I had a lovely day, which was quite unexpected as I was taking the train from Darlington to Aberdeen, a journey I have come to loathe as it means that I'm going off to work for a fortnight.
The journey started looking up after we left a rainy Newcastle. The sun came out just in time to illuminate Lindesfarne in a silvery sea. The trip through the borders was lovely, the flowering gorse looked magnificent, all gold and majestic, in stark contrast to the gaudy yellowness of the rape fields. Then along the Firth of Forth with the moody skies and the sun shining on the Bass Rock and Berwick Law and views across the Firth to Largo Law and the Paps of Fife.
When I was younger I used to love this journey, especially the section from Durham to Dundee, with its ever changing landscapes, citiscapes and beautiful bridges. Yesterday, whilst getting slowly wasted on take-away guinness, I sort of rediscovered my enthusiasm for this stretch of coastline.