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One more way you know you're me
May. 15th, 2007 03:17 pmWhen a fellow Dog Soldiers fan asks you where in Scotland you think the movie might be set, you respond with the following:
"It's somewhere in the West Highlands of Scotland. The nearest population centre is the resort town of Fort William, four hours away by car; if we assume that Megan was describing the sort of driving speed that you get on the rural roads of West Virginia (nearest analogue of the landscape with which I am personally familiar), this implies about a 35-40 mph average speed. (I have decreased this from the observed speed of the native West Virginian drivers because a, the road in Dog Soldiers was unpaved, and b, West Virginia holler country drivers are crazy.) However, we are going to have to drop the speed a lot because Scotland is not big enough for a straight-line four hour drive at those speeds. Assuming that half the distance was composed of switchbacks thanks to the nature of the landscape (vertical geography, ho) and factoring in night-time and unpaved roads, we can effectively drop the average drive speed to about 20-25 MPH. Max distance then becomes (100 mi. / 2) = 50 miles; more likely distance is (80 mi. / 2) = 40 miles.
A news article I found on the Highlands indicates that the drive from Glencoe, Scotland to Glasgow- relatively straightforward as roads go- takes three hours to cover ninety miles without stops. Thus, maximum practical speed on a proper highway = 30 mph. If we are willing to halve the speed on the unpaved road we saw in the movie, we get speeds of 15-20 MPH on average. 15*4 = 60 in a straight line or 30 on a road composed mostly of mountain switchbacks. assume therefore that for practicality's sake the farm is about forty miles from Fort William in either a north-northwesterly direction or east-southeast. Due north puts you closer to Inverness than Fort William; west puts you in the ocean; northwest puts you on the Isle of Skye and we'd've heard about that; south puts you closer to major roads and larger towns. North-northwest puts you in nicely lumpy country. East-southeast puts you in the vicinity of several patches of forest that show up on a Google hybrid map search for Fort William.
Of course there is also the Megan Is A Lying Bitch factor and they are probably rather closer to the town than she wanted to let on, which makes my life a good deal easier.
..... yes, I get a charge out of distance/time calculations and landscape factoring on maps. I always have. It's a weakness."
"It's somewhere in the West Highlands of Scotland. The nearest population centre is the resort town of Fort William, four hours away by car; if we assume that Megan was describing the sort of driving speed that you get on the rural roads of West Virginia (nearest analogue of the landscape with which I am personally familiar), this implies about a 35-40 mph average speed. (I have decreased this from the observed speed of the native West Virginian drivers because a, the road in Dog Soldiers was unpaved, and b, West Virginia holler country drivers are crazy.) However, we are going to have to drop the speed a lot because Scotland is not big enough for a straight-line four hour drive at those speeds. Assuming that half the distance was composed of switchbacks thanks to the nature of the landscape (vertical geography, ho) and factoring in night-time and unpaved roads, we can effectively drop the average drive speed to about 20-25 MPH. Max distance then becomes (100 mi. / 2) = 50 miles; more likely distance is (80 mi. / 2) = 40 miles.
A news article I found on the Highlands indicates that the drive from Glencoe, Scotland to Glasgow- relatively straightforward as roads go- takes three hours to cover ninety miles without stops. Thus, maximum practical speed on a proper highway = 30 mph. If we are willing to halve the speed on the unpaved road we saw in the movie, we get speeds of 15-20 MPH on average. 15*4 = 60 in a straight line or 30 on a road composed mostly of mountain switchbacks. assume therefore that for practicality's sake the farm is about forty miles from Fort William in either a north-northwesterly direction or east-southeast. Due north puts you closer to Inverness than Fort William; west puts you in the ocean; northwest puts you on the Isle of Skye and we'd've heard about that; south puts you closer to major roads and larger towns. North-northwest puts you in nicely lumpy country. East-southeast puts you in the vicinity of several patches of forest that show up on a Google hybrid map search for Fort William.
Of course there is also the Megan Is A Lying Bitch factor and they are probably rather closer to the town than she wanted to let on, which makes my life a good deal easier.
..... yes, I get a charge out of distance/time calculations and landscape factoring on maps. I always have. It's a weakness."
