Two weeks of observations after UK traveling

Hop-on Hop-off buses; mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, sausage and eggs for breakfast; boilermakers of Scotch whisky and pints of warm beer in ancient pubs at the end of the day; long walks and long cycle rides tracking ancient Roman defenses and the Clyde and Forth Canal; the Forth of Firth across from the kingdom of Fife; castles, sheep, clipped accents of cheerio, tut tut and aye, aye; and subtle differences between the English and Scottish people. All of this was part of a two-week quenching of our wanderlust recently in the United Kingdom, otherwise known as the British Isles. If you like travelogue-style stuff, occasional observations on culture and countryside - some of it even a bit relevant - then stick with me over the next several days as I roll out photos and a few accompanying paragraphs.

Some background.  Becky and I traveled with Albert and Jennifer for the first half of the journey which included time in London with relatives before we trained our way north to Corbridge to hike four days along Hadrian’s Wall.  Built by the so-named Roman emperor 2,000 years ago to denote the northernmost boundary of the Roman empire, the stone wall along with accompanying forts, outposts and temples kept us company as we hiked up and down hills and looked north to the lands of the Scottish forbears.  It added a historical dynamic to eight and twelve-mile hikes through beautiful English countryside studded with sheep, cattle, castles and golden fields of barley where occasional pheasants and grouse flew. We were blessed with what we were told was atypically nice weather as we wended our way between hearty UK cooked breakfasts and pub suppers.

After the Hadrian hike, Jennifer and Albert peeled off to spend a few more days in London with grandchildren. Becky and I hopped a northbound train to Helensburgh.  That’s the starting point for the John Muir Way which crosses Scotland west to east with Glasgow and Edinburgh, roughly, at each end. There we hiked two days and cycled four days.  Preston and Kathleen turned us on to that one. It was Scotland - complete with kilt factories, whisky distilleries, Bobby Burns poetry and lots of talk about Queen Mary of Scots - up close and personal.

We talked with innkeepers and pub dwellers about Brexit. Some favored leaving the European union, others not so much, but there was always depth and some passion to the reflections on the vote.  One innkeeper told us of a whisky-fired discussion following a small dinner party when, as the hour passed midnight, “nearly ended with a punch up among the guests.”

But, as we’ve found throughout our travels, we found the vast majority of those we interacted with friendly and helpful and most interested in living normal lives with their families and friends.

So here goes.  If you haven’t anything better to do, take a look at some pictures and tune back in over the next couple of weeks for more.  I’ll try to keep it interesting. Thanks for taking some time to read.