On December 1, 2020, we left the most achingly adorable thatch cottage outside of Cork, Ireland, took off from Dublin, and touched down in Glasgow, Scotland. Somehow, I landed a BMW compact rental car, which made me quite excited to hit the winding roads of the Highlands. For two weeks we would call the western peninsula of Knoydart home before returning to Glasgow/Edinburgh for the Christmas and New Year's holiday.
[Scroll for travelogue, photo albums, and an Irish Spotify playlist. Additional photography available on Instagram]
COLLABORATIONS
#9 • An Afternoon with Aonghus Grant • Read the blog post
#10 • Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar w/ Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin • Read the blog post
#11 • “I’m Not Fed Up with the Pacific Ocean” with Éamonn Coyne • Read the blog post
#12 • Got an Old Upright in the AirBnB with Michael Biggins • Read the blog post
TRAVELOGUE
We headed northeast from the Glasgow airport, curving along the coast of Loch Lomond and then hit the wide sloping mountain expanse and barren landscape of Glen Coe, which is when things really started to feel different. Eventually we passed a sign that said we were officially in the Highlands, and lost cell and GPS signal about this time. But, it didn't matter. There was one road to get where we were going, and we were on it.
Our final destination was the Knoydart peninsula, often referred to as the UK's last wilderness. It's attached to the mainland, but there are no roads to get you there. You either hike for two days or take a boat. The peninsula is so sparsely populated that there's not even a grocery, just a farm shop with essentials. And if the weather is bad, the ferry doesn't run, so it's best to be ready. We stopped in Fort William for supplies, and then I sadly dropped the car in Mallaig to catch the boat (no visitor cars allowed on Knoydart). As you approach Inverie, the "town" on Knoydart, you see a few houses and buildings dotting the coastline, dwarfed by mountain peaks in the rear. It's quite a sight and we were ready to hunker down.
Knoydart Peninsula
For the first half of December, we called the remote peninsula of Knoydart our home.
Our dwelling was the peninsula's old dairy, converted to a cozy two-bedroom heated by wood burning stove. The front window looked out to the water and mountains. Quiet and isolated, it was a magical place to go for walks when the weather was good, and when it wasn't we would watch shows (Emmette), read (Molly), and edit audio & video (guess who).
On our way to the farm store, where they have an "honesty box" to leave your money and take your change, I ran into a herd of deer (all stags) on multiple occasions. These moments helped to punctuate just how remote we were.
We did make it to the "mainland" for a few trips that were motivated by music since there wasn't much on Knoydart. I met fiddler Eilidh Shaw and guitarist husband Ross Martin multiple times — a local jam session, a fiddle hang and kid meet-up at their house, an Otherlands collaboration recording session, and a local fundraiser ceilidh for their primary school. The other collaboration that I ferried over for was a very special meeting with 88-yr old Highland fiddle treasure Aonghus Grant Sr. for an afternoon fiddle hang.
Arisaig & Surrounding
During the first two weeks of December, we would occasionally venture off the Knoydart peninsula and visit the "mainland" around Arisaig.
The weather did prove challenging for the ferry on a few occasions, and it was canceled. When needing to stay on the "mainland," our accommodation was pretty much the polar opposite of the Knoydart Dairy. We made some fantastic new friends and ended up staying at an estate mansion called the Arisaig House. I've never been inside a place like this before, and it was a special experience. My daughter Emmette felt like royalty and also got her animal fix on the family of fun of dogs that lived there, learned to feed the chickens, and I witnessed new chicks hatching.
It was on one of these times over that I really enjoyed the rental car on narrow and winding single-track roads. I spent one afternoon almost running out of gas on my way to the westernmost point in the UK to view the sea and the impressive Ardnamurchan Lighthouse.
The remote beauty really did a number on us. On our final float away from Knoydart, the sky was a clear blue and the mountain peaks all had fresh snow. It was breathtaking, and we were sad when it was time to leave the wilds. I was also a bit sad to drop off the rental car that we wouldn't be needing in the city.
Glasgow
For the last two weeks of December, we came down from the Highlands to spend our holidays in Glasgow, with side trips to Edinburgh.
We arrived to Glasgow about one week before Christmas, figuring being around the decorations of the city might bring a bit of holiday cheer while away from home. It helped, but having Christmas in a city where you don't have close friends or family, don't have any decorations to put up (we bought a wreath), can't really accumulate many gifts because you're traveling (and learning how little you really need), and figuring out how to receive packages (in a place you don't live) did make it challenging at times.
As to be expected, many musicians I knew were out of town for the holidays, but that didn't stop me from hitting some jam sessions. That's how I met Michael Biggins, a young talented pianist. The best amenity of our AirBnB was that it came with an old—and in tune—upright piano, so he and I could record some music at our pad. The second best part of the apartment was the pull-up bar.
Our family also made a few side trips to the romantically beautiful city of Edinburgh, just 1hr away by train. Here we enjoyed the annual Christmas fair rides, some frights at the Edinburgh Dungeons, a night of poker with former students and their welcoming family, and I got together for one afternoon with Irish tenor banjo player Éamonn Coyne, an old friend who relocated to Scotland many years back.
Edinburgh
For the last two weeks of December, our home base was Glasgow, but we couldn't resist a couple trips to the romantic city of Edinburgh, just 1hr away by train.
In the end, our holiday blues went away, and we enjoyed a day full of cooking a Christmas meal along with an inter-apartment gift hunt with riddles for clues. (A special bottle of Scotch whisky didn't hurt either). For the remaining days, we had plenty to think about as we prepared our bags and ourselves for our first trip to India.
LISTEN [SPOTIFY PLAYLIST]
Here’s a small selection of Scottish traditional music — past and present — that was compiled by way of recommendation or personal searching while preparing for my OTHERLANDS: Scotland trip. It’s not intended to be anything close to a comprehensive representation, but there’s a good cross section here and plenty of great tunes for sessions. I hope you hear something interesting and it sends you down new paths. Happy listening!
Stay tuned for all the same goodies from India...
Happy Belated 2020,
Casey
