Glen Clova, Angus, Scotland in November

Driven east from Perthshire across farmlands, chasing rainbows cartwheeling over the foothills, I turned north, alone, upon Old Jock’s Road. The Angus Glens cleave deep into the Cairngorms Mountains as if rent by Fenrir howling toward imprisonment, and it seems all roads end in Glen Clova where the turgid clouds tear themselves on the icy crowns of Driesh, Mayar, and Ben Tirran. They spill themselves upon the wild wind running circles upon the mountain slopes. A pack of gusts rip the sky, revealing heaven’s blue viscera, and a blade of light carves the hollow beneath the gods of ice.

When will they speak again? We have been alone so long, hewn from the antediluvian darkness when we heard the gods speak with our own tongues. In that lost Elysium they were us, though that knowledge lay beyond comprehension, and somewhen the speaker and listener collapsed into one. And so I lean upon this fence weathered and weary and awestruck, adrift in the evening of our age, waiting for the Hesperides to daub lavender upon my temples and whisper secrets from the mind’s many forgotten cloisters. And when I awake I will cease casting out for unrequited answers, for this view is a mirror of light into those dim, god-filled recesses where we are them.

Article Comments

  1. Patsy Tart November 30, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    I so envy you the ability to travel Scotland the way you do. Wish my husband didn’t mind driving there or we would see so much more than what I’ve been able to see on tours. Thankful for the tours I’ve done and what I’ve seen, but need to see more. Cannot pay for for an escort so need to console myself to doing the driving myself. Determined to see more of Scotland. It has truly captured my heart.

    Thanks so much for your blog. The information is extremely helpful in planning. Thrilled you do what you do. Helps us all.

    Patsy Tart

    1. Aelyth Savage November 30, 2016 at 1:14 pm

      If it’s any consolation, driving in Scotland is my favorite activity these days. Such freedom. Thanks for the kind words.

  2. Gayla December 1, 2016 at 6:15 am

    Stunning image! There’s no more beautiful and wild land than Scotland. I can’t be there in person, so I’m forever grateful to you for your posts and very clever way of sharing the history and mystery of the people and the land. Thank you!

    1. Aelyth Savage December 1, 2016 at 8:55 am

      You’re most welcome, Gayla. Thanks for reading.

  3. Cara December 8, 2016 at 4:35 am

    Looks beautiful – Glen Clova is a valley with superb views and an abundance of flora and wildlife. I had a wonderful time, when I visited.The scenery in Glen Clova is fantastic all year round, offering scenes of verdant pine forests in summer or snow-capped hills in winter. Look out for eagles flying overhead, red squirrels in the woodland, or roe deer wandering the hillside.

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