Let’s qualify my third of 12 hikes as having happened.  

On our first night in Scotland we sort of pressured our friends to let us come stay with them.  I didn’t understand the resistance – as these are the types we would expect to come to our home anywhere, and we would absolutely come to them anywhere – I thought that was just understood.  And yet, when it came to staying with their mom and dad in the Scottish countryside (where they were also visiting) there was this hesitation.  I tentatively made plans to do it anyways, and fretted all the way there that we would be a huge inconvienance. I understood the issue on arrival. It was a country house and as such had country quarks and these dear friends was perhaps a bit worried what we’d think. Boy did she have us wrong. The traveling Courtway four are not scared off by much and least of which is the Scottish countryside.  And as a side, the house was lovely.  What we arrived to was the most glorious leg of lamb, perfect potatoes and lots of hugs and laughter.  Also, very comfy beds – more of them then we needed.

On waking to a full Scottish breakfast (“hi, my name is Meloni and I like black pudding and HP sauce”), we decided to take on the “mound.”   

The English and Scottish countryside had a rough week before our arrival. Floods ravaged northern England and Southern Scotland, and West Linton, where we were staying, was no exception.  Slogging up a dirt road through sheep pastures we took a sharp right on a right-of-way across a farm to the remains of a Roman Fort.

People, let me stop you here so we can digest.

A Roman Fort.

For fucks sake, American’s have no clue how old the world is.   No, really. We walk about preaching our constitution, and our historical East Coast colleges and blah, blah, blah. I was standing, hiking, running, jumping across and around a roman fortress parked high on a hill with views of all the surrounding countryside.  Some thousand or more years before Roman Warriors stood here, in a rock fortress (freezing their arses off), totally wishing they had worn something other than sheets and sandals.  Here, in the Scottish countryside where sheep now graze and puddles form. Amazing.

I certainly didn’t expect to double up my need for hiking with my trip to Scotland, but here it is and it was glorious. Again, I want more and I want it in summer. Scotland, you will see more of me!