Italy, December 2002: Plenty of great places seen over the last few months, not least La Spezia, with views 100 miles across the Gulf of Genoa to snow-covered Alps. But nowhere really compares with the west coast of Scotland, at least not having yet seen Norway. After six months of trekking, still the best outing of the year was Clach Glas - Bla Bheinn, on a hot day in early May; still the best camp was the night before, on Ramasaig cliff, waking in glorious sun above a Minch-wide sea of cloud; still the best view was Ben More on Mull a week later, an evening so clear that you could see that the sea/sky horizon was halfway up the cliffs of Barra Head. A week of fine weather in May in those parts is beyond price - and that's fact, not homesickness.
