To drive in Scotland 2

I finally got going soutwards from Edinburgh on A7 and was heading  towards Innerleithen, a small town, south of Edinburgh, where I wanted to take  a few pictures for a friend.  My navigator told me to turn into B7007. To me, that road seemed really narrow and I found myself in the countryside. Soon, the landscape was stunning, shifting in violet. I did not take any pictures of it, thinkig that there would be more of that. Unfortunately, it would turn out that this was not the case.

After Innerleithen, the navigator told me to head for road A708 towards Moffat. It was an asphalt road, but seemed rather narrow to me. I was surprised by the bad state in which the road was. There were several holes in the road (I later learned that they are called potholes), especially close to the kerb. Some of them were more than holes. Rather, they were like small ditches, perhaps 10-15 cm deep hollows, possibly carved by water or the heavy log lorries. When the road climbed up into the mountains, there seemed to be stones having fallen down from the mountain side onto the road.

I drove first in a short queue of three cars when I suddenly felt like a dip and a bump. I think I even said something to myself at that moment. I could feel that steering had become more difficult. Happily, a few hundred meters downhill there was a parking on the right side of the road and I pulled in there.

I immediately phoned the car hire companys, Sixt's, emergency number. The time was 15:12. The call lasted 23 minutes - over my Finnish SIM card! There was going to be 22 calls in all. To my surprise, my Internet connection did not function. It later turned out that it was not a question of me being in the mountains. Rather, my service provider, Telia Sonera had some fault in their settings.

 I could see that the left rear tire had a tongue in the rubber and the alloy had a thumb-deep hollow in it. The car's monitor showed the tire pressure: 220 left front and back, 190 (!) front right, and the damaged tire only 165. It had, by the way, almost no structure anymore, and in rain, it could have been dangerous to drive the car. With hindsight, I realize that 190 in one of the front wheels was far too low, as well.

From this time on, my waiting began. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains without anything to eat or drink. Happily, I had had scrambled eggs on toast and a pot of tea in Innerleithen. 

First, I was told that the company is looking for a new tire for the car. Several persons were involved and I had difficulties knowing who was who. 

My dear friend Margareta Morgan and her husband Paul expected me for a dinner in the evening. I phoned her immediately that I would be late. Without her help I do not know how I had managed the whole situation. It turned out that there was no tire to be found and it was so late that I would have to spend the night somewhere. The resque company was ready to take me and the car to the neares town, Moffat, but they needed an adress for the place where I would stay! I had no Internet and knew nothing about Moffat, but Margareta helped me over the phone and proposed The Bonnington Hotel. Now I could phone that hotel. The owner was very sweet and promised to have an evening meal ready for me.

 I then requested a new car to Moffat so that I could start the next day. First they proposed a car to be driven from Newcastle Airport, 150 kilometers from Moffat, but when I said that in my contract was for one with automatic gear, they had to "outsource" the matter, as someone said on the phone. I did not understand what that ment but was happy to have been promised a new car.

I then heard that the new car would arrive only at four pm. I could stay in the hotel until one o'clock. After that I either sat in the car, walked in Moffat or had a tea and scrambled eggs. After all, my friends waited with a dinner ...

The new car - from Europcar -  arrived at four as promised. It was a Ford Focus with automatic gear (and probably 182 hp, as a friend on Facebook told me). But: the car didn't have a navigator! Those who know me know that I always am well prepared and so also this time. I have TomTom's navigator on my IPhone but not only that. I had also taken the long connection cable to the phone as well as two small, gluable cable holders with me "just in case". The only thing I was lacking was a telephone holder. I put it on the left seat in a bag which I tied to the safety belt so that I could hear the voice. As I anyhow had to find a petrol station with a toilet and had taken a wrong exit at a roundabout near Dumfries, I happened to find a holder for five pounds and my journey could continue. I arrived at my friends house around 19.30, more than 24 hours late!!!