Turning a Corner? My First Week in Scotland

On ancestors, home-longing, reconnecting wtih the land, and . . . bees?

This issue is for paid subscribers. Free subscribers can see a preview.

Thank you for supporting my work!

[Feel free to listen to the voiceover above as you read or while you’re out for a walk.]

The day I arrived in Edinburgh the moon was full, a time of new beginnings. It was dark when I landed, so I saw very little. I walked off the plane, down the stairs, and onto the tarmac (just like in the old movies). I looked up and saw the bright, round moon, its glow illuminating a ring of wispy clouds. I felt a wild place stir inside me, something beyond this industrial world.

I came to Scotland almost by accident. Last October when I was making plans for where I’d go in the new year, I talked to a friend in France about how I was exploring my options for leaving the Schengen Zone, which I had to do on January 5. I had looked at Turkey, Albania, Serbia, Morocco, and Egypt, and felt overwhelmed by the thought of traveling to any of those countries on my own. I’m not that adventurous I told her.

“You should go to Edinburgh,” she said. “I loved the 6 weeks I spent there.” (Scotland, like the rest of the UK and Ireland, is not in the Schengen Zone.)

Of course, I thought. I should go to Scotland. Why hadn’t I thought about that? I honestly don’t know. Since this year is supposed to be a search for myself and a new home, why hadn’t it occurred to me to come back to Scotland, the land of my Boyd ancestors?

Scotland has always had a soft spot in my heart. I love bagpipes and men in kilts. Every St. Patrick’s Day, I would look out eagerly for the Scottish marching crew and swoon to the traditional music they played. There is something about the sound of a bagpipe that makes time stop. No other instrument has that kind of power over me. Except the deep beat of a drum. I’ve also always felt particularly drawn to the Scottish countryside. The dramatic landscapes in The Outlander series captivated me as much as the Scottish accents.

But in the past two years, as my life turned upside down and I worked so hard to extricate myself from a life that didn’t feel right anymore, I had completely lost sight of perhaps what I needed most—to find my roots, as they say. But the universe gave me a nudge, and that was all I needed.