How we came to be chasing a wild goose...

At 11am on the 11th November, Eddy and I marked two minutes of silence along with the other passengers waiting on the platform at Watford Junction, then boarded a train to Edinburgh. We had decided to move to Scotland when we were about halfway through the Camino. There wasn't any particular reason behind it- just that it would be completely new. And we might see some snow. We sat in an internet cafe in Leon and booked our advance (and therefore much cheaper) train tickets from London to Edinburgh.

Both Eddy and I had heard great things about Edinburgh, but the more people we talked to, the more we heard about Glasgow and its friendly inhabitants. We decided either-or would be okay and, wearing every layer we owned, we ventured further north than either of us have ever been before.

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Arriving back in Britain, particularly at London's Stanstead Airport where getting to and from the airport tends to cost triple the price of your plane tickets, brought home the fact that we would need jobs as quickly as possible. We couldn't walk forever. It was therefore a bit despairing when we arrived in Scotland, CV's ready to hand to every Tom, Dick and Harry, to see the leading story on the Scottish news: Unemployment Highest Rate Ever. Suddenly we could hear the credit crunching around us. The shop windows were bare of job ads, and there certainly weren't the music and sound jobs that we'd naively hoped we might find in abundance. That dark figure of recession and global economic disaster pointed his jewellery-free, bony-knuckled finger at us and said, “Ha ha ha, you can ignore me while you're on your little walk, but you can't escape me forever.” We sat in our hostel room, flicking through internet job agency web sites, and wondering whether we would be better to just head back to Australia. We were back eating our budget meals. Having abandoned pot noodles we were now working our way through the full range of tinned spaghetti (alphabetti being the best for its entertainment and educational qualities). Eddy had just had a mouthful of jkrys when I said that I had seen an interesting job ad- not really what we were looking for, not in Edinburgh or Glasgow, and not to do with music and sound, but a job nonetheless.

Hostel in Fort William requires two live-in managers. Job-share, ideal for couples.

We emailed off our resumes, had an interview two days later, and within the week, we had travelled up to Fort William to have a look at our new home: Chase the Wild Goose Hostel, Banavie.

Although we had gone up to have a look at the hostel, the job didn't start straight away and we had two weeks to fill in before we took over from the previous managers, two Kiwis. Not wanting to waste this time, we slung on our packs, pulled faces at Mr Economic-doom-and-gloom, and took the train back down to Edinburgh.

What an interesting, spooky, beautiful city it is. We took a tour around all the haunts ( some literal), heard some appallingly gory stories and some fascinating ones. Every inch of the old city seems to breathe with history whether it be of hated kings trying to bribe their subjects with wine, respected locksmiths who break in to houses at night, body snatchers, failed public executions, the world's most loyal dog- Grayfriar's Bobby, or whispers about the stealing of the Stone of Destiny. Edinburgh is a storyteller's dream. You never know what character you might meet down one of the dark cobbled alleyways at night, or whether they'll be of this life or the next. We visited the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first few of the Harry Potter books. Apparently it was cheaper to pay for coffee then to pay for heating in her own house. I think the price of coffee has gone up since then- but- "Ha ha ha" says Mr E-D-and-G, "so has heating."

One stunningly clear and startlingly chilly afternoon, we walked up Arthur's steps, a rocky outcrop from the top of which you have great views over the city. Sunset starts at around 3:30 so while we loved watching the colours change from the top, we had to scramble down quickly before it got too dark.

We left a day before the Christmas markets and ice skating rink opened but we weren't too disappointed because our next destination was sure to have both of these. It was time to go to Paris.