The Journey

The first part of a series of articles from Hamish Moore – acknowledged as the premier small pipes bagpipe maker in Scotland now working in Barga.

Not just a physical journey but a metaphor for the continuing journey of life, of healing and of moving on to the next stage, what ever that may be. That's the adventure. The adventure was and is exciting and daunting – becoming more exciting and less daunting now thankfully. Mixed feelings. Leaving what is familiar and known and coming into the unknown. Leaving a newly born Granddaughter (Maura Mitchel) and all the family and friends but tinged with excitement too if I dared to imagine.

Conceived last May by Keane and myself on my first visit to Barga. (article here)  An Artist in Residence in Barga making pipes in a studio in the heart of the old town, in Piazza Angelio. What an opportunity and now its happening. Forging and reinforcing the strong Barga/Scottish cultural connections. (articles about that connection are here)

The ferry departs from The Port of Rosyth (  opposite the beautiful ancient town of South Queensferry just outside Edinburgh) and sailed overnight to Zebrugge,an 18 hour crossing.What a fantastic concept- a ferry for Scotland to get us to mainland Europe without having to drive the length of England, and you can eat well and book a well equipped small cabin for what seems like a very reasonable price.

One of my son's, Fin, his girl friend Sarah, Joyce, Fiona my daughter and of course my new granddaughter Maura came to see me off. It was a lovely wee gathering and we sat as long as we dared before I made my way via the system of ramps into the huge hull of the ship. We were forecast strong winds – force 8 gusting to 9. Strong all right and strong enough to have my new woolly hat ( a prized Christmas present from Finner's) blown overboard. 

What a magnificent start to the epic journey though, sailing in such a stately manner,inching our way under the two Forth Bridges, (and it seemed as a limbo dancer just getting under and no more) firstly the road bridge opened in 1964 and now needing replaced due to have been worn out and then the beautiful and majestic  cantilever  rail bridge, over 100 years old and still going strong. One of the finest of its kind in the world and much admired by  visiting engineers from  San Francisco to Singapore.

We passed Port Seaton on The East Lothian Coast and I thought of John Bellany the famous Scottish artist who made his home in Barga and wondered if I might be able to meet this astonishing artist on my stay.
My Dad phoned me on board as we passed the lovely seaside town of North Berwick where he settled in his retirement. He looks out of his bay window on to the Firth of Forth with views to The Craig and the famous Bass Rock. Even though darkness had all but fallen he could see the ferry passing and it was lovely to get a call from him on my journey out of Scotland.

A lovely meal, some good French wine and a good chat with a German piper I had met the week before in Glasgow saw the evening fleet away with good cheer. As we waited to dock in Zeebrugge a fascinating  conversations emerged with a new acquaintance (Allan MacDougal – also a solo traveller) who was going out to help friends with continuing renovations to their house in the south of France.  have a feeling Allan and I will be in touch again at some time in the future.

The journey through France was pleasant enough apart from having to navigate,make decisions about route and drive all at the same time and all at great speed. Getting round Lille was a bit stressful – anyway  I got as far as Dijon ,stopped for a well earned rest and a meal and booked into a  "Formula1"  !

I had only done just  400 miles since leaving Zebrugge so I knew if I were to make Barga on the following day it would mean an early start and a good solid 10 hours driving with no stops to speak of. As it happened although progress was good, by the time I got up a bit into the Alps the snow started and by the time I made my way through Mont Blanc  via the 13.5 Km Frejus tunnel, there was serious snow.

 
My thoughts of getting to Barga on that Monday had all but disappeared especially as the snow got much worse again between Turin and Genoa, a thing I wasn't expecting.  I had to content myself with an other overnight this time just east of Genoa in Rapala.  What a sense of achievement though when I saw the Mediterranean – coast to coast in two days with a pipemaking workshop in the back of the car.

The next morning was beautiful.The snows and greyness  had cleared and blue skies and sunshine w
elcomed me to my first full day in Italia. The drive, I was assured by the wee hotel owner, to Barga should only take 2 hours.

Not to be.

Only a few Km's on to the main coastal road down to Livorno and an accident closed the road.
Apart from concern over the poor folks in the accident , it was a pleasant enough drive down "the old road" and  I got to see some of the beautiful old coastal villages which I would otherwise have missed. We were able to re-enter the motorway at La Spezia after a couple of hours of queueing. It was amazing to witness all the people of the wee villages being invaded by the contents of a modern motorway. I think indignant as well as surprise would describe be the look on the faces.

Once back on the way , turn off to Firenze , a bit of stress coming round/through Lucca. The driving style is very different here than that at home, and that's maybe why I've been here for a week now and the only diesel used has been through evaporation.!
Keane was there to meet me just outside the old walls and Alessandro Rizzardi  welcomed me back in Aristo's with a Tockino which he said I deserved but probably more looked like I needed.!

What a journey – what a welcome.

I'll catch up with you later hopefully

H

Tuesday 12th February – The second article in this series can be read here