Come by the Hills
WE’RE ALL PINING to be out in the hills, but at least the latest book from Cameron McNeish can make us dream of better times ahead. The pandemic might have made us think, maybe just for a moment or two, what it would be like if we could no longer romp over ridges or clamber up through corries; but, despite having now reached that particular watershed, Cameron describes how the hills will always help us forget the woes of the world. Along the way, there are plenty of memories based around some of the characters who have shared times amongst the peaks and glens.
He has learnt to adapt as those first bones began to creak and has increasingly realised that touching a trig point or carving a way to a cairn isn’t necessarily the abiding memory from a long day in the hills. A broader outlook can encompass all aspects of mountain culture: history and heritage; botany and birds; music and myths. Hamish Brown once told him he’d have a donkey to carry his sack as he became older, and Cameron’s bikes have now become his trusty pack horses. He’s out on one every day, and they provide a fresh way of enjoying the great outdoors.
But there’s lots of walking too, including inspiring descriptions of routes over many unsung and unpronounceable Corbetts. In the end, I gave up trying to guess where some of these were and spread a map out on the floor. And he travels to the islands – ‘beyond the shining seas’ – where Eriskay has become a firm favourite. Anyone who has gazed down onto the aquamarine waters where the SS Politician hit the rocks will probably find themselves nodding in agreement. Orkney and Shetland – and what he calls ‘northness’ – came as a pleasant surprise; and the continual pulse of the sea, combined with billowing open skies, reminded him that you don’t always have to stand on a summit to experience raw wild.
The title of the book comes from a singalong folk song: ‘Come by the hills tae the land where fancy is free, Stand where the peat meets the sky and the lochs meet the sea’. And if a sub-title had been needed it might well have been Roads Less Travelled. This was the name of a TV series hosted by Cameron and, like the book, it journeyed to a few out-of-the-way places across the Highlands and Islands.
Roger Smith