Scotland the Brave in the Highlands Of Scotland

Hark when the night is falling
Hear, hear the pipes are calling
Loudly and proudly calling
Down through the glen.

Our Scotty has reached the very country of ‘Scotland The Brave’: the land and the song for which this small brown stuffed little bear wearing trews was named.

Perth, Australia to Scotland: With his Guardians, Scotty flew from Perth to London. He saw Stonehenge and Bath, Plymouth, Glastonbury, Cardiff and Ludlow, Chester and Lake Windermere (Catch up with the story by clicking those links.)

After reaching Gretna Green and Glasgow he marvelled at Loch Lomond. Now he traveled through the astonishing scenery on the road (A82) to Glencoe and Fort William.

Here where the hills are sleeping
Now feel the blood a-leaping
High as the spirits of the old island men.

Guardian Mark learnt this song in primary school in New Zealand, a country as far away from these Scottish skies as it is possible to get. Indeed NZ was often referred to by the white settlers as ‘The Antiopodes’ (not ‘Middle Earth’), many of whom were Scottish (not, in fact, hobbits).

And now the Guardian was himself seeing these glens, ridges, mountains rivers and lochs. Above the road rose up the peak Buachaill Etive More that looks almost like a pyramid.

Here is a country barely touched by the Rotten Romans who for four Centuries could take a bath in Bath but could not overwhelm the Pictii and Calendonni who lived up here. Centuries later still these glens belonged to Dalriada and Alba and finally they came under the Kings of Scotland.

The Cluanie Inn is situated in the wilderness of Glen Shiel on the way to Glencoe village. There were mountains all it around called the Brothers of Kintail, or possibly the Sisters. Scotty couldn’t tell which was which, but they all loomed over the highway in magnificent brooding fashion.

High in the misty islands
Out by the purple islands
Brave are the hearts that beat beneath Scottish skies.

We passed through Fort William and turned north east to the Commando Memorial (pic below). This honours the World War II British Commando Forces, who trained nearby at Achnacarry Castle.

Wild are the winds to meet you
Staunch are the friends that greet you
Kind as the love that shines from fair maidens eyes.

From there we could see Ben Nevis (the UK’s highest summit) and Aonach Mòr. The winds that met us are certainly wild. We had to lean into the wind to stand up. It was so cold. The pic shows the Guardian clutching a dram of whiskey in an effort to stay warm.

Land of my high endeavour
Land of the shining river
Land of my heart forever
Scotland the brave.

“The Ballad: if you would like to hear again the famous song, listen to this version on You tube..)

Where Will Scotty Go Next in Scotland: In the next posts Scotland speeds by bonny bus to the Isle of Skye, stays in the Cairngorms mountains, and rushes with great excitement around the castles of Blair Athol and Edinburgh. Stay tuned.

BOOKS with Scotland in them (our Scotty, that is)

Scotty is the star of a very special book called When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift by Carola Schmidt. In the book, Scotty a little bear who gets a bad sickness called cancer. He’s worried and often scared because cancer is scary.  But the doctors and nurses and other patients help him. The book is to help kids feel much more brave when they are getting treatment. It’s available in paperback and Kindle. Look for the brave little bear wearing trews on the cover.

Scotty in books by Mawson

You can also see Scotty in all the books by Mawson. One is called It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In (in that one he delivers the post) and another is She Ran Away From Love (he delivers the post again.) In Dreamy Days and Random Naps you can see him being a king and also a superb guitarist. Don’t miss that one! You can find Mawson’s books on this Link here, and on his Writer-Bear Page on Amazon.This is what the books look like:

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is the Writer-Bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and Dreamy Days and Random Naps and She Ran Away From Love. Mawson’s Guardian is co-creator of When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer, by Carola Schmidt