Date of walk: 2/3/19
Arisaig House was built in 1863 by Arts & Crafts architect Philip Webb. In WW2, the house was run by the Special Operations Executive for paramilitary training to prepare agents for missions in Occupied Europe.
Solitary confinement cell next to Arisaig House, in which trainee agents were locked up for days on end before being put through mock interrogations, Scotland.
Arisaig House, Scotland.
Solitary confinement cell, Arisaig House, Scotland.
Arisaig House hidden amongst the Rough Bounds, Scotland.
An Stac from Arisaig, Scotland.
Shadow and stone. Rhu Peninsula, Scotland.
The rain settles in over the Sound of Arisaig, Scotland.
Entwine. Rhu Peninsula, Scotland.
Fisherman’s Boot, Rhu Peninsula, Scotland.
The Rhu Peninsula, Scotland.
An extensive way-marked-gnome-themed private garden on the remote tip of the Rhu Peninsula.
A cave where I sheltered from the rain to eat in the Rhu Peninsula.
Resupply of dehydrated meals for the next leg.
Food supplies before separating into daily ration bags.
Menu planning for backpacking around Knoydart in Winter. Loads of calories!
Each day of rations sealed up and dated.
Food packages ready to mail to Knoydart and Glen Elg so I only have to carry 5 or 6 KG of food at a time.
Wow! Stunning photographs. Those solitary confinement cells look distinctly dodgy. And I’m complaining about lockdown!
Thanks, and yes there’s always someone having a tougher time of it!
Is there going to be a book of this walk?
I caught up with your endeavours rather late in the walk but have enjoyed your photos and blog. What organisation it must have taken! We lived in Aberdeenshire for several years and walked up there a lot so it’s good to see bits I remember. Hope you get to finish it soon and have enjoyed some rest!
Yes, there was a lot of organisation for the Highlands and especially the Rough Bounds as I often didn’t see anyone for many days at a time so I had to carry a lot of kit. All plans on hold because of Covid19 (I completed 6,255 miles or 91% prior to lockdown) but I hope to be able to get out again to finish later this summer. A book and exhibition is the plan and I’ll investigate who I might collaborate with for that when I’ve finished.
Two posts in one week! We could get used to this. One could do a fascinating walk around the Highlands from one braw hoose appropriated by SOE to the next, tracing the fierce history from Scotland to France and beyond. I’ve been reading up on the sad story of Inverailort House today, another one used (and apparently abused) by the SOE as a remote training facility, now abandoned and in a sorry state.
Yes, you certainly could. I’d walked past Inverailort two days previously, pic and video here https://theperimeter.uk/2019/07/31/day-266-roshven-to-peanmeanach-into-ardnish/
Sad fate indeed for the birthplace of commando warfare
Good to see Tunnocks featuring in the diet!
Essential provisions!
Woo Hoo! So glad you’re posting again! I’ve missed seeing your beautiful camera work. Thanks for the continuing inspiration.
Delighted to hear these are appreciated, thanks
Hi fellow coastal walker. Love your photos. A bit sketchy on details of the walks but I can make it up from the fabulous photos, film clips and maps. I have been following your info from Glensanda Quarry and pleased to see you hit all the spots I had done on my ‘perimeter’ walk 1994-2001 – I did keep lower nearer the coast on the Rhu peninsula though. I am walking it a second time and have recorded 5200 miles so far (about + 1500 miles to last time) but have walked on all the islands clockwise from my starting point in Skegness, some all the coast (I.O.W, Angelsey, Arran etc only missed Bardsey Island of Wales due to ferry problems). The 2nd time round I will mostly only walk on dry days if I can – got soaked too many times 1st time and photos more challenging – and it was only after Wick on the east coast that I got a decent SLR camera. Now with a digital SLR I take up to 150 photos per walk but I will never match your quality, but I do try. I am about to start again from Fort William on the mainland in a few weeks and have got about a dozen coastal walks on Mull planned. Pleased I have found your site – thank you.
Hi Ian, How’s your progress on your second time around? It’s great to hear of your route and that you are enjoying photography with your walking. I decided not to include so many practical details as several other great websites do that, and, as you say, I include maps for those interested in following the exact path.
Hi, Just came across your blog, can I ask were the garden was with Gnome mans land was on the Rhu Peninsula. Cheers
It’s in a private garden. See below
Hi Quentin. I would just like to confirm that the picture taken of the, ‘Gnome Man’s Land’ sign was in fact taken from a distance with a decent lense and that you were not actually in my garden. Either way I am not entirely comfortable with something that was a private family joke becoming public. We live where we do because we are a very private family. 😞
Hi Tricia, Great to hear from you, I love the humour of what you created. The weather was appalling on the day I walked down the Rhu and I was trapped between fences and boggy ground so I walked down the access road to your property in order to reach the north, while doing this I took the photo behind the fence as it cheered me up on a very dreich day. I hope it will be OK to keep the photo on this blog as it has brought a smile to many people’s day and it doesn’t pinpoint the description? Best, Quintin
Lovely, inspiring photos. What an amazing project, and how connected you must feel to the land.
One small gripe – Britain is not an “island nation”, but a multinational state. I realise that doesn’t flow so well as prose, but “island nation” is a culturally tone-deaf phrase redolent of the “Our Island Story” mindset.
Thank you for the magnificent photos which must have raised many people’s spirits as we head into a daunting winter.
Hi Chris. I agree with you especially as the distinct quality of the nations is something I’ve tried to emphasise with the project. Ironically, the Guardian headline was the only words I didn’t write myself. I’ll have a word with the editor and see if another phrase can be chosen. Cheers, Quintin
Thank you Quintin. I hope the Guardian coverage helps you to sell lots of your beautiful prints!
It’s definitely helping!
Íbamos Ofelia from Uruguay. I enjoyed a lot each photo, specially tose that remembers me places I visited. Thaks and go ahead.
I’m glad to hear they brought back good memories. All the best
Your photographs are stunning what a fantastic idea we have an amazing countryside.
Thank you! Yes, it’s an island of diverse beauty.