Untitled - Beeldbibliotheek

MINCED SCOTLAND 113of the great natural difficulties that beset them,such as the feeble track that we followed inSutherland, which started up each new inclinewith a sigh, hunching its shoulders peevishly, buttoiling on. And there are headlong roads, whichsweep and leap forward, making nothing of theheights they have to scale. Many try to deceiveyou by an old device, which the caravanner canafford to smile at. It is to bring you to the topof a steep dip, down and up, at such an anglethat the rise on the far side looks far stiffer thanit is, looks actually precipitous. But you haveonly to go boldly forward to see it come downas you descend and lose its sting, till, behold,it is almost level after all. You have found itout.There is of course immense variety in thechance scenes that I remember. We are travellingfrom Dunkeld to Inverness, and in response to asudden sporting impulse we turn offour routeto explore the Tummel Valley as far as KinlochRannoch. After we have come out of the sharplittle nick that encloses the bridge across theGarry we find ourselves in very heavy country,with seven miles of almost continuous climb ona wet, rough road with sharp gradients here andthere. The conditions are not improved by ai