> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # In Pursuit of Spring - Day Two - URL: https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/in-pursuit-of-spring-day-two/ - Published: 2026-02-16T19:48:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-02T10:13:51.000Z - Description: A journey (now complete) on my camper-van-camino from the Scottish Highlands to Cornwall. Each day, on this journey, I wrote a short post and produced a watercolour drawn from the day’s experiences. - Author: Andy Marshall - Tags: In Pursuit of Spring, in pursuit of spring post, loch an eilein, rothiemurchus, scotland, castle ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/St.-Melengall-Aerial-2-1-1-1.jpg) ## In Pursuit of Spring ****DAY TWO - 16 FEB 2026** ## Loch an Eilein ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4292-2-1-1.jpg) **There was a moment at Loch an Eilein - only the briefest of moments - but it was a moment where time stood still, where the earth and sky and light and shade were as one. Just before it happened, I’d taken up my sketchbook and used water from the loch to fix my paint.** It was at that instant that the sharp easterly dropped and beyond the forest of Rothiemurchus, the snow bones of Creag Dhubh tousled the clouds into thin wisps of galloping guilloche. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4289-1.jpg) Had I stumbled upon an ancient spell? *Mix a phial of loch water with a squirrel brush and Roman Szmal half pans, say ‘Rothiemurchus’ three times, paint the scene before you - and, hey presto - time stands still - the castle on the island in the middle of the loch - becomes a thin place.* It’s happened before at other locations within these isles, but this time I was ready for it. Far too often moments like this have come along and the veil of modernity has turned my eye - but not this time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4293.jpg) I stood on the jagged shoreline, put my sketchbook and paintbrush down and watched the loch clear of all its angst and its worry and offer up a mirror into another world. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4315-1-1.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4314-1.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4278-1-1.jpg) And then, as quickly as it came, it was gone - the branches above me began to creak again, the jackdaws rose from the tumbling parapet, and the loch folded the other world back into itself. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4302-1.jpg) The paint still wet upon the paper held what the water had briefly revealed - a stillness carried forward upon the page. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4319-1.jpg) --- ## Subscribe for free to Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest Andy Marshall is documenting his travels in his time-travelling camper van 🚐📸🏛 Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Follow all the other posts here: [In Pursuit of Spring - Andy Marshall’s Genius Loci Digest![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/Andy-263.png)Andy Marshall's Genius Loci DigestAndy Marshall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/DALL-E-2024-09-09-15.18.21---A-rectangular-watercolour-style-image-capturing-the-essence-of-the-Genius-Loci-Digest--but-with-more-saturated-colours.-In-the-background--a-classic-V-1-13.webp)](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/tag/in-pursuit-of-spring/) ****FIELD NOTES** Weather: Sleet and Snow 1 degree Celsius. Observations: Jackdaw and a Woodpecker at Loch an Eileen. Total Miles Travelled: 375 ****LINKS** [Loch An Eilein — RothiemurchusLOCH AN EILEIN HISTORY Very little written material exists about the construction of the island castle, though informed opinion dates its origin back to the late 14th century. It was built as a place of safety against marauding clan war bands, who used the so-called ‘Thieves’ Road’ along the eastern shores of the loch to... Read more »![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-15.png)Rothiemurchus![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/Loch-an-Eilein-panoramic.jpg)](https://rothiemurchus.net/visit/loch-an-eilein/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) ****IN PURSUIT OF SPRING LOCATIONS MAP** [Google MapsFind local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/maps15_bnuw3a_32dp.ico)Google Maps![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/staticmap)](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ERnUNSbbxYfu7NYL8?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) ****WHATSAPP CHANNEL** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/79C783E0-B456-44CE-9E1F-0270D5609955_1_105_c.jpeg) [In Pursuit of SpringChannel • 0 followers • I’lm travelling upon my camper-van-camino the full length of Britain, from the Highlands of Scotland to the far reaches of Cornwall in February. 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