Leaving ‘Auld Reekie’

My chief complaint about Edinburgh is there are too many distractions. The festivals don’t stop after August — a steady stream of them follows soon after The Fringe, involving storytelling, fiddling, folk music, dance and heaven only knows what I missed. There are always must-see exhibitions, compelling lectures, and art films to watch in vintage cinemas. There’s a difficult choice of cosy pubs where fiddlers are fiddling; lots of ceilidhs, several cycle tracks to Victorian swimming pools, yoga workshops, beginners’ courses in stepdance, song, whistles and the pipes. More problematically there are too many shop windows displaying must-have shoes for sale. Then the Christmas lights come on, soon after that it’s Hogmanay, and all these distractions mean the hills and seashore become forgotten. It’s no use to me to live half an hour’s drive from a track or the beach because I just don’t reach them often enough. So next week I’m travelling through great big hills to miles of seashore eight hour’s drive and a ferry ride away. It’ll be too far to come back for shoes. And what’ll it matter, I’ll be in Orkney!