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Trawl Rockall for:

How accurate was William Golding's depiction of Rockall?

We're always happy to help out with a reader query, and the following missive from Alex Lasky is pretty indicative of the kind questions we get asked:

I really appreciated your site, having only recently learned of the existence of Rockall. Having been to the Holy City of Rockall, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about its geography. Just how (in)accurate was William Golding's depiction of Rockall in "Pincher Martin"? Golding describes pebbles on the shore, a seaweed-strewn alcove accessible only at low tide that smelled like a public lav, a funnel directly above the alcove, various trenches in the rock, and a slope navigable without climbing equipment. None of these seemed to be clearly visible in your pictures of Rockall. Do they exist? While one side is clearly a sheer cliff, is it possible to stand unassisted on any part of Rockall other than the ledge near the top where Greenpeace and the soldiers' Tardis were photographed?

Also, is there any reliable written account of Tom McLean's month on Rockall? I was wondering if he tried to live off the land to any extent by sampling the local seagulls, molluscs, seals, whales or fish, or if he simply lived off ration packs? How did he bathe? And what about the Greenies? While bathing may not have been a priority for them, how did they survive in the absence of fresh organic produce?

Finally what is all the white stuff (not the seagulls)?

First up, have a look at our Rockall picture gallery, and the magnificent snaps of our 2005 conquest of the sacred islet. William Golding, you'll note, used plenty of artistic licence in Pincher Martin, because there's no shoreline, no alcove and no funnel.

During our 2005 expedition, John Cunningham freeclimbed Rockall (pic here) on the north face, but as you can see, this is possible only in benign weather conditions and with plenty of nerve and experience. An assault on the apparently gently-sloping east face may be possible, but there's a pretty substantial vertical section about 10 feet high at the bottom, (seen here on the left of this view of Rockall from the north), so it's not a likely proposition.

Yes, you can stand unassisted at various locations on Rockall, but they're not much more than tiny ledges — excluding Hall's Ledge (partially captured here) and the "summit".

Regarding what Pincher Martin may have eaten, there are just six species on Rockall, and they hardly constitute a robust diet.

In any case, the poor bloke would simply have been blown off the rock in the first storm — unless he had some form of shelter firmly lashed down, like Greenpeace did. That, btw was lifted onto Rockall by helicopter.

One vet of the Greenpeace occupation was Al Baker, who was on our team for both the 2003 and 2005 campaigns. He told me they had plenty of luck catching fish, but most of their (free-range, organic) grub came via resupply ship.

As for ex-SAS chap Tom McLean, details are scarce. We did contact him once to see if he'd go on the record, but he never got back to us. We assume he had both shelter and external food supplies — unless he developed a taste for passing guillemot, which be all accounts tastes like paraffin.

Oh yes, and it's passing guillemots which explain the "white stuff". You get the picture.

And finally, Richard Cole asks why on God's green Earth Rockall does not yet feature on Google Maps or Google Earth. A good question. There's more on Rockall's exact location in a previous letters. Happy hunting.

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