Post 7

Wayne with his van stuck

I stopped one night on the shore of Loch Ryan. On the shoreline there are thousands of cockleshells and they make a very satisfying jingling sound as you walk on them. There were two Scottish ladies, sisters about sixty years old, stopped near me in their car. They were on holiday and simply slept in the car, quite a small one. The car had broken down and the electric windows no longer worked. The ladies were completely unconcerned  [och  nae bother] by what would have been a calamity to most people. They had been there some days and when they wanted shopping they walked the couple of miles into town and then got a taxi back. They seemed to be very content and spent their time reading, chatting and laughing. They were very friendly and kind and one of them collected some driftwood for me for my fire. They told me they'd  arranged for a breakdown truck to collect them at the end of the week. By contrast,  a couple of days later, whilst going over the hills towards  New Galloway l met Wayne. Wayne was ,hot, tired, anxious and frustrated. He'd got his small van stuck in a ditch and needed help. Very few people use this road, luckily l was  able to pull his van out with my cob , Wayne was very glad and relieved that I'd been able to rescue him. Later on he came back with some cans of  beer, a loaf of bread and a pineapple for me. That was kind of him.  The following day l went to the Ken Bridge Hotel to get some drinking water and a beer. The landlord  said, " are you Michael? I said "yes,  why?" "Wayne's  got you two pints in!"

My cob pulled it out, very calmly...

I had a good trip over the hills from Stranraer to Dumfries, staying on quiet roads through dramatic wild country .  Visited my friend Gabrielle in the woods to see the tree house she was living in. It was nice but l prefer my wagon. She helped me make a new cowl for my chimney. I stopped one night at the Grey Mares Tail waterfall and had a good swim and shower . I enjoyed browsing on raspberries , blackberries  and cherries and  soft hazelnuts. I like to walk beside the horse, so l can pick fruit on the way. Our eyes are really developed to work best at a walking speed. Travelling on a bicycle or by car you really miss a lot.