Samhain and Signal Rock
Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Samhain is said to be the root of our modern holiday Halloween...
In the spirit of all things wild and magical, let me tell you a story.
As my little tale begins, I have to tell you of a creature slightly strange and wonderful.
While I question the existence of magic per se, I do like the lore of fairies and creatures of the wood.
This particular creature of the wood was my escort through the walk of An Tor and over to Signal Rock.
Do you see her? (She is a she of course.)
That swoosh of blurry red in the middle of the picture there...
That is as still as she ever got, so there are no good captures of this elusive little thing, but she followed me. From the Clachaig Inn, through the trails, up the hill...there was always that familiar little swoooooosh of red and then I would see her...just waiting. Perhaps she thought I had a few cracker crumbs which I might be willing to share, but the imaginist in me wants to believe that she was my guide. In any case...down the path to find Signal Rock we went...
The path started off normally...just a beautiful path in the woods...deliciously crisp air...and a little red feathered friend next to me,
but then the trees start to change. They go from a typical North Eastern America level of moss to a whole new level of green:
This is the result of the famed Mists of Scotland.
The floor of the forest is carpeted as well...
The trail is relatively short, but I was rushing to make it back to the Inn for breakfast.
Stopping to take pictures of random tree trunk sculptures slowed me down...
I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for when it came to the "signal rock", so at one point I thought this might be it?
The Scots don't really spell things out for you, and the onus is on the traveler to find your own adventure, so to speak. A wee bit frustrating now and then, but it makes the random discoveries along the way all the sweeter. Back to the hill and a slight incline...
These amazing rock outcroppings everywhere that both trip you up and help you up the hills...
...getting higher still...and then the rocks start to look a bit more like "stairs" and then the incline gets steeper
and the stairs get more numerous and finally as one walks around the curve of the last little hill...
and the stairs get more numerous and finally as one walks around the curve of the last little hill...
You are there.
...and the "view"...
Covered from hundreds of years of forest undergrowth, not much can be seen now, even from the precipice of the rock.
...and the rock itself...
...and there she is looking back.
The grand rock that signaled the slaughter of a clan.
It is just a rock now -- not even a grand one.
All in all, this trail is worth a walk, if only to sense the fairies and have a little red feathered guide.
Real fairies?
If they exist anywhere, this would be the place I would believe.
More interesting information about Samhein and Celtic history HERE if you are so inclined.
GPS Directions to "THE" Signal Rock if you are so inclined!
More interesting information about Samhein and Celtic history HERE if you are so inclined.
GPS Directions to "THE" Signal Rock if you are so inclined!
