Looking at Google Maps, it’s hard to say that Bute is “remote,” being about 20 mi. from Glasgow, and at the same latitude, although it does appear to be rustic. I think Scotland itself is “remote”, or would certainly seem so to anyone of the Syrian ilk.
The ten-year-old Maxwell, having been raised in ISOLATION on his father's countryside estate, did not fit in well at school.[25] The first year had been full, obliging him to join the second year with classmates a year his senior.[25] His mannerisms and Galloway accent struck the other boys as RUSTIC. Having arrived on his first day of school wearing a pair of homemade shoes and a tunic, he earned the unkind nickname of "Daftie".[26] He never seemed to resent the epithet, bearing it without complaint for many years.[27] Social ISOLATION at the Academy ended when he met Lewis Campbell and Peter Guthrie Tait, two boys of a similar age who were to become notable scholars later in life. They remained lifelong friends.[10]