Speranza did not misbehave once after crossing the English border. I am not prepared to anthropomorphise enough to attribute this to her displeasure at being in Scotland, though she cannot have enjoyed some of the rougher tracks we took. It's rather that she has been on entirely dry roads from Dumfries to London, via North Wales and Chester. Still, I don't think I will venture on my next planned trip – to Tuscany in July – without first having her checked over.
It was a great tour. I am happy enough with my photographic progress, though well aware I have much learning to squeeze into what remains of my life if I am ever actually to be proud of my work.
Scotland is simply one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have lost count of my visits over the years and felt very much at home. I don't know if I will go again if its people choose to make me a foreigner in September. They are likely, if that happens, to go through a phase we English have witnessed repeatedly in our recent history.
I predict that, for at least twenty to thirty years after independence, their leaders will use us as scapegoats for everything their people don't like about life. Salmond, like Mugabe – though I hope less completely, will impoverish his nation's economy and reduce its freedoms; all the while blaming former governments. We will be demonised for the rest of my life before Scotland finally settles down to being a reasonable neighbour with a lot of common interests.
I am not sure I will want – for all the beauty of her landscape and the rough charm of her people – to endure that. Let's hope it doesn't come to it. I would be really sad at the thought of never seeing the Highlands and Islands – and especially my beloved Skye – again.
The map of the completed tour is here.
The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
Leave a comment