Cat In The Hat Rhymes For Birthday

The spirit of Sandwood Bay

In September I wrote something about the spirit of Sandwood Bay. For this I was able to find out during my tour of coincidences or something.

And although there was this "spirit" really, it was James McRory-Smith, who lived as a hermit for 30 years in Strath Chailleach. In the Bothy, a book is a biography of this interesting people. It is a sad story, Smith was a recluse after he had lost his wife and had apparently lost his footing and went throughout Scotland.

He then just as the home Strathchailleach chose is already extraordinary. Up to the nearest shopping venues are good 20km walk. The winters are cold and violent storms. He had to go out every day to be able to stand and peat to dry and then use this as fuel for the fire.

Today we see the traces left in the McRory Smith Bothy has. Among other things, various wall paintings, as seen in this picture:

murals in Strathchailleach

He supplied himself with to find what he could and he allegedly poached from and to a sheep or wild game with his old Enfield .303 rifle. (The gun is not confirmed until today, no one has ever found).

Among other things he collected driftwood on the beach at Sandy Bay Wood, this will then early in the morning, so there were reports of the sighting "of a strange shape" to Sandwood Bay through the fog. He is said from time to solitary camper to death have shocked when he was caught as he was looking through the backpacks for usable reserves.

The Bothy could still be visited by hikers, McRory whether Smith was an inside was more dependent on his mood or the gadgets. If he felt disturbed, he should have ever chased the-Wall or curse at other times, visitors were faced with closed doors.


crashed in a storm parts of the Bothy one eventually, which was then also a time when he had to leave the Bothy for health reasons. He then lived in a trailer at the old port of Kinlochbervie and died shortly after. The Bothy has been prepared by the Mountain Bothy Association again and can once again a focal point on the way to Cape Wrath and Kearvaig be used.

In talks in Kinlochbervie, he was briefly described as "He was a character." Roughly translated, "Strangely Owl "or rather" Characters ".