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O.K.This is page 9!
Growing up in Glenurquhart!
This is the ninth of several pages about the 10 years I lived in the "Glen",at Shenval and at school in Corrimony,in the 1960`s.
Birds,snakes,bucks and boils
The Glen was and still is,a great place for wildlife.Our teacher,Det took us out on nature walks,but we saw plenty on our own too.Lots of Buzzards overhead,roe deer in the woods and trout in the streams.We "guddled" for stickle-backs and minnows in the stream beside the school and collected larvae encased in small stone grit tubes.One night on the way back home from school the older boys were talking about some big fish they had spotted in the burn in the wood behind Shenval.I ran home and grabbed the plastic pail and after looking for 10 minutes spotted this "monster" of a fish hiding under the bank in the stream.I was shaking with excitement and nearly ran to get Johnny Hutcheson to help me,but I thought the fish might be gone when I got back. I`d never seen such a big fish up close and it was staring back at me.It was at least two feet long and it took me a while to summon up the courage to stick my arm in the water and touch it. It was soon thrashing about and I was soaked,my wellies filled wih water.I had`nt realized it would be so slippery but I got its head in the pail,grabbed its tail and heaved it into the forest,found a big stone,stood on the fish and killed it.After I`d calmed down ,I hurried home to show mum what I`d caught for our dinner.I thought she`d be really pleased but she was`nt and she explained how the salmon was returning to spawn and I should have left it alone.I had to bury it out the back of the house and was quite upset.
When I was about 9, my uncle Andy got me a fishing rod and I spent many hours wandering up the river at the side of our house trying to catch trout.The best pools were at the falls,about one mile from home,the "First Falls".The next good pool was "The Seventh Falls"about three-quarters of a mile further on,there were no waterfalls in between but that`s what we always called them!There were more good long pools between the MacLeans tea-room at Bearnock and Shewglie Bridge.We used to half dread catching eels because they put up such a struggle and they really messed up your line.They twisted themselves round everything,looked horrible,were difficult to kill and seemed to swallow your line right down to their tails.

I saw an advert in the Buster Comic and joined the "Young Ornithologists Club".Wore my badge and kept note books of sightings and bird drawings.The best birds I saw, were dropping bits of pine cone onto the forest road,near the "Seventh Falls".They were Scottish CrossBills,not that common.Mum and Dad often warned us about Adders and WildCats,to keep well away from them and I did see both fairly often.Adders used to sun themselves on the bridge over the stream beside our house and a large one once slithered under Uncle Andy`s car beside him while he was repairing it .He got out of there fast!


Roe Deer were very common,one I came into close contact with was a Buck that had been hand-reared at the Shenval croft by the Lee`s family.It had no fear of people.I was out a walk in the wood with my sister Irene and my Mum and "BoKo" appeared on the road in front of us and put it`s head down and charged at us.Mum screamed at us to get behind her and she managed to grab his horns and they stood, pushing against each other.Mum shouted at me to find a thick branch,I did and passed it to her,she pushed "BoKo" back and walloped him as hard as she could, he took off and disappeared into the forest.
About six weeks later,one Saturday afternoon,Johnny Broadley came running to our house crying, saying "BoKo" had attacked his brother Jamie and Jamie was lying on the ground. Dad took off and ran to where Jamie was and picked him up.While he was carrying him,"BoKo" appeared again,charged them and gored Dad in the thigh.I remember seeing Dad with Jamie,his head covered in blood.Luckily he was`nt badly hurt,but dad suffered from boils and abscesses for about three years afterwards. Again weeks later,a deer appeared on the Bailey Bridge beside our house,when mum called his name ,he pricked up his ears and then he wandered into the adjoining field and started grazing alongside the cows.The Gamekeeper shot "BoKo" a few days later.

Go back. More about the Glen