Come celebrate Scotland at Castleton Free Library on Rabbie Burns Night!

This travel program will feature photography, anecdotes and walking tips presented by Hubbardtonians Ivy Marr and librarian Jan Jones from their experiences in the Scottish Highlands and Outer Hebrides. By foot and ferry, bus, coach and steam train, they wandered byways along Loch Ness, climbed footpaths into the hills, and explored the wild beaches and mountains of the Western Isles. The program will be informal, with time for questions about trip planning, walking long-distance paths, booking hostels and other lodging - and of course, recitation of a few Robert Burns poems.

The trip included two themes: an island exploration inspired by the popular Lewis Trilogy murder mystery novels by Peter May (The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man, and The Chessmen), and a long-distance walk (about 80 miles) following the length of the Great Glen Way. Jan (librarian/CES teacher) planned much of the former, and Ivy, an experienced long-distance walker, the latter. The travelers arrived in Stornoway by ferry from Ullapool, staying first in guest houses with lovely black pudding and smoked salmon breakfasts; Berserker stout and wee drams at the fire (after visiting the Butt of Lewis, the northernmost tip, claimed to be the windiest place in Scotland). Later they stayed in a thatched blackhouse converted to a hostel on the rocky shore of Berneray, and finally traveled over the sea to Skye for some shorter hikes and fairy glens. For this part of the trip they were joined by Dave (Mr. Marr) and Twyla, who many know from their work in Castleton Elementary School.

Back on the Scottish mainland, the Great Glen Way, a long-distance path, cuts through the Highlands from Fort William to Inverness, following the Caledonian Canal connecting four lochs (including the home of Nessie, cousin to our own dear Champ). This journey was a gift, in part, from a very fit daughter (Ivy) to a rather unfit mother (Jan, who nonetheless loves to hike), to prove that with careful planning, such a hike was quite possible for a 64-year-old. The presenters hope to encourage others who might be nervous about such an undertaking. They will share advice about essential packing for long walks, why trailside canal boat pubs are worth a stop, how to steel oneself for the odors of a “drying room”, and what to watch out for when crawling through a dark tunnel at the Well of the Seven Heads (hashtag clan wars, hashtag arachnids, etc.), among other things.
Free and open to all. Refreshments, but alas, no Scotch.