After the heavy stage yesterday my body called for a day of rest. The night was quite free of events. Then again, I discovered that the Buff is really a must-have accessory for outdoor activists.
In that case it made a perfect eye and ear protection which was necessary due to the lantern I put my tent up under. This lantern went on at about half past nine and prevented me from finding any sleep at all. So I grabbed the tunnel scarf which is considered to be something as the swiss army knife of the outdoor clothes, and twisted it two times over my eyes. So much for light! Hardly 10 seconds later I was gone.
After a good night‘s sleep I was in the best of moods. First easy moves showed that my knees were able to sort out the effort of the last day. But the vigorous knocking on the tent instantly brought me to the decision that a day of rest was the right option for today, nevertheless. I headed to town to look for a nice café to hang out in. Later that day I hoped for better weather to get the opportunity to play the James Braid layout in Stranraer.
To find the café was not too hard. At the end of the main road there is the Fig&Olive which is managed by cordial and welcoming Maria. She came from Australia a few years ago together with her husband who teaches at the local school. She thought that it should be an easy task to open and run a café with quite good food. Well, it took a while for her to establish herself but in the meantime it seems to work out quite well. During the period of a few hours I stayed there and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere there were always plenty of happy customers there. And rightly so since the food served there was clearly above average. When I came I just was looking for beans and eggs and sausages. But I found a very good bread out of sour dough (sic!) with an avocado and hummus mousse and a poached egg. Of course, the egg was taken from happy hens around the corner. That was followed up by a great scone. What else would you want to have for breakfast? Just perfect.
And then Maria told me about warmshowers.org. This is a website which supports cyclists on there journeys by connecting them to other cyclists who are willing and able to offer them a bed for the night or at least, well, a warm shower. Great thought! We will see whether this will help me during my upcoming legs. Finally, she told me about the cycling team her husband has founded in Stranraer. A jersey of the team actually hang on the wall there and during my stay there were two teammates of his who enjoyed their espresso there.
So, the day passed by and at about three o‘clock the rain finally stopped. I decided to get up and to the golf course. I was not too surprised to find it quite empty on a late Sunday afternoon. I just paid my due at the bar and was ready to go. James Braid is quite a golfing legend. In the beginning of the 20. century he managed to win The Open five times. He is just as famous for (re-)designing literally hundreds of courses as an architect. I am quite a fan of one of Braid’s most famous designs in the far north west of Scotland in Brora. The James Braid society has its headquarter there. Beside Brora he influenced the even more famous resort of Gleneagles where the Queen’s and the King’s course are his designs. As an all time hidden gem Boat of Garten in Spey Valley is another masterpiece for many, right in front of the Cairngorms with their often snowy hills.
The course in Stranraer was fun, that is for sure. But to name it right in line with the other courses mentioned would not really be fair. There were some very good holes on the stretch with different possible tactical approaches to them. Then, you cannot really think low about a course with so many beautiful views to the sea and the ferries to Ireland on the horizon. But the undecisive character between clifftop and parkland could not be filled out perfectly. But nevertheless: cycgo now really has arrived in Scotland with a proper and decent full round of golf. It was a very pleasant evening. Hopefully, there are still many to come.
The results of today’s matches:
Rain vs. cycgo: 1:1
cycgo vs. Stranraer Golf Club: 3:4
Lantern vs. cycgo: 1:3.