Wigtown Book Festival

This is the 20th year of Wigtown's Book Festival!  I must admit, I have been aware of this book festival since its first year, and I used to travel to Wigtown regularly for work, but this stopped about a year before the festival started. For some reason, I have never been to this festival - until today!

When I used to work in Wigtownshire, I always enjoyed my time there.  Not only are the people lovely, but the scenery is amazing.  It was a pleasure to drive there and to spend the days and I really missed this when the work changed and I was no longer needed there.  So again, I wonder why it took me so long to come back?

Anyway, what a wonderful day.  The concept of a book festival always escaped me, hearing about these lovely houses filled with books was something I could not mentally picture.  But being there today, it was a pleasure to discover exactly what that looks like.  The following photos are from the largest bookstore in Scotland!  These are only a few of the rooms. The house just went on and on!

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We were only able to come for the day and we brought Kenzie along. Her sister lives in Wigtown and we arranged to meet them and have a few hours together.  Both couples wondered if the sisters would recognise each other.  Both dogs are outgoing, full of energy and apparently love life, but it didn't appear that they treated each other any differently than we see Kenzie treat any dog she meets.

The first meeting!

But we enjoyed our time together and so did they, and it was not really important they don't really know they are sisters!

I was able to buy some Christmas gifts for people who are usually not easy to buy for!  That was a very welcome surprise about this day.  In addition to those purchases, I bought myself 2 books - both based in Wigtown and telling the history of two bookstores.  I am looking forward to reading them.  I also got a photography book to help with a challenge I keep giving myself and never following up on.  There is a local gin there and I was so tempted to buy a bottle!  Since this is Sunday, the local distillery was not open so I could not get any tastes there.  One of the stalls in a marquee did have bottles and it was difficult not to walk out with one of them.  However, there were a few different types and I didn't just want to pick one blind.  Looks like I will have to return to Wigtown some day soon!

We ate lunch at Craft, as recommended by the owners of Kenzie's sister. A dog friendly pub with a great sounding menu! We got broccoli and cheese soup and a sandwich.  They were good and faster than ordering a proper meal.  There was just too much to see and do to spend too much time eating!

Right before leaving, I discovered the second largest bookstore in Wigtown, based in an old bank building.  There were not as many rooms as the other book store, but there were dead ends and doors into offices and loads of places to store books.  I got lost a few times, but what a wonderful place to be lost in!

To sum up this day, books, gifts, happy dogs, meeting new friends and eating good food. Does it get better than this?

Here are some more photos from the day -

“So many books, so little time.” 

― Frank Zappa

Not Long Enough in Angus and Aberdeenshire - heading home

Now it will become clear just how little time we had to get up from southern Scotland to the northern coast of Aberdeenshire and have any quality time at all.  What were we thinking? And when I got home and actually looked at my diary, turns out we had planned much longer and weren't meant to leave until yesterday. Instead, we got home the day before yesterday. So I ask again, what were we thinking?

I was feeling the pressure of time and wanted us to find a campsite last night as near as possible so we could squeeze in as much as we could.  We ended up at Cruden Bay campsite, not actually on the bay at all.  And there was absolutely no one else there.  The caravan parked near us had no one in it the whole time we were there.  Kind of spooky, but peaceful and we never actually meet anyone at these places because we tend to breeze in late and leave early.  The man at reception couldn't have been nicer and loaned us a hose so we could top up our water. We also had electricity, so what else did we need?

Oh, a heater would have been good!  It did get a bit cold last night and our dog seemed to feel it a bit more than I expected.  The camper has heat but we also don't know how much gas we have left and we didn't think we actually needed heat (until we woke up!).  Lucky thing, we had agreed on an early start home anyway.

Farmland and offshore wind turbines

We almost beat Aberdeen rush hour traffic and stopped along the beach for a while just to catch our breath.  Odd to see the offshore wind turbines but they don't really bother me.  I do hope they have figured out a way to prevent injury to birds though.

Interesting road not taken in Brechin

We passed through Brechin.  One place we would have stopped in, but there was absolutely no place to park our big vehicle.  So many things we have put on a list for when we return in a normal car....

The goal today was to get a Forfar Bridie.  Bridies are a Scottish meat pastry made with steak and onions. The recipe originated in Forfar. There are two theories about this according to the baker who specialises in them. One is that they were developed as the wedding meal, or the Bride's meal. And they are horse shoe shaped for good luck.  (In Scotland, brides are given horseshoes after their wedding for good luck. Not real horseshoes I might add! Just ones purchased in card shops!)  The other theory is that a woman with the last name of Bridie started making them.  I like the Bride's meal theory the best!  But, since they originated in Forfar, like the Arbroath Smokie, I wanted an authentic one!  After searching the internet, I located what seemed to be the perfect place to buy our Bridies - McFarlane Bakers.  So we parked the camper and walked in the rain straight to this place.  Bought our Bridies and virtually headed straight back to the car park. Because it was raining, neither one of us brought a camera so these photos are taken with my phone!

I must admit, we were disappointed once we got back to our camper and had our Bridie's for lunch. They were nothing at all like the Bridie's we had experienced in the past.  So I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were using the original recipe.  When I got home, I did a bit of research and it seems Forfar is the only place that uses shortcrust pastry and not flaky pastry, strike one. Then I read that onions were optional and we have always had onions in others, strike two.  Oh well, I just enjoy the experience of trying local food and this was one of them!

On our route back to the camper after our Bridie purchase was a butcher getting a beef delivery.  This is a scene you don't often see much anymore, even in Scotland!

Not much more to say about this journey, except I am embarrassed we planned so badly and had such a small amount of time for such a huge undertaking.  Lucky we live in Scotland and will use this as a learning experience. Can't wait to get back up to this area!





“The perfect journey is never finished, the goal is always just across the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.” ― Rosita Forbes

Not Long Enough in Angus and Aberdeenshire Part Two

Kenzie and her new friend

Waking up at the Deeside Caravan Park was nice and peaceful, even though it is a very busy holiday park.  Alan walked Kenzie at the official dog walking area and she got to meet some of the darling Highland "Coos"  Wish I had gone with them.

We had an agenda today and planned to see 3 coastal villages:  Gardenstown, Crovie and Pennan.  Even leaving Deeside early, it took quite a while to get to the northern edge of Aberdeenshire and arrive at Gardenstown.  The road into the village was ok but did have quite a steep angle to get down to sea level. We parked at the very edge of the village, on the opposite side from the harbour. The sign there indicated that it was only a 1 mile walk along the shore to Crovie. So we thought, why put our camper van through going up that steep angle, only to go down again, more trouble that just enjoying a pleasant stroll.

And pleasant it was!  Part of the way, there was no path though, which concerned us a bit about when the tide comes in! But that didn't "dampen" our spirits and we continued on our way.

Crovie

Crovie is known for being a village with the narrowest space between shore and cliff. In fact, there is only space for their houses and no more. So there appears to be a communal clothesline that runs along the shore and each house has a wheelbarrow to transport things from their cars since there is also no road!  Where do the cars park?  I have no idea!  The linked article says the villagers park at the top of the hill and transport everything down on the barrows.  Since the road was closed anyway, I just assumed they would drive their cars down to the edge of town, but looking back, there would be no room for that.  The linked article also says there is no phone signal and no shops. I can certainly vouch for the lack of shops.

6 clothes pegs on this one towel!  Gives an idea
how windy it must be here.

There was absolutely nothing except quiet houses and one lonely towel hanging on the clothesline!

Lucky timing with getting back to Gardenstown

I called time in this darling village though because I was worried at how long we had spent there and wondered what the tide was doing!  So we only explored just over half of Crovie before turning around and heading back to Gardenstown.  Good thing too - the part of the walk that was not actually a path was just about to become part of the sea again.  I don't think we would have gotten away with even 15 minutes later.

One thing that I will always remember about the walk between these villages was the rumble of the rocks as the waves rolled in and out.  When I first heard this noise, it sounded like firecrackers but not quite that loud.  I have never heard a beach sound like that and will treasure that memory forever.

Gardenstown

Returning to Gardenstown, which is much bigger but still so quiet.  All the fishing boats were in but there was no one about.  Very odd. There were also still no shops or tea shops or anything.  Ok, there was an art gallery - but they only opened on Thursdays to Sundays and we were there on a Wednesday. And there is a very well reviewed museum right at the harbour, but it only opened after 2 and we left just about 1pm.  Very frustrating for some visitors who were hungry, but we were ok since we had our kitchen along with us! (there was a sign about a shop further up the hill, but we didn't have the time to explore more than we had already so maybe there was something up there.)

Pennan

Our main goal today was to see the village of Pennan, the location of one of our favourite movies "Local Hero".  It was released in 1983 so was still relatively new when Alan rented the video for us to watch in about 1986.  The theme is still current though - a large American corporation trying to buy out a small village and not exactly telling them the truth!  One of the executives goes to this tiny, provincial village to more or less take advantage of the villagers and you can probably figure out the rest.  The phone booth is central to the story and makes me think how much that, at least, has changed:  he would have just used his mobile instead to call the office if it were filmed today!

Apparently, "everyone" who visits Pennan has to use the phone and I wanted to, but forgot that pay phones actually require coins and we didn't have enough.  The cost of a pay phone is now .60 pence.  Wow! But I could pretend anyway!  In reading the article I attached, I learned that this phone was only a prop for the movie and taken away after filming.  But there was such a fuss about it not being there, that a permanent phone booth was installed and is even listed as a protected building now!  It is not in the exact place as the one used in the movie and I was happy to read that since both Alan and I thought it didn't look "right" when we got there. But it is close enough and nice that life imitated art and installed that phone right where it belongs.

Even though it has been such a long time since we saw Local Hero, it was so much fun to be there and relive some of the feelings that movie knew how to present.  Down to one of the last scenes, where the business executive is back home in LA and appears to be so lonely.  He gets on his phone and dials that phone booth, just to hear the pips.  Yes, once Scotland gets in your system, it is impossible to feel the same ever again!

Leaving Pennan, squeezing between the hotel and
another building and hoping no one is
coming down the hill!

Pennan is accessed by a steep and scary hill. There is a warning at the top that clearly states it is not suitable for caravans, and we were not driving a caravan......  But oh boy!  It was the most stressful and tense few minutes going down to Pennan and then not knowing if we would have anywhere to turn (yes we did).  After exploring this darling village, we had to get back up that hill and that made going down seem like a picnic.

Almost there

I have never been so worried and scared about a road. Thank goodness Alan was driving.  Never to be repeated!  I would love to return to Pennan but will bring my little Skoda if I do!

Honesty Box!

Again, no tea shop or any other kind of shop.  However, there was an honesty box with bookmarks and cards and I did indulge myself.  £1.50 each and I loved them.

These are strictly classic fishing villages, even if most of them are now holiday cottages.  There is nothing to attract a tourist here, except the sheer beauty of these villages and the feeling that time has stood still.

Fabulous day just visiting these 3 simple and wonderful coastal villages.  How privileged are we to be able to do this?

“You may not find a path, but you will find a way.” – Tom Wolfe

Not long enough in Angus and Aberdeenshire Part One

Dunnattor Castle

After a few weeks resting at home, it was time to get Ruby out and head up north again.  This time, we decided to head up to Aberdeenshire and do the Aberdeenshire Coastal Trail. I don’t think we have planned enough days to accomplish this, but time will tell and it is not like we can’t go back and do what we missed. So I am looking at this trip in a similar was as when we did the North Coast 500 - scouting for the future!

To be perfectly honest, I tried to squeeze in a fair amount of at home time and lots of lunching and dining with friends, and we had visitors from The Netherlands and Stornaway and Falkirk the weekend before, so I might not have been as committed as I should have been for this trip!  Oh, and then I scheduled lunch with a good friend of mine on the day we intended to leave!  Uh oh!  I actually thought we weren’t going.  

Lunch was fab and it was great to catch up. Then a mad rush home, only to find our daughter dropped in to pick up some things she needed. Looking back, I am afraid she wanted a visit and we were so focused on heading out…..I hope she drops in on us again and we drop everything and just enjoy her company.

But enough worrying about guilt like a parent always does, and more about this amazing part of Scotland! 

We didn’t leave our home until around 3 and were lucky to get out of Glasgow before rush hour hit.  The drive was uneventful and we made it to our planned but unknown campsite- Woodlands Caravan Park in Carnoustie. It was almost dark by the time we got there, mainly due to weather, not the shortness of days. Days are still fairly long here  with sunset around 7:45pm.  But that drops about 5 minutes a day this time of year.

We got the key to the mens and ladies toilets and the code to use the gate into the park for a shortcut into Carnoustie.  Never found the pub that was supposed to be 5 minutes away, but did spy an interesting statue in a charity shop that we both felt was worthy of further inspection the next day.  

As we passed Spar, I remembered, I never put dishes in Ruby and all Spar had left were paper bowls, so for the past 2 days, we have been eating breakfast, lunch and dinner from tiny paper bowls.  One priority tomorrow is to stop and buy something decent to eat off of! 

The Woodlands Campsite was like the Taj Mahal of campsites. I certainly didn’t expect such a great place and wish we could have stayed longer just to enjoy being there. The site was immaculate and so close to Carnoustie -about a 5 minute walk through a lovely park, the wifi was superb and free, the ladies toilets were like something you would find in a nice department store, the laundry room was fabulously equipped and had a library of books you could trade if you needed to.  Oh, and there was a rec room, complete with a tv. If only Alan had known that the night before. He had to watch the Scotland game on his phone! 

The next morning, today actually, the wind was about 40 mph so we were concerned how Ruby would fare on the roads, but she did ok.  Before leaving Carnoustie, we walked to the golf course where the last British Open was held.  Not a fun walk with me having to hold onto my hat the whole time.

We did stop by and look at the statue from last night and we bought it!  Not sure where it will go in our house, but we will find a place for it!  

Arbroath Harbour

Our next stop was Arbroath!  This is a fishing village on the north east coast of Scotland, on the North Sea.  The only thing I knew about Arbroath was the Arbroath Smokie! This is a specially smoked haddock which is very popular.  My goal was to find a local fishery and buy one. My pleasures can be quite simple. We parked our camper along the shore and walked into town, first stopping at the Signal Tower Museum.  Neither one of us are really into museums and, since Kenzie was not allowed in, we just went in in turns, not expecting to stay long.  I went in first.  Well, I was in much longer than Alan expected, and when it was his turn, he was in even longer!

Signal Tower Museum

The Bell Rock Lighthouse is just barely visible in
the middle of this photo.  It looks like a
matchstick!  It is 11 miles away and this is
what Signal Tower was meant to communicate with.

We may not enjoy museums as a rule, but some can just grab us and this was one of them.  It was all about local history but mainly focused on the interaction between the Signal Tower and the Bell Rock Lighthouse 11 miles away.  They explained how the signal tower with the ball on top was used to communicate with the lighthouse with this ball.  If visibility was poor, they would try later in the day.


This tower was also used to inform the lighthouse keeper when his wife had a baby by flying a pair of trousers or a dress on the tower.  Bell Rock Lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson - grandfather to Robert Louis Stevenson.  Many lighthouses on the East Coast of Scotland were built by Robert Stevenson, or his son, Thomas Stevenson.  father of Robert Louis Stevenson!  On another trip we did to Bass Rock (also on the East Coast of Scotland), we learned that young Robert Louis Stevenson used to travel with his father to jobs and the expectation was that he would follow in his father’s footsteps.  Unfortunately, he did not enjoy good health and this sort of role would not be in his best interest.   So it was very fortunate for him that he could write a great story! 

Example of traditional clothing
of the fishwives.  The patterns may
vary but it was usually the blue
striped skirt, plaid shawl and
flowered blouse.  

This museum also displayed stories of life in Arbroath and how the fishwives worked so hard, from baiting 4 thousands hooks a day, team effort of course, to carrying their husbands to the fishing boats on their backs to prevent the men’s feet from getting wet. They also travelled far and wide selling the Smokies.  Strong and formidable women in my opinion!  

The process to preserving a Haddock and creating a Smokie looks similar to how they dry cod in Norway. The haddock is cleaned but not skinned, cut open and put on racks over a smoky fire. It has been a long time since the process was explained to me, but I believe the smoking helped with long term storage of the fish and enabled them to have food during the winter.  They are also regularly sprinkled with salt water so they have a lovely smoke and salty taste.  

In our walk along the harbour, I found one fishmonger that intrigued me because it looked impossible to buy their Smokies because I could only see the shop from across the Brothock Burn. This area was the traditional location of these fishers and there are quite a few backyard smokehouses where Smokies are produced.

I got to choose which one I wanted.
They are really big!

Looking across the Burn to the smokehouse

Those things that look like little packages
are the Haddock being smoked.

What the other side looked like!

As we continued walking, we discovered a bridge that took us over the canal this business, and many other similar smokehouses, was located on and then to the door.  I went in and bought my lunch!  The business name was M & M Spink and, as we walked along the older parts of Arbroath, where there are many Smokies on offer, many of the business names were similar but not exact, many "Spinks" with different initials.    I would love to know the genealogy of this and find out if, many years ago, they were once just one family….

We then headed back to the camper and realised we had been in Arbroath for over 2 hours.  It was just a lovely place to wander and observe.  

It is nice travelling in a campervan.  Although I prefer eating in restaurants and experiencing local food when someone else cooks it, there is also something so convenient when we end up in our own kitchen and make what we want. So this lunchtime in Arbroath, I had the pleasure of an Arbroath Smokie while Alan had his usual ham sandwich. Perfect and saved precious time to head north and find another fabulous stop - Dunnottar Castle!

Dunnattor Castle

I have seen photos of this castle for years but had no idea where it was.  So nice that the real thing lives up to the drama of the photos I have seen.  It is easy to park there and even a coffee stall - yippee.  Yes, travelling with a kitchen is alright, but so is buying a gorgeous cup of coffee!  

We headed up and down and around and up and down again, until we arrived - not at the castle - but at the perfect viewpoint of the castle.  Spent a bit of time enjoying the views from all kinds of angles.  Yes, you can also walk down and up very steep steps and paths to get closer to Dunnotter Castle and the entry fee is not too high (too bad it isn’t National Trust so I could mention once again the benefits of joining, even for a two week visit in Scotland…)  But I was not in the mood for steepness and up hill climbs and Alan was happy with the distant shots.  The sun was not at its best but we made do and when we were done, went back to the camper van. Then the sun reappeared! Alan went back and retook all his photos, but I was happy with what I got.  So I relaxed and read my book until he came back - bliss.

Kenzie patiently waiting for Alan to come  back!

After leaving Dunnotter Castle, we had hoped to camp in Stonehaven at a site that sounded amazing. When we arrived there, the location and the site looked perfect.  In fact it was so perfect, it was full and we were given a list of other campsites both heading north and south. We were heading north so chose the Deeside Holiday Park in Marycoulter. This took us inland a bit and messed our timing up a bit the next day, but it was a really nice site and it was time to stop driving. 

This trip has found us eating all our meals in the camper van!  Never my first choice, but I had not been convinced we were actually doing this trip and had stocked my real kitchen. So I just took my planned meals on the road!  It has worked very well since nothing has been wasted, dinners have been simple and there has been no wasted time searching for somewhere to eat. And the campsites we keep finding ourselves on have not been close to any food establishments.  So this was also very lucky.






"Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting."  Joyce Meyer