© 2009 - Mike MacKenzie, Largs and District Historical Society , Kirkgate House, Manse Court, LARGS, Ayrshire, KA30 8AW, United Kingdom. The information is provided for the purposes of private study and research - Commercial Rights Reserved.
Extract from Mallaig Lifeboat log - "Saturday 16th June: Mallaig Lifeboat launched at 17.20 hrs to go to the assistance of a hillwalker in Inverie who had fallen and was suffering from a suspected broken leg. On arrival at Inverie, immediate first aid was administered to the casualty, who was then taken on board the lifeboat which set off for Mallaig Pier, arriving there at 18.15 hrs. Casualty transferred to waiting ambulance at Pier and taken to Belford Hospital, Fort William. Lifeboat refuelled and ready for service at 18.30 hrs.
I had arrived in Inverie, on 16th June 2007, for what had been intended as a visit of three nights, but less than three hours after my arrival I dislocated my left ankle, breaking the bottom ends of both bones in my left leg *. Although I had been out of the village to visit the Brocket Monument, I was back in the village at the time of the accident. By good fortune a dog raised the alarm as soon as I hit the ground and within seconds a local lady was on the telephone requesting help. Two walkers who had just passed, but were still within earshot, were recalled, and they did marvellously, sitting with me and keeping me talking as I was instinctively struggling to avoid 'flaking out'. What I later came to know as the 'Knoydart Taxi' arrived and, as I supported my left foot to avoid knocks, strong hands lifted me high in the air and set me down very gently on the seat of the Taxi. As Morag drove us carefully towards the Pier to await the arrival of the Mallaig Lifeboat she said something to the effect that "in other circumstances it would be interesting to be taken for a trip on the Lifeboat". In fact I was not in so much pain nor otherwise pre-occupied that I did not appreciate that journey - indeed on several occasions during the passage I removed from my mouth the oxygen/morphine inhaler which I had been given, only to be told quite firmly by the Lifeboat's Paramedic to put it back and take deep breaths ! Even at the time, I was able to find it amusing that I wished to talk and ask questions (friends will recognise the characteristic behaviour). On arrival in Mallaig I was transferred to an Ambulance for the road journey (about 45 miles) to Belford Hospital in Fort William. Here the dislocation was dealt with and I was immediately aware of the consequent removal of much of the pain. On the following day I was taken in another Ambulance (about another 67 miles) to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, but the fractures were not fixed until the next day, about 48 hours after the accident. Three days after that, and following some three or four short sessions of instruction and practise for walking using crutches, I was discharged to go home, by two trains and three taxis and some help from Railway staff to handle my luggage. When I woke up in my own bed the following morning I reflected on what had been a most unusual day, and journey ! As to my reason for a visit to Inverie, it was not to visit what is regarded as the most inaccessible Pub in Mainland Britain, but several prominent features of the Knoydart landscape had attracted my attention. For some of those, only a personal visit would reveal what I wished to know about them. Some fifteen months after my accident I was able to return in September 2008 - a priority was to thank personally some of the people there who had looked after me with great care in June 2007. In addition I was able to carry out most of the investigations which were on my original list. Some questions remain, but the results so far are outlined in the various new pages which the links below will access. I like 'connections', and what I have discovered already provides some that I find very interesting - I hope other people do also.
*At the time of the accident I was not doing anything remotely dangerous. However I have concluded that in the two hours prior to that I had been taking some quite vigorous exercise, to the extent that my left leg, ankle and foot were probably very tired. However my mind reckoned that, as the weather was glorious and there were a few hours of daylight left, it would be possible to have a minor excursion, on country tracks, to find the location of the Kilchoan Graveyards - to be visited perhaps in more detail on another day. The road I was on had a small subsidence; I saw it and stepped on it deliberately, knowing that I had walked on far worse hundreds of times before, but on this occasion my left ankle did not support me, as it always had previously, and the result was a dislocation and several fractures. The lesson to be learned is how to judge when the body is tired - I am still not sure I know how to do that.
MY THANKS - to the RNLI at Mallaig for my 'rescue' - to the clever dog for raising the alarm - to the lady who telephoned for help - to Morag and Bob for the use of the Knoydart Taxi and MV Knoydart and for my accommodation in 2008 - to the two people who sat with me when I needed someone to keep me talking - to Cara, for her encouragement to return - to The Old Forge, for evening meals in 2008 - to Gemma Watts in Cambridgeshire and Ken Morrison on the Isle of Arran for bringing back the vital clues about the Bowlby Memorial - to the Knoydart Foundation's Rangers for their advice and assistance.
Would I wish to return ? All that I will say at present is that I have already identified some possibilities - what I call 'Day Return' walks to Doune, Airor, Inverguseran and Barrisdale might occupy four days and I should wish to have at least one 'contingency day' in addition if possible.
I hope you enjoy what the following pages describe :-
[ select here for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution page ]
[ select here for the Brocket Monument page ]
[ select here for the Bowlby Memorial page ]
[ select here for the 'Our Lady of Loch Nevis' page ]
[ select here for the Seven Men of Knoydart page ]
[ select here for the other Bowlby Memorial page ]
[ select here for the Kilchoan Graveyards page ]
[ select here for the Knoydart 10th Anniversary page ]
[ select here to return to the Other Memorials page ]
[ select here to return to the Home Page of this Web Site ]
[ latest update - 11 April 2009 ]
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