Having lived here in Scotland for six years, it seems every year we seem to get
to the other side of the Summer Solstice without having made much notice of the
longest day of the year, which seems odd coming from a sun worshiper like me.
Anyway, this year Clarice was determined to do something. So plans were put into
effect to go camping and enjoy the last remnants of sunlight in the wilds of Scotland.
Clarice's friend Andrew has a car so transportation was provided. We have 2
tents and a number of other "camping" utensils so that part was taken
care of. Clarice requested hot dogs for our festive dinner which resulted in
Eddie travelling 'cross town to ASDA (Walmart in Scotland) to get some. She
also picked up some root beer (a uniquely American soda), Hersey's chocolate
and marshmallows for "somores" - an American camping delicacy (we
still had some graham crackers left from our last trip to the US). Toss in a
map and we were ready.
Both Clarice and Andrew were working on Saturday so we didn't actually get
on the road until 5:30pm - and it also hit us that 2008 is a leap year so our
late start was actually already a day late. But, undaunted, we headed out.
The weather report for the weekend was rain Saturday evening with heavy rain
coming at 4am Sunday with rain most of that day. The front was coming in from
the south west, so likely to be very wet - but this also meant that the Northern
most of the island might escape the rain until late on Sunday.
Since Eddie and I prefer to sit together, Clarice road shotgun and took charge
of the map. She set the course across the forth road bridge and north. Andrew
is familiar with crossing the bridge, so we didn't have any problems getting
out of the city. However, at Perth the highway splits into one headed to Inverness
(due North) and another one that heads to Dundee and Aberdeen (East Coast).
Clarice didn't get the note Andrew in time so we ended up heading to Dundee
by mistake.
No problem, there are plenty of A roads (smaller, two lane road that are, in
Scottish terms, major roads, but for US drivers these aren't even moderate sized
state highways) to choose from to get us back to the right M road (motorway,
like a US Interstate). After several attempts at getting us back on track, and
many winding roads later, the time had slipped away and we ended up in deciding
we should just find a place to stop. The rain had already started, light but
enough to let us know if we didn't get camp set soon we would get very wet.
Eventually, at about 9:30 we wound up near Loch Tay and the Tay Forest Park,
just outside of Aberfeldy. The spot was lovely, covered by a number of trees
with lots of ferns for tent padding. Andrew also brought another tent so we
had something to use as a cover for cooking and eating - to keep us from getting
too soaked before bedtime. Andrew also found a bunch of dry wood (which amazed
me as most of the forest was fairly soaked by this point) so the fire was lovely
- and dinner, hot dogs, vegi's and crisps, was lovely. The graham crackers were
crunched at some point, so the somores ended up in pieces - not necessarily
easy to eat without getting marshmallow goo all over our fingers. But that's
what camping's all about, isn't it?
After dinner we realised it was nearing midnight. I hadn't really notice the
change in light as the dark clouds obscured the sun earlier, so by the time
we were setting up camp it was pretty dark.
What with the rain and cold it was necessary to take care of some bodily functions
before heading to bed. We were in a forest, so lots of trees. But we ended up
with only two pin light torches (flashlights), so toilet runs were done in shifts.
Although Clarice brought her toothbrush, she told us she was out of toothpaste
- and so we summarily forgot to bring ours. Oh well, it would have just ruined
the taste of chocolate and marshmallow anyway.
Finally snug in our respective beds/sleeping bags the sky decided to open up
and let loose a rain that would have made Noah wonder. The rain fell on our
nylon tents for at least a solid hour - until the sound became so continuous
it was like falling asleep to white noise.
At approximately 4am, nature called again. Wisely, Eddie had brought along
slippers so she wouldn't have to put her wet shoes back on for a trip outside
the tent. However, anything in our tent that touched the side walls allowed
the rain water to flow in. Her slippers, along with the bottom edge of our comforter
and the top edge of our pillows were all items that were playing conduit to
the rain. Eddie had to wring out the slippers before she could even put them
on. I was more fortunate. My shoes were right outside the tent and so I just
had to turn them over to empty the majority of the water in them.
Once we'd returned, we realised getting back under the covers (remember, they
are wet around the edges) was a bit more of a challenge than we'd expected.
If Eddie found herself safely avoiding any wet spots, I would not be so lucky.
If I then adjusted so I was no longer feeling anything cold and damp, these
adjustments would pull the covers in such a way that Eddie was forced to deal
with effects of the weather. For the remaining four hours we jostled and squirmed
our way though the night.
Clarice was due to work in Edinburgh at 2pm, so we had to get up and start
heading back by 9am. There was a plan to cook bacon for bacon rolls (a typical
Scottish delicacy) but it was still raining slightly and no one seems to have
had a real decent night's sleep. So, we packed up - attempting to take a much
of the damp forest floor with us as possible.
Once in the car and the heater on, the damp clothing played havoc with the
windows, fogging them as well as the dash board. Clarice requested we find a
bathroom so she would wash up and use the hand dryer for her hair (and clothes).
But, rather than head back the way we came, we opted to go down the length of
Loch Tay down to the falls of Dochter (where were pretty amazing) and then more
A roads across to Dunfermline, which means we found lots of small towns, but
nothing with a service station or open store.
However, Dunfermline is large enough to have a Primark (great discount clothing
store… which Edinburgh has yet to achieve…. ) as well as a centre
of town with a McDonalds and a Greg's (Scottish Fast food - sausage and bacon
rolls). We found a parking spot and noticed there didn't seem to be any water
on the streets. It seems the rain hadn't yet arrived to Dunfermline yet. Hmmmm….
However, once we were out of the car, it did. We walked into a mall under reconstruction.
Unfortunately, while the bathrooms were functional, the hand dryers were not.
The urge to have a bacon roll was still really strong, but so was the desire
for a bathroom with hand heaters. So, rather than eat breakfast at Greg's, we
opted for lunch at McDonald's - it was just passed 11 o'clock by this point.
After a nice "brunch" and liberal use of the hand dryers we climbed
back in the car, back across the bridge and home. Clarice was home in time to
have a nice shower (clean off the smell of smoke) and get to work. Eddie and
I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging up the tents on the clothesline and
the bedding on any available door. Then we settled down next to the fire to
read our books and enjoy the smell of wet dog.
The rain did eventually get to Edinburgh - Sunday evening, which washed of
the remaining bits of the forest that hadn't been rubbed off in Andrew's car.
And so, we did celebrate the Summer Solstice. Perhaps it was a day late and
a bit wet, but it was certainly memorable!
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