Bagpipes Intensify

Jackson Letsche

In our last issue, I wrote an article cautioning poor university students from charging into the volcanic island that is Iceland without at least some warning of the costs, but I also mentioned the fact that I visited Iceland on a larger trip: one that included Scotland. So that begs the question: is Scotland better?

The answer is simple, but I want you to keep reading, so I will not spell it out for you in one word. I also travel in a way that people who know me say is very “on brand,” which means that the way I travel may not be the way you would approach it. With all that out of the way, how was Scotland?

I did see all four corners of the country, and not necessarily on purpose. Glasgow was the first stop. A city just inland of the western coast, it holds a stunning contrast of age and grandeur with modernity. As you traverse the city itself, you can see all these normal, modern, and somewhat bland buildings, and then stuck in the middle of them all is a Gothic cathedral. I have never seen a city with as much nonchalant contrast as Glasgow.

We TWU students are happy with the modernity of the new R.G.K. building and lament the dilapidated state of some of the older buildings on campus. Just look up pictures of the University of Glasgow, and it brings an entirely new perspective to going to school. I saw the architecture and simply wondered.

But there is more to Scotland than a city that, all in all, lacked anything particularly special, so I decided to use the lovely rail system to train four hours north to Glenfinnan, a tiny little town that is home to one of the most famous rail bridges in the world, the Glenfinnan Viaduct. If a vibrant image does not spring to mind, I am sure you are familiar with it even if you are unable to put a face to the name, so to speak.

University of Glasgow

And at some time around seven in the morning, I was on my way north! On a bus, because the rail service to Glenfinnan was out of service that day. But God knew what He was doing. It turned out to be the single most beautiful four hour drive I have ever had in my life, driving up the coasts of the lochs, through the Scottish Highlands, and between mountains on the edge of the sea. As much as it can be a pain to take a bus, I highly recommend it over the train for that part of the trip. The viaduct was beautiful and well worth the trip, especially since I was there for sunset over the bridge and the loch.

A day or so later and it was off to the third corner of the country: Edinburgh. Unlike Glasgow, it was not a city that was overtaken by modernity nearly as much. Stepping off the train into the city immediately put me back into the age when stonemasons built cities and carriages roamed the streets. Old stone buildings and cobbled streets wove the tapestry of the city, all with a castle on a hill right in the middle. You do not realise how interesting architecture is until you go someplace that has it. You would never want to walk around Vancouver just to look at the city, for more reasons than one, but Edinburgh was somewhere you could be content to walk around and look at.

I happened to be there during Hogmanay, the world-famous Scottish celebration of New Year’s that is celebrated in Edinburgh. They have parades and parties for days, and it would not be Scotland without everyone drinking heavily. On New Year’s Eve, the city throws a huge celebration that includes shooting fireworks out of the castle in the centre of the city.

Now, the next question you may have would be something along the lines of, “That sounds so cool! How was it?” And unfortunately, I do not know. I went to bed before all that happened. I was tired, what else can I say? I did hear the fireworks go off outside my hostel which was right down the road from the castle, so I woke up briefly, recognized that it was New Year’s Eve, then promptly went back to sleep.

Hogmanay

The next day provided more of a conundrum for me, and here is some advice to take with you if you ever go to Scotland. The rail system does not operate on one day of the year. New Year’s Day. Guess which one day of the year I needed the rail system to operate in order to have a roof over my head and catch my flight the next morning. Yep.

Off to the fourth corner of Scotland: a small town called Lockerbie, once again on a bus. It was a completely different bus ride from the one a few days prior. The Scottish Lowlands are still beautiful, but very different. The town only served as a connection point to catch a different train back to Glasgow, so I cannot say much about the town itself, but the travel to and from it was a lovely experience.

So, would I recommend Scotland? I would. Just make sure you do enough planning to see what you want to see, but let God show you what He would have you to see as well.