Just finished this and a nice read ....
In August 1956, a young shepherd, his wife, two-year-old daughter and ten-day-old son sat huddled in a small boat on Loch Monar in Ross-shire as a storm raged around them. They were bound for a tiny, remote cottage at the western end of the loch which was to be their home for the next four years. "Isolation Shepherd" is the moving story of those years. More than simply a sensitive and richly detailed account of the shepherd's life through the season, Iain Thomson's book also vividly captures the splendour of one of Scotland's most awesome landscapes, and depicts the numerous incidents that shaped the family's life there before the area was flooded as part of a huge hydro-electric project.
I dont read a great deal of books anymore but i really enjoyed Isolation shepherd, like you say it captures the feel of the place perfectly.
Thanks for the recommendation guys. Have just ordered it from amazon.
All the best
Billy
Try 'The Long Horizon' by the same chap. If you know the Beauly/Aigas/Strathglass/Cannich area then you'll love it. Like 'Isolation Shepherd' it's great on the pre-Hydro highland landscape. Imagine having lived and loved somewhere that is now under water?
Think I'll pay amazon a visit - sounds a good winter book.
Sandy B.O.
Thats me finished it.
A cracking wee book. I love these types of books on people and places as they were in the past. Amazing distances the people would walk in the course of a day over rough terrain. Some of the boat journeys back and forward on the loch in appalling conditions were quite scary.
I've never been as far up as Monar, but have fished the river Farar twice. Its got plenty of troots in it, and some belters as weel.
Pearly, I'll get the Long Horizon as well. I love the area and hope it's not too long before I visit again.
All the best
Billy