Blazing Paddles: A Scottish Coastal Odyssey by Brian Wilson

Author:Brian Wilson [Wilson, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation, Water Sports, Canoeing, Travel, Europe, Great Britain, Special Interest, Adventure
ISBN: 9781788852029
Google: 3JGZDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Birlinn
Published: 2019-06-06T23:28:03.825359+00:00

7

Dragons, Elves and Killer Whales

Like the rings on the trunk of a tree, like the points on the antlers of a stag, or the Queen’s telegram in the proud frail hands of an old woman, the dominant rock of an island is the nearest thing to proof of its age. For this reason the Outer Hebrides, or Western Isles, have been called the oldest islands in the world. Certainly they are elder statesmen compared to the Inner Hebridean islands, such as Rhum, Eigg, Skye and Mull – mere upstarts of comparatively recent volcanic activity – and are among the few places on earth where pre-Cambrian rock formations are actually exposed. The Lewisian gneiss of the Outer Hebrides is reckoned to be about 2,800 million years old, 1,400 times older than the primate lineage of man, and among the oldest and toughest rocks in the world.

At one time the gneiss and younger rocks together formed a great landmass reaching out at least to Rockall, 200 miles to the west of Lewis. As the ice caps melted and water levels rose, the Outer Isles were first isolated as one long island, then as a chain of islands separated by drowned valleys. Lastly came the crafting influences of the ice sheets, scouring smooth all but the highest summits. So, at least, runs the modern myth of the geologists; but science moves so quickly these days that it’s perhaps best to keep an open mind about such things.

Scandinavian tradition tells that when the world was young and the Scottish Isles were still attached to Northern France, the acquisitive Norsemen decided to tow this beautiful piece of land home with them. They mustered a fleet of 365 ships, manned by giant sailors and attached them to an arch in a rocky precipice. The cable was formed from the hair of a thousand maidens, cut by sharp shells and woven by the women who lived in the sea caves of Norway, for that is the strongest fibre known to man. The maidens, for maidens they had to be, were captured and then given their freedom in return for their hair; however by oversight one of them was not the virtuous, untouched damsel they’d assumed her to be and her hair, in consequence, was weaker.

The ships towed for all they were worth but unfavourable seas and high winds caused them to drop some land at Ireland. Then the wind caught on the hills and broke the beautiful land into many fragments of rocky isle until all that was left was the island we now call Lewis and Harris. Finally the flawed strand of hair gave way, weakening the whole rope as it broke and leaving the islands to flounder where we find them today.

My favourite alternative also concerns maidens, but attributes the primeval origins of the Outer Isles to the slaying of a nine-headed dragon. This dragon had carried off nine maidens to its lair in mid-Atlantic. But he had chosen unwisely, for one of them was betrothed to a young hero who then came in search of the unfortunate dragon.

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