--- title: "Back on the Scottish Mainland" type: "post" post_id: "330" slug: "back-on-the-scottish-mainland" canonical: "https://eskerhazy.ca/?p=330" markdown_url: "https://eskerhazy.ca/?easypress_markdown_post=330&easypress_markdown_format=md" json_url: "https://eskerhazy.ca/?easypress_markdown_post=330&easypress_markdown_format=json" txt_url: "https://eskerhazy.ca/?easypress_markdown_post=330&easypress_markdown_format=txt" published: "2026-10-05T17:08:59+00:00" modified: "2026-10-05T17:08:59+00:00" author: "admin" categories: - "Le peregrinazioni di Lis" tags: - "Aberdeen" - "Glasgow" - "Hazlehead Park" - "Hill of Tarvit" - "Inverness" - "Lindores Abbey" site_name: "eskerhazy" publisher: "" language: "en-US" generator: "easyPress Markdown" generator_version: "1.0.6" --- *In which Lis visits another arctic friend and retraces* *her steps.* The morning I left Orkney there were gale force winds. The ferry crew warned that it was going to be a rough crossing. And it was. Once back on land I took a bus from Scrabster to Inverness. The bus ride along the northern peninsula went through some of the most beautiful villages I’ve ever seen. I absolutely love Scottish kirks. Once in Inverness I checked into my hostel and then went for a little walk around along the river before succumbing to hunger – and as it was a Sunday afternoon, most places were closed until the supper hour or only had pub food, and I was craving greens and fruit. So I ended up getting some groceries and eating at the hostel. The people there were lovely… Until a few hours after I went to sleep an extremely drunk guy stumbled into his bunk in the shared dorm and made my life very uncomfortable with his hiccups, etc. I didn’t sleep very well. And when I used the toilets in the middle of the night I discovered that only one stall in the entire shared women’s loo had toilet paper. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018705-1024x771.jpg)In the morning, after a not-very-restful night, I got up to meet Marie for breakfast. Marie is the only one of my arctic friends abroad who I met in Iqaluit (not Inuvik). We had a grand chat, catching up, and then I was off on a bus south to Aberdeen. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018823-1024x771.jpg)In Aberdeen, Aunt Sheena and Uncle Rob (still on loan from Kirsten) and the dogs took me to Hazlehead Park, which has an extensive collection of different types of heather and also a great petting zoo (with a geriatric donkey!) We went for supper and this time I had haggis! The next day we went for a walk in Union Terrace Gardens, and then I left for Cupar again. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018843-1024x771.jpg)In Cupar, Tzip2 was welcomed by an entire menagerie of friends. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018850-771x1024.jpg)I’d timed my visit to align with Ruth’s day off, and we set out for the Backhouse Rossie Estate gardens. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018851-771x1024.jpg)In the woodland walk to the Covenanter’s tomb (a ruin of a chapel with two bodies presumed to be Covenanter’s were buried), we found a fantastic stile with the steps built into the stone wall. (Later in Yorkshire, I encountered many more of this type.) ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018852-771x1024.jpg)It was beautifully informal – even the walled Garden with a formal layout was planted in a very organic aesthetic and had vegetables mixed in with the flowers in places. There was also a huge labyrinth. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018858.jpg)Next we went to Lindores Abbey in a nearby village. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018862-1024x771.jpg)That evening I hopped over to Glasgow to meet up with a colleague who was there attending a conference. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018881-1-scaled.jpg)The next day we went to Edinburgh for the morning to explore for a bit. Amongst other things, we went to the Tron Kirk Market, which has a booth of my favourite woodland creature housewares from Between the Woods and Sea. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018901-1024x771.jpg)And of course, no visit is complete without contemplating mortality. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018899-1024x771.jpg)The next day (back in Cupar) I went for a hike up the Hill of Tarvit, which I’d heard so much about from Ruth and her family. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018925-1-scaled.jpg)![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018940-771x1024.jpg)The way was sometimes in the woods, and sometimes through fields, but always beautiful. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018944-768x1024-1.jpg)We made it to the top and the views were incredible. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018949-1024x771.jpg)After that I came to a section that Jason had described as “very overgrown.” An understatement, to be sure. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018957-771x1024.jpg)The wooded sections were glorious, sunken paths between ancient stone walls, with fields beyond the trees on either side… ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018959.jpg)Just watch out for wild cats lurking… ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018961-1-scaled.jpg)The sections without tree cover were … interesting… I forced my way through chest-high bracken with plenty of stinging nettle and some thistles for good measure. Thankfully those sections did not have blackberries, but I did learn that stinging nettle can sting you through your pants. Because I have a habit of touching stinging nettle everywhere I go, and there were quite a few spots on this trip so far where the sting was seriously underwhelming. Until today. This was the extra strength variety. ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018972-1024x768.jpg)In the final couple of sections I had to give up and found an opening to the fields nearby and walked more easily — always wondering whether there would be a gate to let me back out of the field… And I found this wee viola! ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018968-1024x771.jpg)I survived the experience, albeit with more than a few scrapes and scratches. It was glorious! ![](https://eskerhazy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1000018979-1024x771.jpg)The last section I walked along the River Eden back to town.