I have just finished this water colour painting of a place i visited on a fishing trip a long long while ago 29 years ago now. Its over at Torridon the painting is called “Above the Char lochs on Sgurr ban ” Over the last few years and particularly over this winter and closed season it had got me thinking more and more that i would like to visit some of these places again for old times sake, back in those days for about four seasons i went trout fishing a lot mainly on Sundays with a great old pal Jocky Ross we got to some fantastic places remote wild and stunningly beautiful and had memorable catches of beautiful wild trout from beautiful wild places.
Its a pity we did not have mobile phones or go pro cameras back then to easily record in good quality those great days, how lucky we are now.
Never the less how lucky i was then as the days were always eventful and Jocky’s endless stories of local history, local tales and folklore were endless and made the miles and distances pass that bit easier after a long walk back, and after a dram of which he was very fond, he would tell some harrowing stories of the second world war Jocky was a paratrooper and was dropped into the battle of Arnhem and was later captured. He was still incredibly fit for his age but the coming down the hill would get him in the knees not the going up !
Anyway its good to think back on those days and as i say i find my self doing it more and more recently, getting a hankering to get back to some of those places i suppose you do get sentimental in your old age.
I remember one of the many memorable and funny episodes when we slept out in the heather in black bin bags they were enough to keep you from getting damp from the ground, and they weighed nothing you could carry them in you pocket, we were doing an all nighter and the particular loch was known for the bigger fish coming on just as it got dark around 10.30 and just as it got light again about 03.30 very early morning breakfast was cold ambrosia creamed rice and peaches from tins and oatcakes cheese and whiskey while sitting admiring big trout lying in the heather beside us just brilliant.
A lot involve more than a fair bit of effort to get to as in the photo of map of one particular trip, I remember one spectacular long walk in over Bhein glas ridge this whole area is dotted with lochs and little lochans some of the small lochan’s have the big trout! we carried on along ridge on to wards Conival and Ben more Assynt we dropped down to Loch Meall nan Caorach and on a flat area just below this during the second world war in a snowstorm an RAF Avro Anson plane crashed with all six crew killed. It is the only site in Britain where the men are buried at the site of the crash, when we went their was a big cross high up just below Conival to mark the spot where the men are buried, i am pretty sure a new monument has been built since then. When i think back i had some great fishing but for me i have them recorded in my game book but the old saying is true there is more to fishing than catching fish, the laughs and stories i have never ever forgotten and repeat them to this day, i must try and get back to some of them this year.
The painting is 18″ X 12″ with mount 26″ x 20″ Above the Char lochs Sgurr ban.