Hi friends! We just returned from two weeks in Scotland, which was a lovely trip. We had great weather, the scenery was fantastic, and there were plenty of ruined (and not) castles to traipse around in.
But I did find myself disappointed on one front–inspiration.
I thought for sure I would find story inspiration all over the place. I love traveling, and I especially love the way different places’ legends and mythology are tied into their history. And Scotland seemed like inspiration central–the romanticized Highlands, the empty moors, mists and fae. The aforementioned castles. Loch Ness.
But I didn’t find it.
Maybe–maybe a lot of it–is that Scotland’s history is kind of the general European-centric medieval time period that a lot of fantasy typically espouses. It’s great learning about how castles functioned and who did what, and how, but it also kind of felt like that was stuff I already knew, you know?
Part of it may be that this is a major part of my ethnic background, so I was already familiar with the history of the country, so while I was seeing places I’d only read about, I wasn’t necessarily learning anything new.
Part of it may be that the Scots don’t seem to embrace the faerie aspects of Celtic mythology as much as, say, Ireland does. While there were places labeled Fairy Glens or Fairy Pools, it was clear that there was no actual mythology linked into those places. Only one castle tour even mentioned ghosts.
Don’t get me wrong–Scotland is a beautiful country which is, in many ways, doing things better than I feel like my own is, even if they drive on the wrong side of the road. But I guess I was hoping to be doused in mythology and legend, and while I learned a lot of cool history, there was almost a distinct lack of mythology linked into things. (Though when it was there, man, it was amazing.)
I suppose, on one hand, it might actually be expected. A lot of major technological innovation has come out of Scotland, and scientifically-minded countries don’t want to be reminded of their superstitious beliefs of years past. Look at the US, too. You don’t find a lot, if any, widespread mythologies here (except maybe aliens and Bigfoot), and more local tales are often put down as something only country bumpkins believe.
For what it’s worth, I do appreciate that attitude Loch Ness has taken on the subject. We did both a loch cruise and went to the Loch Ness Centre, and they both said, “Is there a plesiosaur living in Loch Ness? No. But the loch is deep and impossible to explore, and we get weird, unexplained sonar pings all the time, so there is probably something in there. It’s not a plesiosaur, but it’s definitely something! :D”
Also the cruise had plesiosaurs painted on the windows so you could take pictures/videos of the Loch Ness monster.
Oh well. I’ll just need to come up with my own inspiration now.
Though you guys are welcome to share your best Scottish legends with me. And I did buy a book of Scottish legends and myths, so there is that to look forward to.