by Vivien Martin
IT’S SCOTLAND ’S only interplanetary twinning: Glenelg (Earth) twinned with Glenelg (Mars)! Is this for real? I hear you ask. It certainly is! Glenelg on Mars was named after a geological feature in Canada, which in turn was named after Glenelg in Scotland and in 2012 NASA’s roving robotic laboratory, Curiosity, visited the Red Planet’s Glenelg.
Naturally Glenelg on Earth wasn’t going to let such an auspicious event pass them by, and a twinning ceremony was held in October 2012, complete with a live link to NASA. Guests included former astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, who flew on five space shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s on Challenger and Columbia!
The event was also an opportunity for the enterprising communities of Glenelg and neighbouring Arnisdale to show the world the beauty of their Dark Skies. And beautiful they are, as light pollution is virtually non-existent here. Come and star-gaze to your heart’s content and savour the peace and tranquillity of this remote area! And of course, Glenelg boasts another unique badge of honour: it’s the only palindromic glen in Scotland.
But despite these unusual claims to fame, the road to Glenelg can be easy to miss. As you travel north along Scotland’s West coast, the landscape becomes more rugged, the mountains higher, the roads narrower. It’s all too easy to miss the turning to Glenelg and find yourself diving straight through the scattering of houses that is the village of Shiel Bridge, along the shores of Loch Duich with its much-photographed Eilean Donan Castle, to arrive at Kyle of Lochalsh by mistake.
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About iScot Magazine
iScot June 2017 issue - the one with The Proclaimers 'Turn that frown upside down' front cover
116 jam packed pages of the best craic in Scotland from the only truly independent pro Scottish magazine.
Alyn Smith MEP - "You're Welcome Here"
Robbie Dinwoodie - Saying 'AYE" with LFI
Dave Bowman - The Angus Roberston Interview
Derek Bateman - More Democracy?
Dave Bowman - Gala's Pride
Tom Morton - Cadenhead celebrates & Scotland's best Whisky Column
Wee Ginger Dug - Nae North Britain
Blaze's Trail - Dog for Sale!
David J Black - A bedtime story
Grousebeater - Promoting The Proclaimers
Jason Michael McCann - Subversion of Democracy?
John MacKenzie - The Arran Clearances ( yes, 40 miles from Glasgow!)
Zoe Weir - Within its walls - Linlithgow Palace
Iain McLaren - Photo Essay
Mary Edward - The Jews of Glasgow
Indy Lawyer - Your very good health
Vivien Martin - Spaceman & Spies
iScot Short Story - David McVey - Mr Scotland
Major Bloodnok and Mystic Mons Meg
Heidbyler
Soduko ( No, not Sudoko!)
Readers Letters