Valerie Drew
Lecturer in Professional Education, University of Stirling
Show/Hide Biography
Valerie grew up in Edinburgh where she still lives. She started her career in teaching before moving to higher education where she is now involved in research and teaching in the area of professional education. She enjoys the challenge of working with others to enhance the educational experience of young people in schools.
She loves spending time with her family and friends. She is also passionate about making time for the outdoors – walking on the Pentlands, in the Cairngorms and on the coastal paths of Cornwall as well as just pottering around in her garden.
The day of the first workshop begins with a journey from Edinburgh to Glasgow – I let the train take the strain of my huge grip bag stuffed with enough gear for a month… do I need all this stuff? I take out a book but find myself instead watching fellow travellers connect to the world outside the train via their phones and smart devices. Who are they ‘talking’ to at this hour? What have they got to say that needs to be said?
We have been informed that there is no mobile or internet signal on Knoydart. I realise I have forgotten my phone. My rucksack does not have a little phone pocket like my usual bag and so I did not remember to include it with my head torch, penknife and insect repellent. I think these are my replacement technological devices.
At Linlithgow station a fellow NC group member is waiting on the platform as I alight to change for Glasgow. We both laugh and decide we have time to share a coffee in Glasgow before locating the bus to Mallaig. Queen Street station is a moving mass of commuters and travellers, walking together, not speaking, making their way steadily towards their Monday morning return to work. I feel strangely out of place, with my rucksack and walking boots, or am I apprehensive about the impending wilderness experience. The group assembles slowly at Glasgow City Chambers and almost without exception apologise for the size and weight of their luggage. How much stuff do we need?
After a while the bus pulls out of the city, and as buildings give way to open spaces, I am treated to a panoramic view from the front seat as we drive through surely one of the most beautiful countries in the world on a perfect autumn day. We travel up the side of Loch Lomond, calm and deserted now by weekenders, through Glencoe with its dark faces lit in places by shafts of bright sunlight and finally along by the white sands of Morar as we make our way to Mallaig.
The boat is waiting and we are on our way within minutes. We can only stand on deck facing back, we watch Mallaig disappear in the distance as we speed across the calm water. Mobile signals disappear and we take our first steps into the wilderness. We switch to camera mode to capture the unfolding rugged beauty of the journey to our wilderness place. I wonder what the week will hold?
