The Kingdom at Rowardennan

George Walker

1954

There is a Kingdom at Rowardennan. It sits on the shingle shore of Loch Lomond under the Ben. I discovered it on a sunny summer day in the 1954. It is a special place for it is my Kingdom and, until I write this, it is unknown to any other.

A family friend had offered to take my brothers to the top of Ben Lomond. So it was, that on that surprising day, I sat in the back of a fawn Upright Ford Popular. It was one of those glorious days that seem only to exist in childhood.

As the smallest, my natural place in the car was the middle of the back seat. This meant sitting astride the transmission tunnel. It also meant that the seat had little padding and the metal over the tunnel was well known to me, as we traversed the bumps and humps. In the Ford Popular, the windows were set high so that my journey was passed in looking ahead through the gap between driver and front passenger. All I could see was the pale blue of the sky and the occasional whispy cloud.

I was unconcerned by the lack of view for, before the days of radio, we chatted and sang as we went. Also, there was the adventure ahead. It was not intended that I would be going on the climb but I was sure that, when we arrived, this would be changed. They would see I was able to keep up and no-one would have the heart to leave me behind. I was going to climb Ben Lomond.

My hopes were in vain. We left the car at the Lochside and set off together along a lane with cottages to our right. When we reached the start of the path towards the Ben the others waved goodbye and I watched them depart. As they disappeared up the path I made my way back to the shore.

I knew they were to be away for some time as it was explained that, it was too far for me to climb, would take too long and that when I was bigger, I could come back. On the surface I accepted this but inside I was outraged. I was on the shores of Loch Lomond with nothing to do while my brothers enjoyed adventures.

I wandered along the empty stony shore. I picked up stones and lobbed them into the flat calm water where they made a satisfying plop. Then I chose round flat stones and skimmed them across the surface counting the number of skips. This was fun but arms grow tired, and with no-one to marvel at my skill, I gave up. As I climbed over a ridge of grass jutting out into the loch I found my Kingdom. ... (continues)