Caledonia!

More travelling! This time, I joined the gang on a long weekend trip up to the Burn in Scotland – a historic home near Montrose affiliated to Goodenough College – where we had a most marvellous time eating, touring, eating, chatting, eating, chilling and eating…

It’s good always to get out of London, and to be reminded that the UK is more than its capital city, no matter how dominant it is. Indeed, Scotland is very different, with its own parliament, legal system, history, and even dialect. We encountered the thick Scots accents, to which we responded with our equally incomprehensible Singlish.

We arrived on Thursday evening after a long train from London, with miserable weather awaiting us, especially on Friday, when we drove 92 miles southward to Edinburgh. What should have been a straight-forward two hour journey turned out to be much worse, as we got caught in a huge traffic tailback caused by people heading to the T In The Park, a massive music gathering in the style of England’s Glastonbury Festival.

Nonetheless, we got to Edinburgh in time for a good pub lunch, and, with pouring rain, we walked up and down the Royal Mile, taking in sights such as the Edinburgh Castle and St Giles Cathedral.

Better weather greeted us Saturday. We spent the morning on an early visit to Fettercairn Distillery, established in 1824, where we got a pretty good tour of the entire complex. Unfortunately, the Distillery was on its summer break, with no actual production being carried out. But I did come away with a good bottle of a twelve year old single malt.

Thereafter, it was onto the ruins of the 13th century Dunnottar Castle, less than two miles south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. It occupies a dramatic perch off the cliffs overlooking the North Sea, conjuring up for those of us raised on a diet of Enid Blyton images of Famous Five or Secret Seven adventures, with secret, desolate coves and ruin remains.

After lunch at Stonehaven, we headed down south to St Andrews, home of golf and also the site of more ruins – this time the St Andrew’s Cathedral.

I shall not belabour the point here, but the trip was kinda poignant, as this was certainly the last time that the few of us would be able to travel together in such numbers. Quite a few are preparing to leave the college, with the academic year having come to a close. Time passes, and while there are regrets, those many happy moments we shared, many of them infused with alcohol, shall remain with me forever.

Travel Notes: We journeyed up to Scotland on board a GNER train departing London King’s Cross Station. Accommodation for three nights at the Burn, a historic home affiliated to the Goodenough College. Car rental of a Ford Galaxy for all six of us provided by Bill Stephen Motors of Brechin.