Ben Nevis & Glencoe...1976...
This film is a piece of history in many ways, I think its a capture of time in many things.
When you travel through the Highlands of Scotland some area`s in the last 20 years i have visited have changed little visually. Like the Outer Hebrides Islands of Harris and Lewis. Also Glencoe and up in all the mountains where there has been little building and landscaping.
However rewind to post WW1 and Hydro Electric Dams were being constructed filling Glens with new Lochs and The Railways connected all corners of Scotland which were far quicker for travel than the miles of twisting Single track Road with passing places. Many roads were not tarred until the early 1970`s.
Also nearly disappeared now are the many Crofting townships cleared after the Highland Clearances, scarce ruins now remain slowly disappearing and land once farmed and grazed in Glens right up to the late 1800`s has now disappeared from sight into the peat and heather as some commuties gave up hard living and moved to modern housing...
Slaggin Village
This Film clip from 1976 shows a few changes to a visit to this area today around Glencoe.
Behind the film is an amazing but tragic story.
The film features one the era`s great climber`s John Cunningham on Ben Nevis in winter. The film was never finished.
Part of the film was supposed to be fictional, with John playing a hard case from a rundown part of Glasgow. He rides on his motorbike across Rannoch moor, solos something and then slips and falls but no-one knows if it is real or imagined...
The film never got to be seen because in another section while filming in China half the film crew were caught in a terrible avalanche killing the Director...
But the film captures a few things now long gone,
at 1min 44secs the main road through Glencoe below Buachaille Etive Moor in 1976 was single track with passing places!. I knew it was originally built in 1933 but not still in use in 1976...
The road today is of course a super fast dual width road...
Riding the British motorcycle with no helmet. Done just for the film for the hard character he portrayed from Glasgow as the helmet law was introduced in 1972, but a throwback to the days of the rockers, or Ton-up kids. Ton was the reference made to bikers that could exceed the then magic 100mph.
Up there in winter..glove less!...was it just cause they were filming or just because he really was hardcore?, Maybe prepping up for the cold climb ahead...
At 2min 14secs crossing the now disappeared Kinlochleven to Fort William Railway line in Glen Nevis closed after the Aluminium Smelter Factory closed at Kinlochleven due to cheaper overseas Aluminium production in the 1970s.
He steps off the bike and straight up to climb Britain's biggest mountain in winter...
Film or not he`s climbing with no ropes and with no helmet, and that ice and snow falling on him would be like bricks hitting you...
The pub at the end?, I cannott place the exact point with a photo of my own but I'm sure its near the Ballachulish Hotel as in the background is the `Pap of Glencoe`
or is it the present Pub in Ballachulish Village?...
I wonder how much is the registration of the bike GRS4 worth now?...
Aye riding a motorbike through Glencoe with no helmet, shocking! We never did that!
ReplyDeleteI think I have an old SMC journal that has an article about the film crew. I'll try to find it.