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DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1327039
Greetings from Assynt – My Holiday Story
Publication History
Publication Date:
14 September 2012 (online)
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Education in Germany is an extremely federal affair. The state of Hessia has just passed a bill called “Schulverwaltungsorganisationsstrukturreformgesetz”. This is a linguistic monstrosity, its 49-letter length owed to the peculiarities of the German language, describing the intention to reform the organizational structures of school administration. But teachers are subject to endless legislation too. Official catalogues of educational objectives describing a pupil's competences and skills, which have to be promoted by all means, must strictly be adhered to. Apparently, not much needs to be learned these days. It used to be a tradition that, when back at school after the long summer holidays, German children would write up their “Holiday Story” as a writing exercise. This is probably a completely old-fashioned concept for many professors of pedagogics, although, to speak in their terms, it does theoretically induce an intrinsic motivation. Your editor, for one, has an urgent craving to tell you his Holiday Story.
We went to Assynt this year. This is a spectacular country, regarding both landscape and inhabitants. Of the latter there are not many, Assynt belonging to the most sparsely populated inhabited areas. Its capital has about 650 townspeople and sports two small supermarkets, a butcher, a bank branch, a well-known pottery, and a filling station. The rest of the population lives in small crofting communities, mostly along the rough coastline. A croft comprises around five hectares of land together with hill grazing areas shared with other locals. Sheep of a very robust nature dominate the productive livestock. The occasional cattle are small and compact, bronze in colour, have impressive horns and reflect an ancient aurochs rather than a Holstein cow. The natives are exceptionally friendly and helpful if somewhat hard to comprehend. Their native language is regarded endangered despite all government efforts. If the Assyntians communicate in English, precise listening is essential. Their accent is harsh and unusual vocabulary used.
Getting to Assynt can be relatively straightforward until you reach the border. We, however, chose the more scenic and adventurous route via forlorn places called Ardgour, Moidart, and Liathach. This cost us several days, but was well worth it. The roads become increasingly narrow and winding, mostly single lane with the occasional passing place. Although generally in a good condition, they tend to suddenly confront the driver with very steep ascents/descents, 20% being not exceptional, made even more interesting by narrow hairpin curves at the most improbable places. In winter a four-wheel-drive seems to be the only option. Not surprisingly, these usually Asian-made vehicles are commonplace and steered with astonishing speed by the native farmers. For the average tourist this means to expect the unexpected and to calculate with an average travelling speed of 20 mph for most areas where there are roads at all.
It is evident that Assynt should rather be explored on foot. Its landscape is so breathtakingly exceptional that time is needed to let it all sink in. Painters bring your easels! Hikers be well-equipped! The weather tends to change incredibly fast. Basking in the sun looking for shade one can get caught in torrential rainfalls within minutes. These are usually quickly followed by sunshine again, causing the moisture to rise and form mist and clouds, sometimes dense fog hiding everything more than a few feet away. All precautions of Alpine mountaineering should be met.
The absolute height of the mountains rarely amounts to more than 3000 ft. However, they appear much, much higher because they tend to rise abruptly from sea level. Lewisian Gneiss, formed around 3000 million years ago (!) reaches the surface in the so-called foreland forming much of the Assyntian coast. This causes a tree-less landscape where only small shrubs have a chance to thrive. It is more a world of moss and lichens. Like in the desert tiny flowers nevertheless bloom through much of the summer, providing amazing small dots of colour in predominantly grey surroundings. If attempting to climb one of the awesome “inselbergs” one must be aware that there will be no shade – and not even any sheep to keep one company. These isolated island mountains were formed by sandstone depositories about 1000 million years ago. Their colour, usually a very dark hue of brown often appearing completely black, puts them into sharp contrast to the glittering grey base on which they have been dumped. Erosion has carved them into bizarre and unforgettable shapes. Where limestone was added during Cambrian times (as recent as 480 million years ago), it has been partially dissolved by the ever-present rain, featuring deep caves and sinkholes swallowing whole rivers.
In the wide higher valleys of Assynt where clouds often get caught high humidity nurtures mosses and amazing primeval ferns, cladding the mountain slopes in all imaginable shades of green. A graceful barosaurus drinking from one of the numerous small cascades would not look out of place at all. The inner land is characterized by long narrow valleys, often filled with crystal clear, deep blue lakes of astonishing depth, the deepest reaching 430 feet. Along the coast this creates the impression of fjords. From the South shore of such an inlet you can see an isolated inn on the North shore some hundred yards away. Should you prefer to reach it by road rather than ferry, this would require 50 miles of driving along a lane which is liable to flooding.
The shore owes part of its appeal to the Ice Age when huge amounts of sand and gravel were swept to the sea. In several secluded bays this created wide dune systems culminating in some of the most beautiful beaches on earth. The largest one has white sand, is a mile and half long and, depending on the tides, almost half as wide. In the sun the sea glitters in shades of turquoise. As this beach can only be reached on foot via a path demanding at least two hours even from an experienced hiker, anyone who reaches it will be pretty much alone. If you want to admire the pink sunset, please bear in mind that the way back might be difficult as darkness sets quickly. You may consider bringing a strong torch or your tent. Wild camping is allowed in most public spaces.
For those looking for a more comfortable lifestyle Assynt provides a small but eclectic choice of hotels with very good restaurants. The local specialties include sweet- and saltwater fish, any kind of seafood imaginable (lobster is quite cheap), as well as game (ever had sika deer filet?), rabbit, and the ubiquitous lamb. Instead of attempting to climb barren cliffs, one may prefer to amble in one of the lush subtropical gardens admiring rhododendrons, colourful herbaceous borders, and even palm trees. This vegetation thrives in select bays due to high humidity and the absence of frost.
We had an exceptional and beautiful holiday and will certainly be back, in the hope that the editor did not stimulate too many of his readers to swarm there. In case you were wondering: Assynt is not an imaginary Tolkien country. It lies in the very Northwest of Scotland. The name is thought to derive from Old Norse (meaning seen from afar).