Very wise words, Lottie. I've never been to Skye, though it's been on my bucket list since childhood ... somehow I've just never got round to it, and more recently I've been slightly put off by just the sort of issues you discuss. One of the boxes of memorabilia from my late parents' house that I can't bring myself to get rid of is a box of maps belonging to my paternal grandfather, who was Scottish and a very keen hill walker. There's one map of Skye in particular which is so worn and creased that he must have used it a lot. I'd love to use it as a guide for an exploration and write about how different the island is now from the one he must have known in the 1890s (he was born in 1876 and I never knew him, that must seem a very, very long time ago to someone of your generation!)
Excellent piece, Lottie. It’s a constant back and forth between ‘I’m helping by informing people’ and ‘fuck, I’m encouraging people to travel to these places’ when travel writing.
It’s a lot less lonely knowing other writers are going through the same internal struggle.
I’ll be sure to recommend your Substack and upcoming book to all my friends who love to travel with their dogs.
Thank you for your kindness. I have thought for a while that Skye needs to do some kind of crowd control in order to protect the environment. If this isn't possible, I appreciate you offering 'off the beaten track' recommendations to try and stop the overcrowding.
Very wise words, Lottie. I've never been to Skye, though it's been on my bucket list since childhood ... somehow I've just never got round to it, and more recently I've been slightly put off by just the sort of issues you discuss. One of the boxes of memorabilia from my late parents' house that I can't bring myself to get rid of is a box of maps belonging to my paternal grandfather, who was Scottish and a very keen hill walker. There's one map of Skye in particular which is so worn and creased that he must have used it a lot. I'd love to use it as a guide for an exploration and write about how different the island is now from the one he must have known in the 1890s (he was born in 1876 and I never knew him, that must seem a very, very long time ago to someone of your generation!)
That sounds fascinating!
Excellent piece, Lottie. It’s a constant back and forth between ‘I’m helping by informing people’ and ‘fuck, I’m encouraging people to travel to these places’ when travel writing.
It’s a lot less lonely knowing other writers are going through the same internal struggle.
I’ll be sure to recommend your Substack and upcoming book to all my friends who love to travel with their dogs.
Thank you!
Thank you for your kindness. I have thought for a while that Skye needs to do some kind of crowd control in order to protect the environment. If this isn't possible, I appreciate you offering 'off the beaten track' recommendations to try and stop the overcrowding.
I love this, and coming from the Lake District, but also wanting to tell people to visit as I love it so much, I feel this deeply.
I think you’re doing the right thing.