Friends, it’s a very wet, rainy, gloomy day here in Vermont and snowmelt is adding to the volume of water soaking the area. There is flooding happening all over again. So far, not as severe as July’s storm, but….yikes! We don’t need this.
So, I am revisiting our trip to Scotland in September, and thought you might enjoy a bit more, too?
This is a shot of the wee spot Batman and I slept for three nights on the narrowboat. Two narrow beds in a narrow space. Those legs are Batman’s, as he navigated with the tiller at the back of the boat.
This past summer I read The Narrowboat Summer, by Anne Youngston. The book was recommended to me by reader Gail N. before we had planned our trip. Once our plans firmed up, it was such fun to read a bit of fiction that introduced me to life along the canals of Scotland. I so appreciate recommendations you share here on the blog, friends (more on that later.)
I also read Findings, by Kathleen Jamie, an award winning poet. Written in prose, she describes the landscape and nature of Scotland beautifully. Her book made me yearn for travel to Scotland, weeks before we departed.
On the Highlands leg of our trip, one day Batman and I walked from our self catering cottage to the train station in Aviemore and travelled to Inverness for the day.
One of the places we visited there was Leakey’s Bookshop, a family-run bookshop filled with maps, prints and second hand books. Notice the huge woodburning stove in the center of the store! The wooden floors creaked, there was a scent of old paper in the air and conversations were hushed.
We also visited the Scottish Kiltmaker Visitor Centre that day. It was an odd, outdated little place, but there was some very interesting info on how kilts are put together (see above).
The next day, a few of us toured Johnston’s of Elgin, a certified B Corporation, where fine cashmere and merino fabrics are manufactured. Their website is gorgeous and tells the story of an enduring fixture in an ancient town. We enjoyed the tour, and wandering around the factory shop, but I needed smelling salts when I looked at the price tags! :-)
Top left: bales of wool. Middle top: gossamer wool. Top right: vintage machines, still doing the job.
Bottom left: more modern machines. Bottom middle: a bin full of a tartan “recipe”. Bottom right: teasel plants used to card wool, even in the present day.
A neighbor (who is a weaver) has lent me the book on tartans, the Fabric of Scotland was a giveaway at the end of the factory tour. Such fun to leaf through them and learn more about fabric and history and handcraft in Scotland!
Once back in Vermont, I read two light works of fiction set in Scotland. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, written by Sangu Mandanna was recommended to me by Lindsey and Hannah, who read it with their bookclub in Detroit. I also read The Bookstore of Second Chances, by Jackie Fraser. Both books were fun, quick reads and distracted me from what has been happening in the real world.
It was such fun to dream of traveling to Scotland, then to read about it to actually prepare for the trip (hello travel guides from the library!) and then to follow up on the trip with light fiction. Have you done anything similar? Drop a comment below and tell us about your reading adventures.
And friends, how about another round of book recommendations? As we look ahead to the new year, do you have any “don’t miss this book” ideas? Drop a few in the comments below…
Last, but not least, we went to dinner with neighbors for potato latkes and Hunukkah celebrations the other night. They are big readers and I couldn’t resist making a few more fabric bookmarks as wee gifts, along with some gelt. xo
Hope all is well with you as we slide into the very darkest of days of the year. xo