‘What on earth?’ I said.
‘Nearly hit a dog,’ Alec said. He had come to a halt and was looking back over his shoulder. I twisted round to look too. A large black dog, very familiar to me, was trotting away along the middle of the road. As we watched, a crow came circling down and landed on the dog’s back. The dog continued to trot along, untroubled by its passenger.
‘Well, I’ve seen everything now,’ said Alec. ‘Is the circus in town? Or has someone in the village trained a pet crow to do that? Have they escaped from somewhere? Should we round them up and send them home?’
The two creatures were turning up the hill to take the cattle pass away from Applecross. The dog disappeared behind the hedgerow and all I could see was the tip of the crow’s black beak as it threw its head back in a farewell caw.
‘No,’ I said. ‘I think they’re leaving. And we should let them go.’
Facts and Fictions
Applecross is a real place. These days, the Applecross Trust runs the estate and several of the houses, including the Clachan manse, are available for holiday lets. The walled garden is open to visitors and you can have a delicious meal in the Potting Shed.
The topography is pretty much as I’ve made it here, although I have taken various small liberties. For instance, ‘Michael’s Cottage’ is further round the north arm of the bay, beyond the Clachan. I’ve taken larger liberties with such aspects of local history as: the ownership of the estate, the effect of the clearances, the source of funds for infrastructure improvements. And I’m not at all sure the apple variety exists that’s hardy enough to grow in Wester Ross.
As for the folklore, that is almost entirely the product of my imagination. Maelrubha was real but the tales I’ve spun about him here are not. All the harbingers I mention have a basis in Celtic mythology but the real Applecross peninsula is not so beset with them as I’ve suggested.
None of the human characters are based on real people, but Ursus the cat and his table habits are borrowed from the late and great Bear Hoenisch.
Acknowledgements
As ever I would like to thank Francine Toon, Jasmine Marsh, Sophia Brown and all at Hodder & Stoughton; Lisa Moylett, Zoe Apostolides, Jamie Maclean and Elena Langtry at Coombs, Moylett, Maclean; and all my family and friends in the UK and US.
This time I would also like to include thanks to: Ruaridh and Kate Cameron at the Applecross Heritage Centre for information and guidance; and Donald and Ishbel Ferguson for tea, pancakes and lots of patience as they guided me through the spelling, grammar, pronunciation and honorific system of Applecross Gaelic. Any mistakes that have squeaked through are mine.
A Step So Grave Page 31