Demi Tour of the World

So in the morning we packed everything. Kindly two english girls gave us a lift to an another campsite in Cashell where we aimed to spend two days along the loch Lommond’s shore. I thought it was better waiting two days to see how Camille’s knee will improve (hopefully) and from then we’ll decide to go an hospital or to go on.
In those two days, we played pétanque (boules) with rocks (better if rolling ones !) she slept a lot, we visited Balmaha, tiny port village full of bed&breakfasts where we had our first haggies… on a pizza as our first Scottish beer.
In a morning I left Camille alone, busy sleeping then writing, for Ben Lommond.

Still on the West Highland Way, the path follows the loch, so nice sceneries in the early morning. Just before arriving to Rowardennan the track goes into a forest in which i distinguished a woman between several trees : she was in this lonely place, bathed with the remains of the mist, with a well scottishly dressed man in his blue tartan. Just was missing his sword ! Surrealistic!
At the top, the view is really beautiful. From there you can see the several islands south of the loch… in fact i nearly reached the summit as I didn’t want Camille to wait for me for lunch. To do not go to the top is a kind of strange filling as missing the most beautiful view, not going to the highest peak around. Truely I made my choice in 10 to 15 minutes, solidarity won over selfishness !.. (If one day you pass there send me your panoramic photos). On top you feel freedom as temporary as the weather’s really moody. What i prefer is the contact of fresh air on the body like a shower of pure water.
Within 2 days the knee went gradually better from Camille’s sayings. So we went with a lift to Drymen. First we wanted to go to Callander but the buses are rare enough for a bus driver to invite us in his vehicle in an attempt to join the connexion in Balfron. Very nice from the man but we missed the Callander bus. So instead of waiting three hours we went directly to Stirling.
In Balfron, A farmhouse shop sold me a typical scottish biscuit made of caramel and chocolate. I replied :” nor chocolate nor caramel is Scottish”. She answered :” true but the mix yes !” Anyway we appreciated it.

In Stirling we stayed in a campsite named the witches Craig ! with view on the Wallace monument surrounded by sheep and craigs of course. Nice castle but what impressed us the most was the cemetery by the Church of the holy rude. Beautiful just after the rain, it is a very olde one, on one grave you can find proof of gun fights on site. On the Castle’s place we met with Robert the Bruce, another hero. It was full of tourist and on Wallace monument. Why saying more about Stirling, so much is already written so we had a pinte and went back to the witches for a meal.

On the morning we decided to go to St Andrews, we’re not golf players but amateur of nice sites and it is one, wealthy too. Posh land with tourists and golfs. The Abbey is impressive, you wonder how it is still standing up. Behind, from the cliff you an see the castle in ruins. Why going there when ruins are the past and our dreams, let them intertwinned ! What funny is how the abbey’s door looks like Pas de Calais symbol :

Our night was spent in a wood on top of a hill with view on St Andrews and its bay. For the atmosphere we lighted a fire for a nice meal.

Next day we headed for Callander passing by Stirling again. With the bus we penetrated the countryside, the narrow roads along the rivers and the highly green hills. But also a rainy zone. From then till the next eraly morning it won’t stop rain ! We went quickly to another campsite. We set quickly the tent and went for the village were Camille was atracted by a chrismas shop in the middle of summertime. Must be stressfull to work a place playing chrismas songs all day long ! And we found a pub. To be in dry place was a relief ! We stayed 6 hours !! two pints, a meal and two cadavres exquis later we went back “home”. We dried ourselves and the shoes with the hairdriers. When i arrived first to our dear tent i found it with water inside ! Some glass of water later I dried the inside and we had a dry sleep !) In the sunny morning we stayed a while using the heat to dry our bags and material.

For Camille and I Scotland, oh ! even from far away it express the travel through its single name and all the collective picture we’ve got in our head : Its rain Its lochs, its cows, its mountainous landscape, its islands, its castle and their ghosts, and possibly its welcoming inhabitants (the greedy staff, that’s like portugese women and their beard : jealousy )

Well, when we arrived at midnight, middle of august, it rained all night long. No train, we walked ten minutes towards the night. I guess it’s hard time for the night when for neighbour there’s a glowing and noisy airport. We left the road behind us and passing a gate leading to somewhere with hills and bushes, couldn’t be more precise, we settled our home.
In the morning the clouds were still dropping some of their water. Heading out of the green and orange tent we saw where we were, on the edge of the green, a golf along the beach. Yes, in my list above i forgot golf. Errare humanum est like we experienced in the that good luck, the rain badluck only if to endure for more than two days. From the Glasgow station we took another train going to Milngavie (which you pronounce Mull-guy). Milngavie is the start of the west highland way, the most famous walk way of scotland passing by the loch Lomond (biggest lake of UK), the Glencoe (the highest peaks in UK) and finishing at Fort William on the west coast. All that for a week walk of 153 Km.

The way starts in the town itself and goes away quickly towards low hills. Here it’s sunny and warm while it rained in Milngavie, water like a progressive filter between urbanity and counrtyside as the dogs and their owner were disapearing while rasberries and water springs flourishing. In fact all day the weather’s been doubtful : “should I be happy or not. Let’s try sadness and its tears… well, now I’ll dry that… why not trying again” or may be he thinks more like: “should i make them pay for their irrespect!”. Weather is still impredictable !

While the Sky wondered, Landscape started to unveal its beautiful curves, its still shy rocky skin under smooth green hairs, a ruin lost in front of a tree-covered-knot named Dumgoyach. From here we could hear the legend of a giant as we put to late our raincoats. To sum up for starters we saw black cows, far away sheep, rain, green staff, smily people… and a distillery the other side of the cows’ field We stopped a mile from Drymen in a tiny and cheap camping site with two wigwams. The landlord said tomorrow’s weather will be fine until the end of the day. Camille complained about her wet and painful feet. We met an other froggie, this one from britany, a pretty cool one.End of the day.

…Dreams…

…middle of the night… little noises woke me up. Camille was crying from a pain, not the feet, the knee. Too bad I thought embarrassed for her. We won’t be able to follow further the west highland way, looked too serious for the next 140 Km with the rucksack.

We didn’t see much cyber cafés on our travel so here i give you these first photos from a wonderful part of the world

this is Wallace momument in Stirling

this the scot’s pact between trees and rocks

a sleeping volcano on sight of the Edinburgh castle

Camille and our tent on the Calton hill, Edinburgh

I wonder if hairdressing cows in Scotland is well paid !

Green’s the Color !!!!