The set is complete. I have now visited all four countries in the British Isles. I finally made my way over the border to Scotland.
As the train made its way through the breathtakingly beautiful countryside of the Borders region, I knew I was falling in love. Outside the window I could see the expanse of fields, trees and rivers criss-crossed by dry stone walls. It was exactly like the scene set in the Sam comics in my beloved Twinkle magazine from when I was about five. It was taking me back to a time when I thought everything would be beautiful.
I soon realised, when I climbed Waverley steps, that everything in Edinburgh is beautiful. Over-used adjective alert: I couldn't stop thinking everything was beautiful. Everywhere I looked there was beauty, often in the strangest places. Every street had the old time charm and every mysterious stairway beckoned with its cobbled floor to take me on another adventure. I must've looked like a simpleton, staring up at the numerous, looming buildings in awe. The castle alone looks like it's a Gothic horror prop that's been dropped in via CGI.
But my favourite vantage point across the city was up on Calton Hill. I was more than fortunate to narrowly miss the Scottish rain. In fact, I was treated to the most awe-inspiring sky one evening when I climbed Calton Hill. I bloody love a cloud-strewn sky, and I kid you not, this sky was one of the most impressive that I have ever seen. I sat up on that hill as the sinking sun lit up both the surrounding hills and the city below and I thought my heart might explode with the beauty of it all. The sky looked bigger than I ever thought possible. There's magic in those Scottish skies.
The photos don't do the beauty of this city justice. Arthur's seat was bathed in the late evening sunshine, and although I enjoyed climbing it the day before, I think I preferred taking in the view of the magnificent rocks from afar. The sun shone a warm spotlight of the grand and dramatic countryside that sits looking over the city of Edinburgh. Like I said, head over heels with this place.
As my train dragged me away from my new found infatuation, I listened to the same album that had, only three days previously, ushered me across the border into Scotland. Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight is a painfully beautiful piece of music. The songs are so wonderful and they perfectly sound tracked both my initial excitement about my first visit to Scotland and then the reflections on my short time in such a beautiful place. A song like this also has the power of inspiring you into taking action and making the most of the short time we have. A train journey with a magical, moving picture outside the window and a well-laden iPod is a dangerous combination.
