Mountain Stories: Remembered journeys in the Scottish Highlands and Islands
THIS SLIM VOLUME by Heather Dawe has an unassuming, modest title; but between its covers you will find a collection of stories of real depth. They were written during lockdown; this perspective gives the accounts a more richly realised, perhaps more vulnerable quality. These tales are about past journeys enjoyed by the author in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, and they are about building deep roots – about the connection between experience, place, culture, craft, history.
I like the frequent quotes from literature, such as the poetry of Sorley MacLean and Norman MacCaig, which ground the writing to a larger whole and provide essential context. For some of the stories, poetry and literature are integral; for others it’s about art, and the way that creating art whilst in the mountains shapes both the experience and the art itself. Sometimes, though, it’s just about being and moving in the hills.
For a small book, a surprising range of topics are explored, and in some depth. My favourite stories include The Cuillin Ridge, in which the author turns her initial frustration at having to queue for the Inaccessible Pinnacle into something positive. Ladhar Bheinn is also very strong, exploring ideas of wildness, and our romantic notions of it, in a managed landscape. And the final story, Quinag, takes a hard look at the fine balance between adventure, risk and uncertainty. “If you are careless, misadventure lies beyond; I was touching it, and I knew it.” Many times whilst reading I found myself taking a break just to absorb or reflect upon some new idea or marvellous image.
Overall, Mountain Stories is a far richer and more rewarding read than you might assume at first glance – charged with emotion and keen observation, but also written by someone who is willing to go a bit deeper, to find meaning, context and echoes of past cultures in poetry, literature and art. Alex Roddie