-
Journey 1: Thomas Pennant
In 1772, Thomas Pennant set out to explore the last remaining blank on the map of the British Isles, a place he described as ‘desolation itself’.
Thomas Pennant on BBC Wales
At the time, more was known about America’s east coast than about the Hebrides.
Pennant aimed to change that, by charting the landscape and recording its geology and botany. But while he set out with the curiosity of a natural historian, he returned with the heavy heart of a humanitarian. -
Jura
Jura was Pennant’s first island destination. When he landed here in June 1772, he promptly set out to climb Beinn-an-Oir, one of the most challenging climbs in Scotland.
With no maps to guide him, Pennant needed to create his own. And by reaching the highest point for miles around, he was able to chart the landscape from it. His mountaineering ordeal was a cartographer’s dream. -
Islay
Much of the old Hebridean capital is lush and fertile, sitting as it does in the Gulf Stream.
Pennant was drawn to ‘the green isle’ by that verdant wildlife, along with tales of ruins and secret cliff hideaways. What he found was something more, something that began to change the course of his journey. -
Staffa
Pennant keenly wanted to visit the inaccessible island of Staffa, for its basalt columns were a geological riddle.
But the captain of his ship refused to risk the rocky waters, and Pennant had to be content with a distant sail-past. -
Canna
Today a mere 16 people live on Canna, compared to the 220 Pennant found. A whole town has been razed, and the legacy of the Highland Clearances is acutely apparent.
As well as recording his anguish at the islanders’ plight, Pennant was intrigued by their rumoured gift for ‘second sight’, and keen to solve the mystery of Compass Hill. -
Skye
Pennant wrote more about Skye than anywhere else on his journey. The reason was a discovery he made, one that helped early geologists piece together how Great Britain was formed.
It’s the giant basalt columns of Preshal Beg were
60 million years old. These giant and symmetrical columns formed when Scotland split from Newfoundland and the Atlantic Ocean was created.
Pennant called them “the ruins of creation”. It was through discoveries such as this that geologists of his day began to think the previously-unthinkable. The rocks and landscape of Britain had been formed over millions of years. They were the result of huge movements of rocks and water. And they were nothing like the ready-made planet described in the Bible… -
Ledbeg
The now-abandoned hamlet of Ledbeg was the most northerly spot Pennant reached. It’s where he turned back, giving up on his plan to reach the northern coast of Scotland.
Pennant had struggled through 20 miles of bog, rocks, and some of Britain’s highest mountains to reach Ledbeg. Once there, the locals told him the way ahead was no better. For a party that included horses weighed down with bulky scientific equipment, the news was decisive. But for a natural adventurer, it was a bitter pill to swallow. -
Inchmaree
Setbacks such as Staffa and Ledbeg left Pennant determined to find a final challenge, one that would end his journey in the Northern Highlands on a dramatic high note, and prove his worth as an explorer.
This quest led Pennant to Inchmaree. Just getting there was itself a daunting undertaking.
The 18-mile cross country route from Dundonnell is almost as inhospitable today as 235 years ago.
Credits
- Presenter
- Nicholas Crane
