I went over the hill from Glasgow today to fix a wire on a dyke I repaired a few months ago. The rain was driving in hard and Jim the farmer wanted a better day so we postponed. I had a dyke repair in Kilcreggan to see but not until afternoon. That left me free for a while so I walked up the hill to the Whangie.
The story goes that The Devil was in Strathblane but had an appointment with another soul in Dumbarton. For a shortcut he leapt the hill. On the way over his tail whanged the hillside and sliced it open. A huge segment of cliff peeled away and settled a few feet forward leaving a deep gorge immediately behind. We live in more secular times and it is now a popular spot with walkers and climbers. A well worn path winds its way up the hill and I passed a school party coming down. The rain had by now eased off and, as we passed, I saw that they didn't look quite so bedraggled as I expected given the squall they had been caught in.
A pair of ravens were the only company at the top. They must have a nest on the cliff and, as I picked my way through the gorge, they glided the wind above whilst giving me what-for in throaty voices gruff as Lily Savage.
No comments:
Post a Comment