Apr
9
2009

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Goodbye Scotland

by Tyler

Today was our last day in Scotland. I've joked with Tara a few times that of all the countries we've visited, Scotland is my favorite. Absolutely everyone we have spoken with has been friendly, the countryside is breathtaking and we both think Scottish accents are incredibly endearing. We will miss you Scotland.

Before we left Eyemouth we hiked up a to a cliff (The Bantry?) to see the views and snap a few photos.

Eyemouth Overlook Eyemouth Overlook

Crossing into England was very anticlimactic, but the moment we arrived a train whizzed by signalling our entrance into a new country. We hadn't seen a single train in Scotland!

Scotland / England Border

As we rode into Berwick upon Tweed we were both immediately thankful that we had stopped early last night. It felt like a tourist trap with its busy streets and crowds of people milling about. Eyemouth was much more our speed. We asked at the tourist information center where we could find the cycle path to Holy Island that Dave at Home Arms had told us about. It was just outside town through a seedy village called 'Spittal'.

We quickly located the cycle "path" which wound up being nothing more than a well marked ditch that ran alongside the ocean. The hilly route alternated between very loose gravel, uneven grass, and long furrows of mud. It was surprising how different the coastline in England felt than Scotland's. As we continued on, the terrain changed from coastline to farmland. At one point we passed a group of older Englishmen smoking pipes and golfing about twenty feet away from flocks of resting sheep. Suddenly it felt very British!

England's idea of a bike trail

Below is a photo of Tyler surveying the view a bit off the bike trail.

King of the World

As we were opening one of many gates along the path, our cellphone rang. This is always very surprising as we've gotten used to being without them for the most part. It was Tara's grandparents calling to say hello; we had a nice chat before continuing on. Unfortunately we didn't leave early enough this morning to cross on to Holy Island before the tide came in so we opted to free-camp near the ocean a few miles north. We'll visit the island that is only accessible during low tide tomorrow morning before continuing on a bit further south.

While Tara and I made camp in we both commented on how we felt like we were getting the hang of things. The rain didn't bother either of us and we set up fairly quickly in an organized fashion to relax and make dinner with plenty of time to spare. Finally! After dinner we went to wash our dishes in the ocean and to our amused dismay the tide had gone out and we now had our very own beachfront but no water to clean with.

Beachfront Beachfront Free Camping

One last thing: there are snails everywhere, here is a photo Tara took of a pair of them snuggling.

Intertwined Snails
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6 comments

I am so happy you guys are settling in to your new lifestyle. :) Seeing your stories and pictures everyday makes me smile. I love waking up and seeing a new story! Much love and hugs to you both.

Brittany
Posted by Brittany on April 10th, 2009 at 10:00 PM
So good to talk to you today. Pictures are beautiful and the country side must be lovely to see. Twins had a day off and we all went to lunch. Miss you both. Love ya, GM
Posted by The Mathman on April 10th, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Tyler, Tara, I hop you guys have time to read all of these wonderful comments! :)

Just to let you know, today, Adam, Cheyenne, and I all learned Carenza 1-5. It was a small class tonight, but the lack of students has helped our skill set increase pretty quickly.

we miss you guys, and are happy to read that your excursion is going well! It made me add Scotland to the list of countries I'd like to travel to.

-Dave
Posted by David on April 10th, 2009 at 11:19 PM
beautiful pics.
Posted by benjaminrunning on April 12th, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Right, first off Ginger nut the ocean you refer too is actually the North Sea, far from a vast ocean. Secondly that seedy little village of spittal is where i grew up and i take it you obviously have not heard of the artist L.S Lowery!?..... how ignorant to pass such comment on spittal!!!
Your trip is a joke i could of bought a house with the money you have spent on shite! And why buy a car?
Posted by David on June 27th, 2010 at 8:22 PM
I'm so glad you enjoyed Scotland and met some nice people along the way. I really feel that Scottish people are very warm and friendly but I may be biased living here :P

You should come back and visit again, there is still so much to see!

Andy
Posted by Andrew on November 13th, 2013 at 9:07 AM
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