Rodel, south Harris, the start of the pilgrimage. Photo: Alastair McIntosh.
Poacher’s pilgrimage
Ian Kirk-Smith shares a trek through Harris and Lewis
Alastair McIntosh, a Scottish Quaker, writer, broadcaster and activist, records, in Poacher’s Pilgrimage, a twelve-day trek from the bottom of the Isle of Harris to the top of Lewis in the Hebrides.
Along the way he walks through some of the most isolated landscapes in Britain with a rucksack and tent, cooking equipment and a fishing rod, enduring sunny days, ‘soft’ rain, ‘heavy’ rain, and all kinds of weather in between. There are wonderful descriptions of his appreciation of just ‘being alive’ in a wild place and the geology, animals, wild plants and birds he encountered. His pilgrimage is also a spiritual and religious journey. He shares thoughts on the Christian story – on the meaning of resurrection, redemption and atonement – but at the heart of the book is his search for ‘holy’ sites from a pre-Christian and early Christian era, and a desire to explore a place and its spiritual heritage.
His encounters with derelict beehive dwellings, holy wells, and ‘temples’ from the Celtic and prehistoric era prompt digressions that make the book more than the record of a long hike. He has a fascination with the etymology of words and, while not a native Gaelic speaker, his emotional connection with Gaelic culture and identity is evident. Words of place, as in Ireland, often connect the physical to a non-material world and he explores this, recounting local legends, myths and stories, considering their moral and message, and cherishing a people who, in their spiritual lives, were ‘faithful to the truth of nature’.
The trek is also an opportunity for him to re-engage with his childhood. He grew up in Stornoway, where his father was a doctor, and his pilgrimage is an answer, spiritually, to a deep inner call. The book is a compelling record of it.
In Poacher’s Pilgrimage he reveals a ‘soft spot’ for the ‘Wee Frees’ – the Free Church of Scotland – a conservative, Calvinist congregation whose influence has been hugely influential on life in the Hebrides. Quakerism and the values of the ‘Wee Frees’ do not readily mix, but Alastair McIntosh demonstrates respect, tolerance and affection for them.
In the latter part of his pilgrimage he decides to attend a Free Church of Scotland service. The sermon prompts him to record words from the pulpit: ‘You must not judge a man by his plenty or by what is in his hand, but by what is in his heart.’ This section reflects the open-mindedness he brings to people, places and ideas throughout the book. He reminds the reader that there is complexity at the heart of all faith traditions and more to most people than meets the eye.
It is a recurring theme. The walk was done in 2009, just after he had been lecturing on violence and nonviolence to military personnel in establishments throughout Europe, and he writes about this experience; again, he is non-judgemental of people but firm in his personal convictions. Recounting a tense conversation with a brigadier, he drifts off to a reflection on how the message of nonviolence brought to the Roman empire by early Christians was transformed into a belief that violence could be justified in certain circumstances, but ‘just war theory’, he says, ‘locks religion into an endless identification with violence. This has been an enduring tragedy for millions.’
His meetings with local people along the way punctuate the trekking and internal narratives. Many live simple lives. A craftsman, he tenderly observes, ‘doesn’t do poverty but “dignified frugality”’.
The book celebrates a distinctive spiritual culture and is a plea to reconnect with its mystical truths. It is also an engaging record of a journey that transcends the beautiful landscape of Harris and Lewis, and presents a compelling case for the importance of identity, fellowship and belonging.
Poacher’s Pilgrimage: An Island Journey is published by Birlinn Ltd at £9.99.
