By the early 1930’s, James Leslie Mitchell had already written the first part of his planned trilogy. While in The Garden City, he made the decision to come back to Scotland to work on the other parts. One day he felt the need for a long walk; to generate ideas stimulated by the North-East coast landscape.
So, he went back to where he grew up, deciding to walk along the coast, up from Bervie via King’s Step, Rob’s Cove, Big Rob’s Cove, Ha’ Cove, Little John’s Haven, Crooked Haven, Rough Haven, Swirl Cove, Powdam Head, The Slainges, Todhead Point, Braidon Bay to Catterline Bay. It was a tough walk, climbing along the rocks and avoiding the incoming North Sea. The goal was not to get soaked by the waves, to keep dry as the sky was blue and it was un-seasonally warm on that early December day so it didn’t really matter too much what happened.
Mitchell’s walk took him most of the day, but it soon got dark, around about four o’clock in the afternoon. Going through Catterline Bay, he finally clambered across the coastal rocks and eventually getting to Swallow Cove, where he knew there was a small cave right by the sea. The dramatic coastline had given him challenges and ideas along the way so the little cave was a gift, giving him shelter, peace and warmth to sit in and write.
Iain Irving 