Shinty is a game similar to hockey and hurling but really played only in the Scottish highlands. We decided to go and watch a game being played in Newtonmore. It’s a small village in an area where wildcats previously were common, statues of the cats are all about and there is a Wildcat Trail, the mascot of Newtonmore’s Shinty team is a wildcat.
A l-o-n-g time ago Alex played Shinty and I know I watched some matches but today I was shocked to see how dangerous it was. The stick or caman is similar to a hockey stick but “the blade” has two flat sides so in cross section it’s triangular. It can be raised as high as you like and the ball hit midair. To get the ball back into play it’s tossed high in the air and walloped as hard as possible. Because the weather was cold Lena and I sat in the car and as we watched a ball came hurtling towards the car, dollar signs flicked through my head as I imagined the insurance we’d have to pay for damage to the hire car. Luckily the ball sailed way above us. Alex moved the car so it was behind the high fence and the back of the goal.
At half time the score was, Fort Willam 0, Newtonmore 0 and we decided to investigate some places round about. First stop was a cafe/carpets/ furnishing store, we settled down on a lovely Chesterfield lounge behind a beautiful wooden table and enjoyed our drinks and cakes. Alex was more than a little nervous when a bus came very close to our hire car.
Driving on the backroads towards Aviemore we passed the ruins of Ruthven Barracks which was a heavily armed garrison built in the early 1700s after the failed Jacobite rebellion of 1715 to keep the Highlanders in check. In 1745 the highlander Jacobites forced the garrison to surrender.
Highland cattle feature in every souvenir shop from coffee mugs, socks, keyrings and hoodies but we’ve seen very few in the fields. Today we saw a few but a lot more modern breeds.
In 1972 I was working at Castlewynd Potteries in Rothiemurchus putting the “spaghetti” hair and wool on Highland cows, sheep and goats. On our way back we stopped at Rothiemurchus but I couldn’t see any sign of the pottery. The old school now houses a business selling souvenirs, whiskies and a Farm Shop selling fresh and preserved locally produced products including venison and chicken which we’ll be enjoying over the next few days.
The last place we meandered through was near the old bridge over the River Spey at Aviemore.
2macstracks 
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