What would
Marydo? Following in the footsteps of Mary M Harvie
With The Adventure Syndicate
In the summer of 1936, 17 year old Mary Harvie set out from Glasgow with her two sisters to ride their bikes more than 500 miles around Youth Hostels in the Highlands of Scotland. In 2020, her son presented Hostelling Scotland with the diary she had kept during these magical two weeks. When we read Mary’s diary, the deal was done. There would be no refusing the suggestion of a recreation of her journey. And so it was that three time-served representatives of The Adventure Syndicate* - Alice Lemkes and Philippa Battye and Lee Craigie - would follow a rough approximation of Mary’s route and together with Maciek Tomiczek (photographer, film maker and bikepacker) we would tell a modern day version of her story. We would do this in real time by posting to social media but in order to do Mary’s story justice, the more considered and reflective telling would come later by way of written articles to support a majestic photo album and a short film capturing the magic of self-supported bike travel and it’s natural alliance with Scottish Hostels.
Day One
Glasgow to Crianlarich, “Off to a somewhat soggier start to Mary. Didn’t make it half a mile before Phil’s first puncture. But we soon got onto the West Highland Way and left the sprawling city behind. It was beautiful but hard going along the loch and then the rain finally found us. We were all soaked through by the time we got to Inversnaid. The hotel was closed but thank heavens the ferry was running. We wondered what Mary would have done next and we are almost certain she would have stopped at The Drovers Inn for a pint
28
too. Thanks to her recommendation we also spent some time at the Falls of Falloch, allthough it wasn’t really the weather for sunbathing. Rolled into Crianlarich YH after dark. So grateful for the drying room, hot showers and pizza.”
Alice Lemkes, 2021
Day Two
Crianlarich to Glencoe, “We left just before sunrise in freshly dried clothes and rode into a crisp clear morning with frost on the ground, crossing steaming rivers into inverted clouds typical of this time of year. We stocked up on food in Tyndrum and headed into the hills - up and over Rannoch Moor where the autumnal colours were ablaze with the brightness of the sun. After a fast, flowy off-road descent we briefly crossed the A82 - brief yet long enough to
know that pushing our bikes up and over the Devil’s Staircase was preferable to sharing the road any longer with the speeding traffic dominating the beauty of Glencoe. On reaching the col, we brewed some coffee and gaped at the everchanging light of the glen. Lee, the more experienced of us, took it upon herself to teach Alice and I how to jump cross drains. It was all laughs, japes and getting air until I slammed my rear wheel one too many times
into a rock and dinged my rim to high hell. A shame, but oh how Lee laughed. Tube in, I limped to the road at Kinochleven as the clouds moved in before speeding onto the hostel in Glencoe. A warm greeting from Thomas and we were directed to the bike shed then shown into the comfortable timber lined hostel. Entrusted with a monkey wrench I did further damage to my already crimped rim... so we walked to the Clachaig Inn for pints and dinner.”
Philippa Battye, 2021
Day Three
Glencoe to Ratagan “This morning a set of borrowed mole grips, some electrical tape and a tyre lever returned Phil’s wheel to something resembling round. After a lovely breakfast of coffee and croissants we said goodbye to
the intrepid pupils of James Gillespies who were off to climb Ben Nevis that morning then rolled northwards via the Corran and Camasngual ferries to avoid the A82. Far too long was spent in the sunshine in over a second breakfast, bike shop faffery and snack resupply in Fort William before we finally got going up the canal towpath on the Caledonia Way. Only a few miles up the road we got chatting to a couple of gents driving 1925 Ford Model T’s and before we knew it we had our bikes loaded and were being whisked along
29
