Page 10 - Heart of the Travellers Vol 3 ed 2 May 2017
P. 10
A gey fit lad wiz Wully tall an raa beened. The hills an glens were nae a problem tae him an even though he
couldna ging the bike alang the tracks he noo an then got a wee hurrl by staannin on the pedal an freewheelin at
ony doon slopes. Mind ye sayin that there wid be little eneuch doongyans on this track for he wiz climmin aa the
wye. He kent that fae the year afore: even tae him it hid fyles been a bit o a chauve an a lang shove for the bike.
It wiz aboot the middle o the day fin Wully cam tae the mooth o a side glen that
he'd nivver gotten the chance tae gyang last season so aifter a bit rest at the burn o
Letterach he started up the side glen. There wiz a bit o a track so he held tae it, he could
see it wiz made by sheep for the pints o the heather hid been grazed at eether side.
Ae thing aboot the Cabrach if ye saw the signs o sheep, there wid maist likely be a shepherd's bucht somewye
aheed o ye. He caad awa wi that thocht in mind but by a half mile or so he began tae realise that this wisna muckle
o a glen.It wiz mair like a balloch wi sheer sides and gey narra at bits. A wee runnle o water cam doon the middle
o't an the path criss crossed it makkin for a fair yoke wi the bike.
Up aheed he saw the balloch kinkit tae the richt an lookit as if it wiz even steeper. He thocht tae himsel that
he'd hud gyan for a file langer at least as far's the neuk. But michty Wully fun it a fair yokin, an swack though he
kent himsel tae be, by the time he reached the neuk he thocht his legs wid gyang fae aneth him. Pechin sair he wiz
gled tae lay the bike on the heather an sat himsel doon. He could see the balloch noo opened up a wee bit as it
held tae the richt an even better the slope livellt aff a fair bit so the goin wid be easier.
The place he sat must've been a well at some time in the past because the watter wiz bubblin up fae ablow
and ran ower a puckle steens that were man made by the looks o them. He scrapit een wi his fit tae tak aff the
green goore and saa a holy cross rochly carved intae the steen. At the tap wiz an ee an some words he couldna
mak oot affa weel. It must hae been a holy well awa back and michta been that fowk made their wye up here for
cures or jist tae pray. He kent weel eneuch aboot holy wells for he'd seen plenty as he traipsed the country roon
but he'd nivver seen ony wi carvins like this yin The watter wiz fine an clear so he teen a drouth o't tae slake his
thirst.
Aifter a wee fyle Wully set fit on up the wee glen because that’s fit it turned intae, the sides werena sae sheer
an the goin wiz a lot easier for pushin the bike. His spirits liftit a bittie fin he saa a decent eneuch track and the
rowan trees scaittert here an there up baith sides o the glen. There wisna ony signs o habitation though as yet but
he could see a twa’r three sheep heich up. Aifter aboot anither oor o waakin on the easier trail he wiz beginnin tae
winder if he'd deen the richt thing comin up here. He could see a mist rollin doon the glen an felt the temperature
start tae drap. A fyowe meenits later an he could barely see his haan afore him. Noo naebody wints tae be caught
oot on the heich grun fin a thick mist comes doon especially if yer nae acquant wi faar ye are…zsedrtj
10