Über den Tellerrand 33: Eine Reise nach Wigtown Teil 1

Unsere Reise nach Wigtown, Schottland zum Autor des wunderbaren
"Tagebuch eines Buchhändlers" und Inhabers des "The Bookshop" in
der schottischen "Booktown". Der erste Teil heute. Noch ohne Shaun
Bythell, aber trotzdem mit jeder Menge Fantasy und Abenteuer. Und
dem Wächter des Clan Hannay... Hier der Link zur Seite der Clan
Society Und hier der Link zur Facebook Seite Und für unsere
wunderbaren Gastgeber aus dem Clan Hannay und unseren Freund Steve
hier die Übersetzung in ein hoffentlich akzeptables Englisch:
"Hello everyone out there. I've already taken you on a trip a few
times. Today we're trying that again. This time our goal is quite
far away. But again a goal that should be of interest of all of us.
It's about books, magic an fantasy. But before we start, there's
the little back story... In 2018, a certain Shaun Bythell from
Wigtown, Scotland published his first book. In 2019 it was also
published in German. With the catchy name “Diary of a Bookseller”.
From the beginning there was a lot familiar to me in this book.
There are simply endless parallels between all small bookstores. We
also sold Shaun's book quite well and I think many of our customers
have grown to love it in a similar way as we do. If you haven't
read the book, I strongly encourage you to do so. For people who
like books and small shops it's a great treat and a wonderful
insight into Shaun's life with books. His third book will soon be
released in German. We have watched countless of his videos on
social networks. I confess, we are fans... Then one day Katha said
why don't we just travel to Scotland and visit the man? From that
moment it was a done deal. And so we now sit in the car to Calais
and look forward to Scotland and the funny bookseller Shean
Bythell. Nothing planned. Nothing booked. Just drive off and see
what lies ahead. Of course, a few ideas are in our heads. Wigtown
is located in the far south of Scotland. In the "Galloway and
Dumfries" council area. Whoever we spoke to in advance, we were
always encouraged to visit the north of Scotland, the Highlands and
the Isle of Skye. Accordingly, we have of course come up with a few
possible destinations and a potential route to Inverness, Loch Ness
and Isle of Skye. But always only as an option. The premise was
Wigtown from the start - and then see how it develops. As you can
imagine, we were of course also hoping for a nice story and, if
possible, an interview with Shaun Bythell... So we went out to
visit this bookshop in Wigtown AND see Scotland. In reality things
turned out completely differently. We visited Wigtown and found
Scotland RIGHT THERE. Incredibly nice and friendly people, wild and
extremely biodiverse nature, lots of culture, of course a whiskey
distillery and Scottish beer and even one of the clan seats of the
Lowlands. Not far from the scene of Robert the Bruce's first battle
against a seemingly far superior English army. But slowly. From the
beginning... So we sit in the car to Calais and take the classic
ferry to Dover. Then past London, Birmingham and Liverpool to the
south of Scotland. Unfortunately, when we arrive in Wigtown and
first visit Shaun's bookshop, he is on his way. We can already see
our chances dwindling. Nevertheless, we have a nice conversation
with the bookseller Nicki - no, not the Nicki from the books - but
one of the current employees in The Bookshop. And this Nicki is an
incredibly nice and helpful person, as it quickly turns out. After
a few minutes of conversation about our concerns, some books and
our non-existent plans, she gets on the phone and calls a certain
"Steve". He's supposed to be a nice guy and have exactly what we
need... And so it happened that we postponed our conversation with
Shaun Bythell until Monday. But instead were allowed to set up camp
for the night beneath the Tower of Sorbie. Stephen Hanna is the
guardian of the Sorbie Tower and therefore ambassador of the Clan
Hannay, whose castle he guards, maintains and opens to the public.
As fans of medieval stories, even decades-long show fighters and
lovers of medieval markets, we are of course excited. We are
actually allowed to set up camp at the bottom of Sorbie Tower!
Electricity, showers, toilets, a small kitchen and of course our
"rolling bed" right on historical ground. All for a small donation
to the Clan Hannay society. For the preservation and reconstruction
of the clan fortress. And Steve turns out to be an incredibly kind,
friendly and open host. A friendship develops from the first day.
We sit for a long time in the master's room of the tower in front
of the flickering fire and he tells us about his clan and the task
of preserving this heritage. It shouldn't stop at this one evening.
Steve not only tells us about his clan, he also shows us other
wonderful places. Old walls, wonderful landscapes and historical
locations. For example, we visit Bruce's Stone, which marks the
site of the first battle of the Scottish army formed by Robert the
Bruce against the English. We find barren mountains that come very
close to the Highlands and diverse coastal landscapes with
enchanted forests and meadows, between whose quarry stone walls all
sorts of invisibly fairy people still make their home. Without even
knowing what our meeting with Shaun, the actual destination of our
trip, will be, we decide to stay here. The area, the people and the
whole fantastic atmosphere simply enchanted us. And so that you can
think about all this a little better, we also recorded a
conversation with Steve. [INTERVIEW] For anyone who shares such a
passion as we do, I can only recommend getting involved with Steve
Hanna and the Sorbie Tower. Visitors are always welcome, as are
helpers, of course. Being able to set up a tent or camper in front
of the wonderful backdrop of a real clan fortress is simply
awesome. The area and the people have already completely convinced
us. The fact that there would be a lot of really interesting
meetings with Shaun Bythell is just a little cherry on the cake.
You can hear that part of our journey next week. Featuring an
interview with Shaun from Scotland's official book town, Wigtown...
For today I say goodbye - and still say that - as always in
italian. Ciao arrivederci, your Gerd.