Glen Lyon is the longest glen in Scotland. Running roughly in an east-west direction it is around 34 miles long. Glen means a deep, narrow valley. It is very attractive with the river Lyon running through it and with a couple of smaller lakes and many streams and waterfalls along the hillsides. Sir Walter Scott described Glen Lyon as the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in Scotland.
I drove up the glen an afternoon and stopped for a hike to find the Praying Hands of Mary. It is a mysterious rock formation in the upper parts of the glen, far away from any public roads, but with a faint foot path leading up to it. Accompanied by some sheep, the sound of streams and rapids and with the fog and rain sweeping across the hillsides, I went up there one afternoon.
The Praying Hands of Mary are two large stones, about 4.5 metres tall, that rise together as if they were hands raised in prayer. It may originally have been just one granite block split by lightning, but we don’t know how the blocks were formed.
It is a unique formation in a spectacular setting, and after an afternoon’s climb to sit at the hands with the view over the glen is magical.
