Here, and Sometimes There

New Dundee

I have gone away again. I was in Dundee this time.

Old Dundee

I cannot remember going there before for any reason apart from ice hockey.

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

In another “first”, I took the bus. Previously I have always driven or taken the train. It was an Megabus inter city, so it was fast (outside lane most of the way) and comfortable. Quiet too. I think the last time I took an inter city bus would have been in Thailand more than 25 years ago.

Those buses are also free for people my age. In Scotland. I did have to pay £1 to book a seat.

Megabus Top Deck

I changed hotel brand too - Staybridge Suites this time. It is one of the Holiday Inn/Intercontinental brands. I did not get an upgrade in spite of being a member. On the other hand, it was a nice room anyway.

Staybridge Interior

Staybridge

As was the case in Edinburgh last week, the hotel’s hygiene arrangements were excellent. Again as in Edinburgh, face mask etc compliance by staff and guests was 99% - the perfect record spoiled by one Covidiot at breakfast. The hotel was doing a buffet breakfast - which you could take back to your room (or away to work) if that was your preference - and it was well organised for safety. The same maskless Covidiot could not read the signs, obviously.

Staybridge Exterior

Scotland had a further relaxation of restrictions that week, which could have been seen by some as an excuse to ditch the masks and go back to kissing strangers in the street. You know, the Free Dumb Day types. I was relieved and encouraged to see good compliance continuing.

In Dundee I had a great dinner in a place called Gidi Grill. It is Afro-Carribean. Excellent food and service came with good value for money. I had a massive grilled pork chop, with jollof rice. It brought back memories of Ghana.

Gidi

Unlike my Edinburgh trip, I did a tourist thing! I went to the V&A Dundee - “Scotland’s Design Museum”. It was opened in September 2018, and I had in mind to pay it a visit after the initial cavalry charge had subsided.

VandA Terrace

Then we had a pandemic. By then the exterior had reinforced my desire to have a look for myself. Well, patience is a virtue.

VandA

The Castle

Over the weekend I read something about the languishing syndrome* which can affect any of us as a consequence of the pandemic. “Change your scenery” was one suggested response. I did that in April, May and June, but stayed at home once the peak holiday season hit.

This week I changed my scenery. I only went as far as Edinburgh, and only for a night, but that is not the point. I booked a hotel - or Residence to give it its posh name (Edinburgh, after all) - which is part of the redevelopment of the old Royal Infirmary site.

I took the bus over from Fife. Pleasant. Relaxed. Free. 25 minutes.

I went for a coffee at one of my old pre-pandemic haunts. It is on The Mound, so the view and the people watching are top notch. It was empty, which I have never encountered before.

I fought my way through the touroid trickle, past the Royal Mile, Harry Potter’s “birthplace” and Greyfriars Bobby. It is a nice city with less tourists in it.

Greyfriars Churchyard

I was born 250m from my hotel. I went to school 200m from there. I can remember being in the old hospital twice - just visiting. I can even remember someone trying to smuggle me into the nurses’ hostel (she failed).

I went for dinner in a Kurdish restaurant I have been meaning to try for ages - fatoush for starter and then a mahshy kebab. It was the best thing I have eaten in a long time. It is the Erbil on Nicholson Street, just around the corner form George Square and a 5-10 minute walk from my accommodation.

Erbil

My lodgings turned out very well - the Marriott Residence Inn. I had a studio. It was spacious and comfortable. “Studio” seems to be defined as a large relaxation area with sofa and chair, a workstation and kitchenette (fridge, microwave, dishwasher etc).

I was on the 6th floor, at the end of the corridor, and completely insulated from any guest noise. The building is in a pedestrian precinct and so traffic noise is not an issue. It is adjacent to a building site - conversion and redevelopment of another part of the former hospital - so it creates a bit of noise during the day. With the windows closed (default position in Scotland for 95% of the year) I suspect most of that noise would be gone.

Space

Breakfast has to be delivered to you room (pandemic restrictions), and that limits what is available. Mine was perfectly satisfactory in the circumstances. You could select a room rate exclusive of breakfast and find your own at one of the many cafes within 5 minutes’ walk.

Room Service

You have a big choice of eating and drinking places in the vicinity, and many more if you are willing to stretch your legs for 15-20 minutes.

The Marriott was excellent value for money. I paid £146 booking and paying the day before. It would have been £10 less had I not decided to “sleep on it” and make up my mind the next morning. The rate included breakfast and I got a small discount and an upgrade for being a Marriott member.

I think the only occasional inconvenience in the Residence was the 1 person rule for the lift (it is a good and necessary rule, obviously). It has only 1 lift, and staff have to use it too. The encouraging news is I can still manage 6 flights of stairs without dropping dead.

On the safety note, I think all the hospitality places I used in Edinburgh reminded me to check in on the test and trace app, and all had the other safety adaptations I would have expected. Very, very few unmasked idiots spoiled the party.

By contrast, one or two parts of the city centre were uncomfortably busy. I will probably sidestep Edinburgh until the holiday/festival season is over in a month or so.

Relax

I had no plans to do anything of a tourist nature in Edinburgh. I know it so well, but I could have re-visited a few places had the mood taken me. My ambition was limited to - literally - a change of scene. An escape from home. An escape from the limitations of small town life. Trying to make the most of what is possible this summer.

• [Ed. note: Languishing encompasses distressing feelings of stagnation, monotony, and emptiness.]

Street Art

My quest to escape continues.

This time the experience is very different to the Outer Hebrides - Northern Ireland.

I took an Aer Lingus flight from Edinburgh to Belfast. That experience was also very different to my Inverness - Stornoway one last month.

Edinburgh Airport Departures

Edinburgh is a large airport by Scottish standards. It is my local airport. Until the pandemic I was using it several times a year. I know it well. It was a busy and crowded airport.

Now it is virtually deserted. Almost none of the shops are open. A few of the food and coffee outlets are, but not all. It felt weird… but safe.

Quiet

The park and ride bus I usual use to get there is on an hourly service, as compared to every 20 minutes before. It is inconvenient, but perfectly understandable. The Scottish Government is picking up almost all the costs.

My flight was on a 72 seat ATR 72. I would say it was 60% occupied. Flying with Aer Lingus is more mainstream than on one of Loganair’s wee hops. We were told not to touch anything in the plane unless absolutely necessary. We were told there would be no cabin service (a 45 minute flight, so no hardship at all.) We were told to ring for the cabin crew if we absolutely had to use the toilet. We disembarked by seat row number (very challenging for Covidiots, sad to report.)

As an aside, on arrival in Belfast City Airport I was pulled aside by the police and interrogated about where I work, where I will be staying, and why I have come here. No health questions, oddly enough. Well, it was easier to get into Armenia with an Azerbaijan stamp in my passport.

Probably the thing which bothered me most was the way he pawed my passport as he took pictures of it.

I had carefully checked the Northern Ireland health regulations (different from the Scottish ones) before arranging the trip, and again before leaving, to make sure I was not breaking the rules. I even did my Covid -19 test on the morning of departure.

So was it a routine security check or a pandemic related one?

Titanic Quarter

In Belfast as in Edinburgh, the 600 Bus from the airport to the city centre was running hourly rather than every 20 minutes. I had a 45 minute wait for the next one. I could have taken a taxi. I see a taxi as more of a virus risk than an almost empty bus, so I opted to wait for the bus.

Belfast City Airport

Well, I wonder how the return journey will be. So far, despite minor inconveniences and the usual scattering of Covidiots (tiny minority*), I have felt comfortable and relaxed about the travel.

• One of them was on my bus to Edinburgh Airport. A man in his late 60s. No mask. He was on the flight to Belfast too, wearing (half) a mask but not covering his nose. I do ask myself what goes through the minds of people like that. “Nothing much” is probably the answer.

Bostagh

… and Harris… and Beàrnaraigh Mòr.
 
Three islands in 4 days. Well, kind of. Read on…
 
Beàrnaraigh Mòr (Great Bernera if you prefer the Anglicised name) is an island in its own right. It is connected to Lewis by a small bridge, but it is still a bona fide island. It is small – population 252. I visited it on my last trip to Lewis, but it hosts one of my favourite beaches and I decided to renew the acquaintance. Nothing has changed. It is still beautiful.
 
Lewis and Harris share the single island known as Lewis and Harris. Someone somewhere must know why one island has two names, but it is not I. Lewis occupies the northern half.
 
To avoid allegations of favouritism, I visited both. Purely out of convenience, my accommodation was in Lewis – a settlement called Bac (Back in English) just north of Stornoway.

4am Dawn

 
I had a few objectives in mind for my trip. Seeing places I missed the last time was one of them. Box ticked. On my only full day I drove south through Na Bàigh (The Bays) on South Harris’ east coast. It is quite jaw dropping. Desolate. Almost uninhabited, but with tiny communities hanging onto the rocky shores. Beautiful too.

Na Bàigh

 
After that I drove north on the west coast of South Harris – white sand beaches and turquoise water. More beauty.

South Harris

 
That evening (sunset was about 22:00 at the end of May) I went to the most northerly point in Lewis – Rubha Robhanais (Butt of Lewis in English). The landscape there is different again to what you find in Harris. Still beautiful, of course.

The End

 
Another objective was to eat well. I had dinner in my bed and breakfast one night – I really enjoyed it and it was great quality. Being “at home” meant I could have a couple of glasses of wine with it. The other night I went to HS-1 in Stornoway. It falls into the casual dining category, but I loved it. Relaxed and relaxing, plus top quality and great value for money.

HS-1

 
My 5 star bed and breakfast produced 5 star breakfasts. This limited my lunch options. Having said that, I had my best sandwich for a long time from Loomshed Deli in Tarbert. Fresh and quality ingredients – goat’s cheese, chutney and rocket on a wholemeal roll. I sat in the sun and ate it while looking out over the village. The other lunchtime I got more good quality light stuff at The Storehouse, which is part of the Lews Castle Museum and a very pleasant place indeed.

The Storehouse

 
In all these places the service was friendly and professional, and that professionalism included their pandemic hygiene arrangements.
 
Another box ticked.
 
My final objective – apart from enjoying myself which is kind of self-evident - was to get as far away from home as possible, and not just in the geographic sense. I already knew Lewis and Harris would get me to that objective. It is like another world compared to central Scotland.
 
That was my 4th visit, but the first two were day trips to Stornoway for work. I would go back, without a doubt. A little research has indicated that I could have a few days just hiking now that I have used the car to explore most corners of the island(s).
 

System Check

Another weekend. Another pandemic escape. Another island.

Last weekend - pandering to my urges to get as far away from home as possible - I made it as far as Lewis and Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. I set up camp in a 5 star bed and breakfast in Bac, a few miles north of Stornoway.

Bac B&B

Within Scotland - although we are now allowed to go a wee bit further - it is about as different as you can get from my corner of the Central Lowlands. Orkney and Shetland would be rivals, but that is about it.

To get there you have the choice between a long drive and then the ferry, or a very short flight. For a 2 night break I decided the time was right to get on a plane again.

Time

My 25 minute flight (scheduled to be 40 minutes, but the wind was behind us) was my first flight since February 2020. Believe me, it was a strange experience.

My departure was from Inverness, which is a small airport with flights to London, Paris and Amsterdam before the pandemic, as well as local ones. Now… not much is moving. My 14:00 flight was the only one on the departure board.

INV Departures

The shops were shut although the food outlets (one landside and the other airside) have been kept open. Passengers were easily outnumbered by staff. Whilst it was a disorientating experience, it certainly made me feel completely secure in terms of hygiene and distancing.

INV Burger

My Loganair flight was on a 34 seat Saab 340. 10 passengers and 3 crew. I suspect they do not sell the aisle seats in each row, so that brings capacity down to perhaps 24. Anyway, it too felt entirely safe.

The airport in Stornoway is even smaller than Inverness. My bag arrived on the carousel about the same time as I got into the terminal. 20 minutes after arrival I was in my rented car and on the road.

Leaving

My confidence about getting on a plane again came mostly from having had both doses of the vaccine (Pfizer). The low levels of infection in most of Scotland - including where I live, the Inverness area and the Outer Hebrides - was another factor. Anyone travelling to the Scottish islands is advised to obtain 2 negative tests in the 3 days before travel. I did.