Dieu et mon droit!

Oban, 13th August 2017 – We leave Easdale and after a short drive we arrive in Oban, famous for its whisky distillery. It is pretty awful when the sun is absent. It rains, the pavements are like mirrors and the difference between tourists and locals is that the latter do not cover their heads. “It rains, so what!” We kill time in bookstores and souvenir shops full of Scottish wool scarves. We also have a coffee or two. Then we do a tour of the Oban distillery. Stuart (pronounce Stiouwurrrrt), is our guide and makes it clear that single malt whisky is made only of water (wwwooaaterrr), yeast and malted barley (barrrrlee). Oban comes from Gaelic and means little bay. I had imagined it all bigger in size, but no, a few copper pots and that is it. Of course, there is no stock, the whisky ages elsewhere in a safe place. Alcohol is after all a good subject to taxation and regulation. We taste a wee drop of a very old whisky and get some tips to unlock the taste. We visualise the matrix he ...

Easdale – 12 th August 2017 - Today we go for an adventure boat trip on the Atlantic. We want to see basking sharks; in normal times now is the peak season to spot them. The day of our trip, no sharks at all. Nevertheless, our trip is very entertaining, even if we do not see the second attraction of the area, the Corryvreckan whirlpool. Whirlpools are produced by the friction of the incoming and outgoing tide and the height difference of the seabed. In the Gulf of Corryvreckan, between the Islands Scarba and Jura, there is a big one but the conditions today are not ideal. No hole in the Atlantic for us. The captain, who looks and speaks like Sean Connery, gives full throttle on his inflatable dinghy, giving us some sensation of wildness. We see lots of seals and a huge stag, running proudly on the top ridge of Lunga island. The guide, I suppose a young marine scientist, explains everything into minute detail. From the salmon farming to the life of seals and deer. Deer are good swimme...

Easdale, 11 th August 2017 – We move into the house we rented for three days in Easdale, the smallest island of the Inner Hebrides. Not really an island anymore, as the Clachan bridge was built over the small gap between Easdale and the mainland in 1792. That is why it is called ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’! It is said that whales were sometimes trapped in the narrow passage. In front of Easdale lies Ellenabeich, an even smaller island, with massive slate quarries. The quarries, that now have become still pools, once employed 500 people. Hard workers cut out the slate in the unfriendly climate, exposed to angry seas, rain and wind. They cut out the stone as deep as 90 metres. The slate can still be found on roofs all over the British Empire and even as far as Melbourne in Australia. The slate worker’s tiny houses are now cultural heritage under the name ‘Tramway Cottages’. Each of them has a rain barrel, as this used to be the only way to get water. The slate industry became uneconomi...

Lochranza, 10 th  August 2017  – We leave England, aiming for Arran Island. In Ardrossan we cross the Firth of Clyde to Brodick. It is cold and grey and the sun plays hide-and-seek. Caledonion MacBrayne carefully ferry cars and passengers to and from the islands in the West of Scotland. From Brodick we follow the coastal route of Arran. The weather has improved and in Lamlash, in front of Holy Isle, we test the crystal clear water. Icy, no swimming without wetsuit possible! We continue our trip and at some point, the road cuts through a golf course. We see a woman aiming for a flag close to the sea. I slow down, but she spots us and waits with her swing. The end of today’s journey is Lochranza, a village with a castle ruin on the mud flats of the bay. We sleep in Castlekirk Arthouse, a bed and breakfast in a converted church. It is full of paintings and sculptures of an artist collective. Our host Vicki shows us to our attic rooms. We have dinner in the nearby Lochranza Countr...

Greenhead, 9 th August – Emperor Hadrian did not need Ryanair for his traveling. The man from Italica, close to nowadays Seville in the Roman province Hispania, visited Britannia in AD 122. Hadrian was fed up with the rebellions in Judea, Mauretania, Libya and - at the same time - in the north of Roman Britain. Therefore, he built a wall of 120km from Wallsend to the Solway Firth. He wanted the Picts to bump into something hard. The construction of the wall took six years. Hadrian did what he said. Unlike Walter Ulbricht, who said nobody had the intention to build a wall  in Berlin  and started the day after to build one. Unlike Donald Trump, who says he will build a wall and will never do.   Legions of archaeologists keep on discovering new things about the Roman way of life. Set in one of the most spectacular landscapes of Britain, the wall and its museums are worth a visit. I learnt that most of the legionnaires guarding the wall came from warmer Gaul and Hispania. ...

Wasdale Head, 8 th August 2017 – Kate serves a magnificent breakfast with raspberries, my favourite. We will need a few calories today. We drive to Wasdale Head and walk up Scafel Pike, with 977m the highest mountain in England. A modest height compared to the Alps, but the weather makes it a challenge altogether. You start from sea level and the wind blows in from the Irish Sea. The clouds sometimes shroud the path in fog. The rock is bare and slippery. On the top, our reward is a magnificent view on Wastwater, Derwent Water and Windermere. We are lucky, there are threatening clouds above us but below that thick mattress, it’s just fine. When we start our descent, fog covers the top and the visibility is close to zero. The sun sets quickly and it starts to rain. The campers down in Wasdale Head try to remain dry in their tents. At the Wasdale Head Inn, we order Cumberland Sausage, a pie with vegetables and potato mash with a sausage floating in gravy on top. Exactly what we need. W...

Grasmere, 7th August 2017 – We are in the Lake District and settle into Howe Foot Lodge, a wonderful stone house where time stood still. Not really, because there is Wi-Fi… but the furniture, the rooms with high ceilings and the light peaty smell of a wintery fireplace throw you back in time. It is August but also today, we see the surrounding chimneys spew smoke. I suppose people heat their homes to get out the damp and moist. It rains a lot in the Lake District. Just behind our lodge is Dove Cottage. This is the house were William Wordsworth spent a great deal of his life with his sister, after he left his French wife Anette Vallon and daughter in France. We visit the house and ‘in vacant and pensive mood’ we sit outside in the wooden cabin at the top of the garden. All of a sudden, there is an F15 fighter jet flying over our heads with incredible speed and noise. We can almost see the pilot. Kate from Howe Foot Lodge tells us that night that the RAF and US Air Force use a set of va...

Stratford-upon-Avon, 6th August 2017 – Printers, writers, film directors, actors… they still live of what Shakespeare put on paper. We do not have Flemish writers who sustain an economy 400 years after their death. The local economy thrives on busloads of Japanese, Chinese and other weapons of mass tourism. We arrive late in the afternoon and stretch our legs, starting at the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and buried. We follow the river Avon, where locals enjoy the last moments of their weekend. Although it is not sure if he was really born in Henley Street, we pretend – like all the rest – as if he was. We see his schoolroom and his new house, where he resettled after his time in London. To keep it culturally diverse, we have dinner at the ‘Giggling Squid’, an exquisite Thai. The ginger gin and tonic is an excellent appetiser and we eat too much, as usual. We walk back to the car, thinking of going to bed early. In Ely Street, there is a loud rock band screaming...

Chipping Camden – 6 th August 2017 - We appreciate our sunny slot in this elegant town. In Chipping Camden, the lazy white clouds hover over the green pastures where white sheep with black heads peacefully graze on this Sunday afternoon. Is this England? We stroll along the ochre-coloured buildings towards the 17 th -century market hall. Along the High Street, we see a passage leading into a courtyard where people are having coffee. It is all part of the Lygon Arms, a hotel with a restaurant and pub. A huge bulldog blocks the entrance to the door of the pub and I hesitate to go in and place our order.  As soon as he waddles out behind his master, I go in and ask for the lemon strawberry meringue. It is delicious and we walk out satisfied. This day is already a success and there is more to come… Queue or die, that is the question (FDC)

Stow-on-the-Wold, 6th August 2017 – In this village, the highest of the Cotswolds, The Battle of Stow, the last battle in the English Civil War, took place on 21st March 1646. In 1646, a Royalist army marched through the region in a desperate attempt to join up with King Charles at Oxford. They were met at Stow by a Parliamentary force. The fighting was fierce and deadly; the Royalists were defeated and over 1000 men were imprisoned within St Edward’s church. It was said that ducks were able to bathe in the pools of blood that formed on the street leading away from the market square. This is said to be the origin of the street’s name “Digbeth” or “Duck’s Bath”. Today Stow is a picture book town, full of second residences of rich Londoners, who sip their lattes with a view on the rolling hills.  Quiet life in the Cotswolds (FDC)

Henley-on-Thames, 5th August 2017 – In our hotel there is a wedding party, so we decide to spend the evening in nearby Henley. In 1906 the rowing team of my hometown Gent, won the Grand Challenge Regatta. Henley is as prestigious as Wimbledon and Ascot. There is even a quai in Gent named after this heroic event. The Henleykaai, along the river Leie! The two active rowing teams each supplied their four best rowers to form the team for Henley. With great success ! It is a lovely evening when we stroll along the Thames towards the picturesque bridge. On the Thames two passenger cars converted to amphibious boatcars get all the attention from the people on land. If it’s crazy enough, a Brit will do it ! Henley-on-Thames, every man needs a hobby (FDC)

London, 5th August 2017  - ‘Dieu et mon droit’ is the motto of the monarch of the United Kingdom outside of Scotland. This motto is omnipresent during our tour in Hampton Court. You may not believe this but here you can park your car just metres away from the residence of the famous Henry VIII. This for £ 1.60/hour. We miss the last spot and a friendly warden waves us away to the Hampton Court Green parking lot. No worries, the sun is shining and I love the greens in England. Sometimes they pop up in the middle of an industrial town, slowing down those living a life too fast. Hampton Court is fabulous and the changing weather gives my snapshots that extra bit of professionalism. Dark clouds, white clouds, the sun peeping through and making the cobbles smoke for a minute. All of a sudden a shower!  Four seasons in one day, this is what awaits us on our two-week tour from Folkestone to Edinburgh and back.  Cloud covered Hampton Court (FDC)