Ferniehurst or Bust (Aug 9th)

In the morning, they gave us a lift to a chunk of Hadrian's wall, which had been built by the Roman's, and crossed the width of England. It had been one of our goals to see it, so we jumped out of the car, danced across it, took pictures, and got back in.

They took us to a good spot on the highway going north to Scotland, and left us with a wave and a promise to call if we had trouble. They had wanted us to stay another night, but we wanted to reach our goal, the destination that inspired the trip.

You see, since it was Sunday, there were no buses to a town called Jedburgh, north of the border, in Scotland, from where we were. Near Jedburgh is a small castle called Ferniehurst, which was owned by the Kerr clan, and Megan's last name is Kerr. The entire trip was structured around "Let's go find your castle."

So there we were, standing on the side of the road, with two signs: "Jedburgh, Scotland", and "Ferniehurst or Bust" which has a drawing of a castle on it. It was too far for our hosts to take us, so we decided to hitchhike.

Basically surrounded by fields of sheep, we stood, laughing at the people who wave or honk at hitchhikers, including a tour bus that flashed its lights as the guide waved.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, Simon and his wife (I never caught her name) pulled over in a van, with their dog Megan in the back, and offered us a ride.

They were going to Fort Williams to go house hunting. On the way to Jedburgh, they told us some really funny stories, and we talked about our travels, their trips to Chicago, and life in the U.K. They sent us off with a fresh bottle of water, some spearmint chews, after making sure we knew where we were going. It was an incredible experience, and confirmed again my belief in the fundamental goodness of the world.

Megan is keeping the Ferniehurst sign.

The castle was actually closed, because the lord was in residence. After having a picnic, we walked to Ferniehurst, and since we had come so far, we ducked around the gate, and went in. Megan would like me to point out that it was officially trespassing, and we were taking arrest into consideration... therefore, where slightly jumpy. Megan climbed through the trees, to look over the hill and see if she could spot it, while I kept a lookout down on the road. Not sure what I was going to do if someone came, but I am sure I would have thought of something.

In fact, after Megan returned to tell me that all she could see was sheep, we continued to follow the path up into Ferniehurst, and soon a man was walking towards us. Megan: "What do we do?" Me: (Pause) "Keep walking." And we pretended that it was completely normal for us to be there. He said hello, and commented on the weather.

After walking up the long drive, we finally saw a Scottish flag hanging from the top of the tower. Almost to the castle, we saw two people standing by a parked car, with their backs to us. I said, "Oh shit. We're fucked."

For a long time, they did not turn around, and we could have walked away without being seen, but we were too close for Megan to leave. Once three tiny dogs came running out and barked at us, it was hopeless. The gameskeeper saw us, but he was a young, friendly Scottish guy, and after apologizing for the castle being closed, he invited us to walk around it, and then go through the grounds.

Took a ton of pictures, and then hiked up the hill, along a beautiful lane, back to Jedburgh to catch our bus to a little town, where we couchsurfed again with a young woman and her parents.

Last night, we walked by the abbey, and sent postcards.