Part 1: The Scotland Itinerary
Dave, Everett, Piper & me in Grassmarket area of Edinburgh
Summer of 2022- a sabbatical season!
One of the great blessings of serving as a priest in the Episcopal Church is the opportunity to go fallow for a few months every 5-7 years. In 2016 I took my first sabbatical, and this past summer I enjoyed a second one. I had applied for sabbatical funding from the Lilly Foundation’s Clergy Renewal Program in 2015, and did not receive it. I applied again in 2021, and received a very generous grant to cover sabbatical travel. What a gift to my soul, my health, and to my family.
A month of the sabbatical was spent in England and Scotland. I’ll cover the Scotland portion here. Rick Steves will do a better job of describing each activity. Maria Kane gave me her Scotland guide book and I was grateful to her, and Rick, for the local intel. If you are interested in planning a camper van adventure for Scotland- let’s talk!
Sunday, July 3: Arrival in Edinburgh
Piper and I arrived by train from York on Sunday in the early evening and checked into our hotel on Princes Street, which is not the hip shopping street I remember from 1987! I chose the Old Waverly Hotel for its convenience to the train station and affordability. It’s a a bit ho-hum yet safe and sound. As Jill’s Oma always said: why pay a lot for a hotel when your eyes are closed? We had a lovely Sunday supper at Luckenbooths on the Royal Mile after trying for tables at a few other places that were fully booked. Tourism in Scotland was 120% from the summer of 2019. Reservations were needed for almost anything but grab & go in Edinburgh.
Monday, July 4: Dave & Everett join us in Scotland
Piper and I rose early, had breakfast at Archipelago - a great local bakery that offered excellent coffee, pastries and people/dog watching. Very cozy. We walked into the Royal Botanic Garden as it opened for the day to do one of Piper’s favorite things: sit in a garden reading. We had our books! She found a sunny bench and settled in with her novel, and I explored the beautiful Botanic Garden.
We met up with Dave and Everett as they exited the tram at St. Andrew’s park and helped schlep their bags up the stairs to the elevator on the second floor of the Old Waverly. (For traveler’s headed to Scotland: be aware that elevators are often accessed on the second floor rather than ground.) The tram between the airport and the city is cheap and easy.
We took our exhausted dudes to some nondescript tourist pub for lunch, then for a walk around and about, ending up on the impressive Royal Mile. Dave and I had last walked together on the Royal Mile on New Year’s Day 1999 - on our honeymoon at Hogmanay! It was really fun to share this city we loved with our kids.
“Please touch. Open the drawers!” We had tickets for Gladstone’s Land at 3 pm- I highly recommend! It’s the last remaining older style townhouse with a fascinating history - architecturally, economically, and sociologically. The guide was very good and encouraged us to open drawers, pull out linens, pick up and read the newspaper. It was extraordinary. For anyone interested in vernacular architecture- it’s a must-see. While the palaces and castles are also interesting, I find I’m more curious about how the majority of people survived and thrived. I was very excited to see a Bellarmine in person- a clay jug with a well-fed bishop’s face on it. Gladstone’s Land also has a good ice cream and coffee shop on the first floor, with a little seating area tucked behind it if you are overwhelmed by the press of tourists on the Royal Mile.
We had a memorable dinner at Hawksmoor - which we enjoyed so much that we ate there again a few weeks later. Steaks, oysters. Perfectly prepared sauces.
Tuesday, July 5: Hitting the Road
I woke up concerned about where we might sleep next. We were picking up our camper van in the afternoon, and were not sure where we would park it for the night. We had reservations for two nights in Oban starting July 6th. I knew I would enjoy the day more if we had a plan. While the others slept in a bit (jet lag for Dave & Everett!) I found a spot for our camper van through the National Park for £3 (another £1 to book it online) - and booked us in for one camper van, no amenities, alongside Loch Lomond at Inveruglas. It was the last spot available!
I roused my people from their peaceful slumber and eventually we made our way into the sunlight. We enjoyed croissants and coffee at Le Bistrot near the Royal Mile on our way to the Museum of Scotland. The exhibits were exactly what I was hoping to see, although I could not figure out how the museum was organized. It was a bit Pulp Fiction style, moving back and forth in time and even topic. The building itself is a beautiful sight, with the older and newer parts. The exhibits that we especially loved included:
Dolly the Sheep- of cloning fame!
The (Highland/Sutherland) Clearances (This was ALL NEW to me until I began reading Scotland’s history in preparation for our trip.)
The jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots
Knitting & wool production
The Jacobite Uprisings
Iron Age Scotland (I totally geeked out!)
We enjoyed a light lunch in the cafeteria, and Dave was brave enough to try Irn Bru. It was the only time we ordered it, which tells you that it was not to our taste!
At 2 pm we picked up our luggage at the hotel and took a taxi to Go Indie! Campervan headquarters near the airport. At 2:30 we were handed keys, give instructions specific to our camper van, a few last minute repairs were made with a cordless glue gun (I did not realize there was such a thing). At 3:15 I hopped into the driver’s seat - yes, on the right side of the camper van, and got onto the left side of the road, and using my left hand, put it into first gear and rolled out onto the open road.
The camper van: it was about 10 inches wider on each side than we expected. It was fairly easy driving on the M8, and a bit more dicey on the narrow portions of the A82 when we turned off towards Loch Lomond. We had a nice seafood dinner on the west side of Loch Lomond, and made our way to Inveruglas. As we pulled into the small turn out with just 8 parking spots, a Scottish man came over to ask if we had a booked a spot. He was also staying there in his camper van, and was eager to ensure that only permitted camper vans were parking overnight. I appreciated his experience around these things since we were so new to it. After we had settled into our spot and explored the lakeside area, another camper van pulled up looking for a spot to park. Alas, it was full.
The Right to Roam in Scotland is a pretty cool thing. Hikers and cyclists are free to roam across private land in Scotland. That’s different! Now, the freedom to roam must be exercised responsibly, as specified in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. This allows hikers to “wild camp” wherever they like, not worried about trespassing as they set up tents. Since our family was camping in a motorized campervan, the wild camping part did not apply to us —although Scotland is very amenable to overnight parking for camper vans at trailheads and some other areas.
Probably tired of his mom saying things like, “It’s okay, we can walk across this land to that old Roman fort because we have the right to roam,” Everett eventually pointed out to me that I sound like someone who says in the US context: “It’s my second amendment right!” all the time. I guess I was strident about the right to roam.
Over the two weeks of camper van adventure we stayed in a combination of camping parks and free overnight spots at trailheads and in towns. Our first night was a combination- it was reserved and cheap, and it was right where we wanted to be: on the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond!
