Ecosse 2024

 Musical background "as you please" :

> on the left, classical music : a Vivaldi concert -- the four seasons, concerto for piccolo -- by I Solisti Veneti. Total duration : 50 minutes 37 seconds

In December 2023, we reached the 50th anniversary mark, but in the heart of winter, we decided to postpone the 'celebration'. During the spring that same year, Françoise had watched a tv documentary telling of a place we had never heard of so far : the Ness of Brodgar, on Mainland, the largest of the Orkney islands.

For lack of funding and simple official recognition, the dig, under volunteers' care since 2003, will therefore be re-covered, using all the extracted material at the end of the summer of 2024. Our guide as well as all the volunteers were pretty frustrated not to be allowed to dig further -- the surface dug today is probably hardly 10% of the whole site -- however, they all decided it would be better and more secure to re-cover the site for years to come, until... They'd rather re-cover the site than abandon it open to weather and tourists. 

Below are pages our guide wrote for a local touristic magazine, published by the authorities, ironic isn't it. His running commentary was very lively, full of anecdotes yet bitter and let his frustration speak, when he noted that the best finds are now on show in the archeological museums of Kirkwall and also Edinburgh... or mentioned the predatory and destructive behavior of some 'tourists'.

 Clearly, the moment had come for us to go to the Orkney Islands.

We had already spent a fortnight up there back in 1978, with our children who were still pretty young back the (5 and 2). Thanks to program called 'Gamily holidays', we spent the 2 weeks within a family with kids in the same age range, in Lochaline, a small village west of Oban, on the coast across from the isle of Mull. We still had memories of misty Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, Highland Games in Drumnadrochit (on the Loch), Inverness, the northernmost point we had ever travelled then. Above all, the visit we did on Iona, a small island west of Mull where St Columban is said to have landed, where he founded an abbey which became the place where thanes, Duncan and kings of the Kingdom of Scotland of old were buried. For us, Duncan rang a bell -- McBeth by William Shakespeare... 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_d%27Iona (copy and paste this URL in your browser))

The idea of a loop around Scotland, such as it would involve the Ness and Iona was obvious.

At first, I had imagined a wider loop, as shown the map below, that would have allowed us to return to sites we had loved -- Salisbury (Thomas Hardy 'the spire', college years again), Stonehenge, the Welsh-English border (the Wye Valley, Tintern Abbaye, Welshpool...), the Lake District and Edinburgh. Then up to the Orkneys and return via Stranraer to Ireland... it would have meant driving our car, ferry from Roscoff (Bretagne) to Plymouth. 

... It soon appeared too long, tiring and costly a dream...

I had to revise my plans. A more 'classic' option was selected, one that would fly us from Paris-CDG to Edinburgh-EDI, have us rent a car and book b&bs. A far less long solution, less costly considering the number of nights it would have involved. The car had to be automatic : I have already driven on the wrong side of roads, but it was my car, one with the wheel and gear lever in the right place... In the end, I'll have driven almost 2000 km in a huge monster -- an Audi SUV -- after the clerk at the Sixt counter at EDI had convinced me the roads up north were still in the poor state we had known 36 years ago, and if some have been redone on major touristic itineraries, there are still that many pot holes and there are still too many single track B roads... In the end, I feel pretty proud to have returned that huge car intact.. The fact is that a Range Rover appears to be The car in Northern Scotland, even if most farmers we met drive Japanese pick-up trucks.

As early as September 2023, I relied on our usual travel agency -- Expedia -- as regards the plane and car, and to Booking.com for accommodation, and that was a first. Booking found us nights in Perth, Thurso, Lochinver, Invermorriston, Coney, Lochgair, Balloch and Stirling; they found no place in Orkney nor on Skye. I found Scapa House but nothing as far as Skye was targeted but hotels way too expensive. At the time, I did not realize Scapa House was at the entrance of a cul-de-sac leading to one of the two major distilleries on Mainland, I.e. Scapa whisky, now part of the Pernod-Ricard empire !!! Tho other big name is Highland Park.

In Connel, 5 miles north of Oban, huge disappointment with the Oyster Inn and room #19. The room meant for disabled people, was a scam, a shame. After ugly "negotiations", the owner decided that we were not up to the standards of her place so she eventually refunded us the 2 nights still to come. Meanwhile, Françoise had found us a hotel for one night down in Lochgair, a place we highly recommend unless you require brand new commodities : it was built back in 1934... but the manager cooks lovely simple food on order. And when he told us we could stay 2 nights, he explained us tha( the second night since not bookes on Booking, would be cheaper. He explained what other landlords confirmed us later that he hates having to rely on Booking or whatever similar 'rackets' who claim 11 to 15% on any reservation made with them. Good to know. 

Other big disappointment : lots of the sites we had loved back in 1978 for their authenticity, quietness and charm are now flooded by words of selfie-maker tourists who swarm in in huge coaches. They make Fort William, Oban and even Portree on Skye nightmares to drive through or park in. As a consequence, unaware of this, I did not book in advance the ferry from Oban to Iona so that we simply could not return on the island.

No real regret, though, since I read in touristic brochures that this lonesome small island nobody knew 40 years ago has now been named #1 must see site in Scotland... They are proud to announce the abbaye has been refurbished, a museum added to it, some craftsmen and artists now have their summer shop there; in 1978, we had to hire a fisherman so he took us on his boat and came later to take us back; the brochure speaks of a ferry schedule operating in summer.

The Scottish Tourist Board has now launched -- signs only -- a NC500 or North Coast 500 miles loop (see map below) that is supposed to let you see all that must be seen from John O'Groats to Inverness and back driving along the Northern, Western and Eastern coasts, which explains how you happen, at the awkward wheel of your SUV, to encounter coaches loaded with selfie addicts on single track B roads right in the middle of nowhere in North Scotland... Fortunately the coach drivers are locals and they know.

 That is how we crossed such coaches -- not too many of them, far fewer than on Skye -- on the Tongue to Lairg single track B road we had chosen to follow in order to avoid them. That 67,5 km long B road claims "passing places" and lots of pot holes. In 1978, under such ,circumstances, I had lost my near-side mirror. 

 Other silly consequence of this outpouring of tourists, the West coast claims higher fares : the Lochinver BnB was the most expensive -- +30% on the €110 average, breakfast included on the loop whereas the only breakfast offered is "continental" or toasts and all sorts of jams and marmalade. One has to realize they are on the posh west coast... 

In Perth, first stop, we learnt you are now asked in the evening to state what you wish for newt morning breakfast and, from a place to the other, the selection and number of items included may vary. Anyway, I had the opportunity to try the 'full Scottish breakfast', so try black pudding, haggis and tattie scone -- some call it hash brown, even though it has nothing to do with the hash browns we were served in the US. I renewed the experience a few times but abandoned quickly : far too copious, all the more since I couldn't resist on the 'Weetabix' and had to try the warm porridge... Fruit or juice don't count, do they ?.

On the whole, thanks to our hosts' advice, we have had nice dinners; of course, in Invermorriston and Lochinver, walking to a restaurant can bring surprises, as in a posh hotel where fancy foods are served, that are not necessarily better if often dearer.. We loved two Indian food restaurant, the 'Dil Se' in Kirkwall, near the sea-front and the 'Green Gates' in Stirling. We went two nights in a row to the Green Gates, we had to try the 'Chicken on the bone' -- spiced, cooked in the tandoor, served on a bed of fried onions with rice and house sauce.. as shown below.

.. neither of us could finish our plates, not with one of their nan breads !!! They kindly suggested a doggy bag which we took back to the BnB much to the pleasure of our host, a regular customer.

We also liked very much two Italian restaurants, one in Balloch, the other in Stirling, near the castle, the "mamma mia" where, at lunch, we discovered the arancini.

In Lochgair, the Lochgair Hotel doesn't look appealing or fancy, but as already mentioned above, the manager offers excellent simple local dinners on order. We had two nice evenings there, a great comfort after the Connel incident.

Globally, nothing has really changed in Scotland in terms of greeting or roads... People we met -- except the ugly managers in Connel -- were friendly, helpful, attentive, hearty

 The final tour :

> > flights from Roissy-CDG to and from Edinburgh-EDI on Air France. I would have preferred an other company, but it came in the Expedia package. As in 2018, when our flight to Oslo was delayed 2 hours after, as an attendant at the gate put it "They have lost the plane", both flights were delayed, so that once again we had the lovely bus ride throughout the CDG airport to reach a lonesome plane that was hardly cleaned and ready... However, it hasn't deterred them from bombarding my phone with sms and mails to keep me posted on the delay... They even sent me a satisfaction survey; it gave me the opportunity to thank their zealous way to convince us not to fly anymore, and should we plan a new flight, never with that company again.

> > upgrade episode at the Sixt counter.

> > First stop in Perth : overnight stops are shown with a yellow dot on the map; the must see sites with a blue dot

> > the rest of the tour is shown on the grids of photos below. 2 grids because I could not reduce the 2000 photos to less than #500+, which I know is still too long. First grid concentrates on the Orkneys, the second on the way back to Edinburgh. As you'll see, both grids propose 2 different musical backgrounds each which you decide to use or not. I created them from the time each grid is read in automatic slideshow mode.

Reminder : 

--> music is optional. First programs are on the top of this page; second come at the end of the first grid.

--> in the grids, a click on a miniature photo opens it full screen; return to the grid with a click on the grey cross to the top right corner;

--> From a full screen photo, a slide show can be launched forward using the (>) you see to the right, backwards using the (<) sign. This manual way enables you to read all information panels you will see.

--> If you use the grey triangle you see in the bottom right corner, the slide show is automatic. An other click will pause it.

Warning : 

--> Depending on various elements -- connexion, computer capacities, available RAM... -- some black screens appear with a red sign instead of the expected photo : refreshing the screen after noticing where the show was thus interrupted will help. Such glitches often happen on my I Mac based on Intel, never on the Mac Book Pro or the I pad pro equipped with the M2 chipset. The problem seems to come from the pre-loading of the page, which is too dense with pictures. Sorry for the inconvenience.

First part of the loop ; form Edinburgh to the Orkneys, via Perth and Thurso

Second leg of the loop : from Thurso to Edinburgh, via Lochinve, Invermorriston, Connel, Lochgair, Balloch and Sterling.

 Musical background : "it's up to you" :

> On the left, 'classic' : Concert Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy : Concerto pour violon, (Isaac Stern-Bernard Haitink) -- Concerto pour piano #1 (Rudolph Serkin-Eugen Ormandy), all in all 39 minutes 42 seconds.

> On the right, Medley of music I like :  Let it grow (Eric Clapton) -- In my life (Judy Collins) -- When I stop dreaming (Ray Charles) -- All that you have is your soul (Tracy Chapman) -- Can't find my way (Phil Collins) -- Imagine (Joan Baez) -- Bridge over troubled water (Simon & Garfunkel) -- The times, they are a-changing (Nina Simone) -- Morning has broken (Cat Stevens) -- 38 minutes 45 seconds.

 All things considered, a wonderful trip, with ups and downs, but superb landscapes and sites, colors atmospheres... which mean we now want to return to Orkney

In fact, I already checked : we could fly from Nantes (a closer, smaller airport closer from home) to Edinburgh, NOT with Air France; from there fly to Kirkwall where we could rent a self-catering and a small automatic car. I wish flying from Nantes to Aberdeen was easier : to date, flights take you to Copenhague or other fancy stops and last hours... It would be a nice alternative to ferry to Kirkwall from Aberdeen.

It would enable us to visit the sites we missed for lack of time, and ferry to the other islands, using the ferries that are operated in summer.. 

To be continued...