Slightly Different Britain

Altough Czechs are economically succesfull in such union, one day, the idea of independence suggested by some political party becomes very popular. It would mean a temporary loss of benefits arising from the EU membership and our new currency would probably weaken but this political party insists that such step is still worth doing. Of course, this is far away from topics that are being discussed in the Czech Republic now. However, such comparison with the Czech history can give an outline of situation in today’s Scotland before its independence referendum in September.

This summer, I made a trip to Scotland with friends as a reward for the exhausting exam term in Cambridge. It allowed me to convince myself that indeed something important is going on there. The Lidl Supermarkets seem to support the independence (in practice, this means that their stores were decorated by Scottish flags and there is now a wider selection of Scottish fish available). One can also encounter a rather demagogical campaign like the posters claiming that Scotland should become independent before 100.000 of its children are living in poverty.

Luckily, no politics has entered the ancient part of Edinburgh yet. Bagpipes players are standing next to the shops where one can order both casual and formal kilts. The historical centre was constructed in several altitudes layers. Streets cross each other using many viaducts and overpasses. The basement of a building as seen from one street can be equally well regarded as the ground floor from a different one. The railway was built in the lowest layer. This makes an impression upon the arrival that in average, the Scottish buildings are five times higher than the English ones.

The border between England and Scotland must have been determined very carefully. Immediately after crossing the point where a valid passport or even visa might be required next year, the landscape suddenly changes. Boring meadows are replaced by sharp rocks and inhabited islands can be spotted far away in the sea. However, we headed exactly in the opposite direction after one day spent in Edinburgh. Our destination was the mountains at the west coast.

The Loch Lomond national park is a world totally different from England. It is densely covered mainly by coniferous forests. The distance between neighbouring villages might not be smaller than 30 kilometres. While we were approaching our destination, the surrounding mountains were becoming more magnificent and bald. However, the number of flies and mosquitoes was increasing. Irritating insect must be the very popular topic of small talk in Scotland. The lady at the camp near the Loch Leven told us that although she moved to the west coast more than thirty years ago, she has not got used to them yet. We were not informed what encouraged her to overcome such discomfort.

Winston Churchill said that no hour is wasted that is spent on the saddle. One could say in the Scottish train instead. The need to connect remote parts of Scotland during the industrial times gave rise to the most beautiful railways in the world. The Glenfinnan viaduct impressed even Harry Potter film makers who used it as a part of the route to Hogwarts. However, we failed to read the train timetable correctly on the day of our visit and were waiting unsuccessfully for a train to appear on the viaduct. Well, maybe the Hogwarts express taking students back home was going there but of course, hidden to us muggles.