Edinburgh Fringe Festival

We had booked this weekend a while ago. That doesn't mean that too much was planned other than time off and tickets to shows. However, we like the mix of random and organised. Last Friday we left Peterborough around 9am and on the way decided we should stop somewhere about half way for a good break, food and a walk, it's about a 5.5 hour journey to Glasgow.  The first stop was for food at Cross Lanes Organic Farm.  We had spied this place from the road last time we travelled home from Scotland.  It might be the location or it could have been the grass roof with the sheep grazing on it that caught our eye.  It's a great building; positioned for the sun, grass roof one side, glass roof the other, hay bale building with reed water filtering system and best of all great food and coffee. Not to be forgotten is the organic meats, food and cheeses - some of which we had to take to Scotland with us.

After replenishing we crossed the road and drove into Barnard Castle, yes, that's the name of the town but there is a castle, or was, there.  We love walking around castle ruins, getting an impression of the size and how people used to live. This one would have been cold to live in but with stunning views up and over the river (great for spotting the enemy I guess). The town itself was gorgeous, this is definitely a good stopping point for us on our journeys north and next time we will head to the Bowes Museum for a visit.

As soon as we hit the border we headed into the worst rain we've been in since a tropical downpour in Queensland but it cleared quickly and the drive through to Glasgow and our very welcoming family was easy from there.
The next day we were up early and off to Edinburgh with the family. We took the park and ride option as there is such limited parking in Edinburgh.  We drove to Edinburgh airport and caught the tram into the centre of town for £3 return. The full tram was a good indicator of the volume of people in the city. They were everywhere! We had booked 5 events for the day. 

The first would have to be the standout for it's passion and intensity. I, Elizabeth is a 90 minute monologue of the actual words of Elizabeth 1. Rebecca Vaughan was a totally convincing queen and so passionate that she even had tears and snot (not nice but appropriate to the performance). A totally WOW show and had the 4 of us captivated from start to finish. This was followed by a photographic exhibition then kiwi, Jane Ashton's musical Promise and Promiscuity - a totally captivating energetic one woman show for anyone who enjoys Jane Austen.

We needed sustenance after the show and found ourselves at a fabulous place for lunch,  56 North.  It just so happens that this place has the largest selection of gins in Scotland, over a hundred from all over the world. Three of us selected our gins, then our mixer (yes there was a range of tonics) and then our garnish. It was a delightful lunchtime sip and was accompanied by a beautiful Ploughams Platter, yum indeed!


Late afternoon we went to the Assembly Hall at Mound Place which is in itself a fascinating building, and there we watched 5 guys and 1 girl throw themselves all round the stage and up in the air in Traces.  Their strength and agility was amazing. great show for David who happened to pick the seat which was at the end of their mats and where he was sometimes accompanied by a catcher in case they misjudged their tumbles. We tried to find somewhere for dinner but everything was booked out, we hadn't thought that one through, so we had to make do with fish and chips in a tiny chippie. That meal lead up to our final show which was a Nina Simone tribute, Soul Sessions. I really enjoyed it because I loved the story interwoven with the songs but it wasn't everyone's cup of tea.  At the end of all that we took ourselves back to Glasgow the way we had come and got in around 11.30pm. All exhausted.

Day Two dawned sunny yet again, the predicted rain disappeared and we enjoyed another superb day wandering Edinburgh.  This time we had nothing booked but we had the gorgeous Annie (another intrepid Kiwi) instead of the Scottish cousins, to accompany us for the day.  We wanted to just see the sights and we did; a book festival, numerous street performers (my pick would be Simeon Baker, a young Aussie percussion guitarist), people people and more people, the smallest pub, the groovy 70's caravan, a pub with our name - too full to go in, a castle (actually THE castle), beautiful houses, tweed shops, gardens and balconies, fabulous spaces to sit, and great food.                                            

   We finished the day satisfied that we had seen enough to fill us up for a while to come.  We are in love with Edinburgh and will go back to continue the journey......

Fort William to Inverness

We had a few days with not much to do so decided to drive. We ordered a hire car  from Easirent.  DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT ever hire a car from Easirent. To be fair, we did warn Easirent that we would tell all our friends that we would NOT recommend them or use their services again. Not sure why we had selected them anyway, they looked the cheapest but once we got to their desk the costs started to add up.  We had no choice but to take this car but really........ Anyway, the least said the better about Easirent.

We headed for Tyngrum taking a break at The Green Welly Stop.  This place can't be recommended for it's food but it has clean rest rooms, petrol, a fabulous shop that has Scottish goodies (shortbread, whiskey and lollies) and a great range of outdoor clothing and accessories plus good phone reception.  This was important as I had timed our stop to coincide with a job interview, only interrupted once by a fighter jet flying directly overhead, so loud that I couldn't be heard!! Interview complete we headed off again and on to Fort William where we stayed at a fabulous B & B, Buccleuch Guesthouse.  This was 5 star but at a reduced rate online so we feel like we got a great bargain.  It was sumptuous to say the least and that influenced our decision to stay for a second night.  The service, food and the bed were fantastic - think Grandma's feather bed covered in luxury linen. 

Fort William is a small town but a hub for loads of activities.  It is where the West Highland Way ends (we will walk that before we leave) and the road out of town leads to castles, bens, lochs.  Eateries are few and far between but we managed to find a pub with reasonable meals and a deck to sit on to watch the sun go down.

Our first stop next day was the Caledonian Canal where we laced up our walking boots and hit the track up beside the canal.  We were really fortunate to see a boat just starting to go into the lock at Neptune's Staircase.  We stayed around and watched it move up a couple of locks. Patience required. We missed a turn off but as you can just keep walking alongside the canal we still had an enjoyable walk before heading back to the car. 

Next we were off to Mallaigh.  On the way we stopped at Glenfinnan and climbed the hill to view the viaduct on one side (aka Harry Potter's viaduct) and the monument at the top of Loch Shiel where Bonnie Prince Charlie rallied his troops.  The monument was closed and it was bitterly cold on the top of the hill so we headed off again, not before smiling for the Google Maps photographer, and enjoyed the spectacular scenery on our way to Mallaigh. It is a tiny port town, filled with tiny coloured fishing boats and the large ferries that provide transportation to the Isle of Skye. We had left our run a bit late that day and the weather didn't look so good for staying the next day on Skye so we had some lunch and a quick look through the shops and headed back to Fort William.

On the way we diverted to look at Loch Morar, Scotland's deepest loch. It was magnificent in its isolation. A few houses on the shores but no one to be seen. It's so hard to capture the colours (various shades of brown mainly), the light and the sky but it was all really intense and would be a fantastic place to just get away from everything.
Day Two we headed north out of Fort William with our first stop at Fort Augustus. This is another beautiful little town on the Caledonian canal. We watched more boats going through the locks there. Not too far on from Fort Augustus was our favourite castle so far, Urquhart Castle. 

Actually it's not a complete castle because it was totally ransacked in the 1500's (and apparently since then by locals for their use!). It's now in the care of Historic Scotland and it is has a great display in the visitor centre but also what is left of the castle gives you a great idea of its proportions. There are plenty parts that you can climb up, and the views of Loch Ness, which it overlooks, are just stunning. The only siting we had was of a lone motorboat, dwarfed by the size of the loch.
From there we drove up the side of the loch to Inverness where we stayed in a B&B on the banks of the river.  After a long walk around the town centre we found a fabulous Italian restaurant, Riva. They had a selected early evening menu which we thoroughly enjoyed. We finished it all off with the best cup of coffee we had had to that point in Scotland.  The barista was new to the job that night but he nailed it - real coffee made well - a satisfying end to the day.

  

Mulling it Over in Scotland

Starting life in a new country highlights differences in culture, food, systems, governing bodies, language and oceans. We are now sorted with bank accounts but because we have no credit history here in the UK we can't be considered reliable enough to have a credit card. We gained our Nino (aTFN in Australia and an IRD number in New Zealand) so that we can work.  We speak the same language (English) but a different one because we choose to call things different names, or use brand names as descriptors or speak with such a broad accent that understanding is challenging. We have phones but no one to call.
I'm not sure how to describe myself here in the UK because I am a Kiwi (and proud of it) but I have lived in Australia for so long that my life experiences are often referencing Australiana.  It's all a bit tricky to explain what makes me tick.  So, the commonplace has become uncommon and the world has slighlty shifted on its axis.  Same, same but different.

But you know what?  As long as I remember that I chose this adventure and that the differences are just that, then things are fine. I'm learning each day. My listening skills are being put into play tuning my ear into the local accent, the other night in the taxi I was completely lost when the driver was trying to communicate, and when a car salesman called I had to ask him 3 times to repeat himself and in the end had to admit that I could not understand him at all!!!

And the weather in Scotland? Well, it's a bit like New Zealand, summer and winter in one day.  In fact this afternoon as I write, the cousins are sitting outside on the deck in the sunshine having a coffee while I am inside in my jeans and merino jersey! The sun is lovely though. I am thankful for the down jacket I brought in Brisbane and never wore there, for my shoes that I brought in Perth but never wore in Brisbane and for my NZ merino clothing that just about makes things the right temperature for me. 

We have traveled to Oban, Mull, Iona and Staffa.  It was a slighlty, haphazardly organised tour but we got there in the end.  Yesterday started with brilliant sunshine, the flatest bit of ocean I've seen in years (not usual) and the best car, bus, train, boat rides. Our trip took us from Oban across to Craignure on Mull by boat, onto a bus and westward passing Glens, Bens and Lochs on the way (valleys, mountains and lakes). We also saw red deer, otters, and sea eagles and we traveled on a single carriageway road (woohoo that was exciting when the big truck was heading straight for us and didn't slow down before sneaking into the passing area - phew!).  Arriving at Fionnphort we transferred to a smallish boat and were whisked out to sea (about 35mins) to the island of Staffa.  What a privilege to go to this amazing island so small that you can't find it on most maps.  When we approached it was unclear how we would get close as the waves were crashing all around it.  But with some superior boating skills in use, the guys navigated their way into the little jetty. We were able to climb to the top of the island and then scramble down again and walk around the rocks to Fingal's Cave which had massive oceans waves rushing in and out; the noise and energy of the waves was fantastic.  This was the cave that inspired Mendelsson to write The Hedribes Overture, Fingal's Cave.  The drama of the music definitely reflects the dramatic island, this You Tube clip gives a good video of what it is like on Staffa. 

After a couple of hours we were taken off to the island and headed back towards the Isle of Iona.  On our way we stopped and saw Puffins floating in the sea, getting ready to head for land for nesting.  These creatures are tiny, I was busy looking out for big penguin-like birds but they are more the size of a sparrow! We also stopped mid ocean and watched a pod of Bottle Nosed dolphins who  followed the boat for a while when we took off again.
Iona was stunning.  It was mid afternoon, the sun was shining, there was no wind and the island was seen in the best light.  Tiny cottages dot the village area, beautiful little craft shops abound (I brought an exquiste woven blanket and He-who-cares-about-me brought me a beautiful little ceramic cathedral), the ruins of a nunnery were waiting to be walked through and then the Priory was waiting to be explored.  Our Historical Scotland card has already paid for itself allowing us free access to the site. Stunning.  Afterwards we found a little hotel and got ourselves a nice drink to have while we sat in the sun overlooking a paddock of black faced sheep and sweeping views of the bay.  Along the pathway was the hotel's superbly organised and planted organic garden and in the distance we could see the boat that would take us back to Fionnfort.
Eventually we headed back to the  wharf, onto the boat to Fionnphort, bus back to Craignure and boat back to Oban. It was dinnertime when we arrived back so we ordered ourselves Haddock and chips,  and sat at the waterfront to eat them.
Our day ended at midnight back in Glasgow after a very cold train ride from Oban. Tired but satisified with our brilliant day, we both slept soundly!!