Brave Scotland

Seals in Eyemouth Harbour

My flight was due to depart 8 am on Friday morning from Heathrow.  I set my alarm for 5 am knowing I needed to get up as soon as it went off and get on my way.  No, I made the mistake of switching off the alarm before I had fully woken up, and went straight back to sleep again.  I woke up at 6.05 and couldn’t believe I would make it in time.  Luckily I’d packed my bags ready the night before, had a shower and laid out my clothes so all I needed to do was throw them on, grab the bags and dash out the door.  I didn’t want to waste any time setting the satnav for the car park, and I remembered reading on the car park booking form that you could reach the car park from the M4, so I drove up the A322 and onto the M4 near Reading.  Now that I’ve checked out the map, I can see I picked the long way round, it would have been quicker to go M3 – M 25.  Anway, I followed the signs and found the car park ok.  At first the barrier didn’t lift so I reversed back and tried pushing the button again, and this time it lifted but now I had two tickets and shoved them both together into my document wallet.  I forgot to note which zone was indicated, just started driving round the car park looking for a space feeling panicky.  Luckily there was a space very close to a bus stop and the mini-bus arrived quickly, but there were a few businessmen getting on and it seemed to take them an age.

The Rialto, Eyemouth

Finally we reach the terminal.  I had my boarding pass and only carry-on luggage so I raced along to security and joined the queue.  I tried telling them I was late for my flight but they weren’t to be hurred (I expect they’ve heard it all before).  Because I was anxious, I made a mess of sorting my hand baggage into the basket to go through the x-ray and when my basket arrived the other side, it took me a few moments to realise that some of my stuff wasn’t in it.  I was looking round wildly wondering where I’d lost it when the security guard called me over to tell me he had shuffled my stuff into two baskets.  So I’m madly trying to stuff it all back into the bag and put my jacket and watch back on with time pressing on and the anxiety makes my mouth go completely dry as though it was full of cotton wool. 

Cliffs at St Abbs

I checked the departure boards and ran along to the gate … only to discover the flight had been delayed 20 minutes and wasn't even boarding yet.  Well, what a relief!  I even had time to go and use the ladies.

The flight was very pleasant and we were served a cooked breakfast which I wasn’t expecting.  YUM!  Most welcome.

Scottish Harebells

At the other end I found my way to the car rental area and picked up my hire car, a little Vauxhall Corsa.  I set up my destination on the satnav and off I went.  The drive was uneventful apart from a couple of little detours where I took the wrong exit at a roundabout.

Highlights of the trip included some pleasant walks around Eyemouth seeing all the banners with photos of previous years’ ‘EHQ’ – Eyemouth has been a significant port in the Herring trade for many years and each year has a festival in July during which a ‘Herring Queen’ is crowned.  In the harbour there were a couple of seals loitering in the hope of being fed.  The Rialto coffee shop served me a beautiful cup of coffee and gluten free chocolate and raspberry torte – highly recommended if you ever find yourself in Eyemouth. 

St Abbs Harbour

Saturday I drove my host and myself over to St Abbs, a charming coastal village, where we enjoyed a walk along the cliffs followed by refreshments in the Old School Hall. 

Sunday we took a stroll around the city wall of Berwick-on-Tweed.  At one point we heard a piper warming up his bagpipes so we followed the sounds down to the churchyard and stood and listened to the performance by the two pipers and a troop of drummers.  “A Scottish Soldier”, “Scotland the Brave” and “Auld Lang Syne”  were but three of the tunes they played.  Serenaded by traditional Scottish music – what more could I ask from my trip to Scotland.  Sadly I didn't have the camera with me.

Sheep grazing on clifftops