the way. I only miss about a couple a season because of work.”
Te a m captain, Ja m i e Mcvicar, 23, paid tribute to his own former skipper.
He said: “Hamish’s example has rubbed off on the younger ones and this year, which is our centenary, they have all rallied round.
“He is our most reliable performer and the most loyal to the cause.”
Hamish leaves York by train every Friday at 2pm, making the 162-mile journey to Edinburgh Waverley, which last two hours 40 minutes. Then he swaps platforms for the hour-long, 42-mile trip to Glasgow Queen Street, before walking to Central to catch his connection to Gourock (23 miles, 47 minutes). Then it’s on to the Calmac ferry to Dunoon, six miles away, average time 23 minutes. There, Hamish is collected by his mum who drives him to the Cowal peninsula, home to Colintraive (20 miles, average time 35 minutes), completing the first half of a 506-mile round trip.