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I'm finally back from Scotland. This travel had not been the one I dreamed about... I met several problems which have completly changed the face of it.
The first thing had been that leaving home to late and getting lost in Paris suburbs, I finally missed the ferry I was expected to take... But I've been quite lucky in my bad luck, because I managed to buy a ticket for the next crossing, then I had just few minutes to wait before the next one. The thing that I should have guessed was that this was just the beginning of the problems...
After having slept into Newcastle for the first night, I started to drive the next morning to reach Coldingham Sands Youth Hostel, which is not very far away from Newcastle... After about one hour on the road I had an accident with my car; someone crashed the back of my car! My car have been towed to a garage... Where it stayed during about 2 weeks!
The thing is that just two days before they brought my car in front of the YH in Coldingham Sands, the manager of this SYH had called the garage to know when they thought my car would be ready, and they said to him that it would take something like one week... Then as I was quite in a hurry to move away, (my first desire during this trip was to reach the north west of Scotland and not to spend several days here) I decided to go by buses up to the north, leaving most of my luggage behind me, and when they brought my car, I was far away from Coldingham...
But as I didn't want to go back to take back my car, to come back exactly where I was at that time, I decided to spend the time I expected to spend there, it's to say at Ratagan ( a little town near Shiel Bridge) and after that time I would go back to Coldingham...
While I was in Ratagan I walked a lot, the weather was really beautiful, it was very pleasant. The thing is that sometimes I don't really know where is my brain... Then I missed to be wedged on a hill face which was too much hard for me, I'm quite a good walker but if I can climb up quite easily, it's really different concerning climbing down cause I am really scared of heights... Then I have lived one hour of pure anguish, and you can believe me if I say you that, when I have seen that I had spent only one hour climbing up, I could't believe it , I thought much more time was spent... But I really felt relieved discovering on the other side of this hill another way, which was really easier and safer for myself...
And the landscapes I discovered at the top were so wonderful, that I regret but not so much...
After few days in Ratagan I went back to Coldingham, and, as I already knew, my car was there...
Then I have finally been able to spend few days as I would have like to spend each day of this trip... driving to some places I really wanted to see...
I have discovered Dunottar Castle, and if you allow me to give you an advice, it's wholeheartedly a place to go and visit!
And after one night in Aberdeen, I drove to Carbisdale Castle, the "haunted castle" SYH, it is quite urge, a nice building and a lot of artistic works to discover in it...
Everything would have been perfect if, once again, I hadn't lost my brain on the way... Before having checked in, I've locked my keys in my car... the only thing I had with me, was my camera and the rest of my staff was in the car! And to do it properly, it was a sunday and the closest garage the woman who worked at the reception desk of the YH found, was in Inverness... This cost me a lot of money, but what could I do?
Happily the few days remaining have been quiter, even if unfortunately the rain fellowed me during these days... But I was not disappointed to have it as a fellower, cause the light playing with the clouds allows to take pictures which are really interesting.
At the end my feelings concerning my trip are really contrasted, it's always a great pleasure for me to spend times into Scotland especially into the Highlands, but in the same time I'm a little bit disappointed to have not managed to realise the real travel I dreamed about...
With time, I can say that it's not so bad, that way I can dream of a next trip of that kind, I just think that I would try to go back a longer time... It won't be tomorrow cause I need to keep money left before and it would take quite a lot of time but I will do it I'm sure!
Waiting for that big trip, I won't stay too much time far away this country, I can't... And I will take back my back-bag and will go by plane for little journeys, waiting for my dream to really become true!
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