Nicola here, reflecting on traveling and the unexpected dramas that can sometimes follow. Throughout the ages, travel has always involved some degree of jeopardy. In the modern era the most common stressful travel drama is likely to be a flat tire or a cancelled airline ticket. In the past, a wheel might come off your carriage, your horse might go lame or you might be held up on the road by a highwayman or even involved in a shipwreck. There’s a reason that travel is such a popular theme for books set in the past and the present; the dangers are real and the situations people can find themselves in can be romantic, suspenseful, or threatening.
I adore Regencies that are road trips, whether our hero and heroine get stuck in a snowdrift or marooned in an inn. All the Wenches have written variations
on this theme and some of my favourite winter short stories revolve around the inclement effects of the weather although in real life its usually more inconvenient than romantic. Having been stuck in a snowdrift myself at about the age of eight, however, I know how easily this can happen. It was my first experience of travel drama and I’d gone away with my family for a day out in the English Lake District on Boxing Day. The weather was beautiful for December, so lovely in fact, that some of the adults in the group went off to climb a mountain. By the time we were heading home in the evening, though, the snow had arrived, snow such as you seldom see in England any more, great piles of it that blocked the road and marooned us in the middle of nowhere. Eventually we were towed out and the hotel where we had had lunch very kindly opened up to let us stay overnight until the roads were cleared the next day. As you might imagine, it was a terrific adventure for a child!
I was reminded of this adventure last month when we were on holiday and got stuck on an island. Looking back over holiday trips and associated dramas I realised that almost every one of them has happened because we love visiting islands, and getting stuck on an island is all too easy sometimes. Usually it’s UK islands and – because the weather is always such an issue in the UK – the reasons have varied from high winds to fog to storms. We were fogbound on Shetland and had a wonderful time staying overnight in a grand Victorian hotel with the flight crew, who told us all sorts of hair-raising stories of what it is like flying around the north of Scotland. Storms and high winds have kept us on Fair Isle, Lundy Island in Devon and the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. We’ve escaped various places in Force 10 gales before they were shut down for the weather. Our only overseas drama was also on an island when we were staying in Alaska on the beautiful Wrangell Island. Who would have guessed that the only ferry strike in over 40 years would coincide with our need to sail to Prince Rupert for an onward connection? What are the chances? It’s the only time in my life that I have had to charter a private plane. It wasn’t a jet but it did get us where we needed to go.
So last month we were on a tour of Scotland. We started off at Loch Lomond, then had a week on Eilean Shona which is a private island owned by the
Branson family – not as well known as Necker and not as hot – but it was lovely. We got on and off it fine! Our second week was in the Outer Hebrides in a wonderful house on the island of South Uist. We visited pristine white sand beaches, archaeological sites and the birthplace of Flora Macdonald, the Jacobite heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the English troops after the Battle of Culloden in 1745.
Two days before we were due to leave South Uist, by boat, like Bonnie Prince Charlie, we received a message from the ferry company to tell us that all ferries to and from South Uist had been cancelled for a week because of a mechanical fault. We were stuck! We had a car and a dog so we couldn’t fly out; the only solution the ferry company could come up with was for us to travel a day later, go north instead of south and end up on the Isle of Skye. We decided to devise out own way home instead. First we drove to the next island in the chain, Eriskay, which very fortunately is connected to South Uist by a causeway. On Eriskay we caught a small ferry to the island of Barra. But there was a snag – everyone else was trying to use the same route home and Barra is a small island. We couldn’t find a dog-friendly hotel that had any overnight vacancies and so like a number of other visitors, planned to sleep in our car. Then we had a stroke of great luck. One of the guest houses on Barra had a dog-friendly cabin that they were willing to open up for us to use. We stayed there overnight, found a pizza restaurant that would actually deliver to us, and managed to get on the ferry to the Scottish mainland the next morning. Phew!
One of the things that has been a constant in all our experiences is the generosity and helpfulness of people whenever we have got stuck. They have helped us find places to stay, given us food and advised us on what to do next. It was a fabulous holiday and we don’t regret going to such a remote destination but the challenge of getting home at the end definitely added something extra to the trip. We know how lucky we were to find a route out and to have somewhere to stay. I imagine it’s much more frustrating for the people who live on South Uist to find that their lifeline to the mainland is suddenly cut at short notice. Still, it makes a good story and prompts me to ask: Have you ever experienced being marooned somewhere unexpectedly? Any holiday dramas to share? Or any favourite romances that involve being stuck in a snowdrift or a remote inn?
I’ve never been stranded on holiday due to weather. The most I’ve had go wrong is missing a train, getting a wrong bus, etc, which has happened a few times when I’ve been travelling in Eastern/ Central Europe with my mother. There’s an extra layer of drama when nobody speaks English & you don’t speak Hungarian, & you feel relieved when the 3rd language option of mutually indifferent German somehow works.
I love ‘marooned in an inn’ romances, particularly when it’s a disparate group of (mostly) strangers. However, my favourite is probably the classic Sylvester (Georgette Heyer).
That’s very true about the extra stress when you need to find a way to communicate! I’m impressed that you were able to find a third language option that helped.
Georgette Heyer wrote some wonderful “marooned” romances, didn’t she. I love the Snowdrift short stories.
That was almost too much excitement, Nicola! But you were ingenious in working out how to move on, and as you say, people are often lovely.
I haven’t had anything as dramatic happen to me, but some years ago, we’d done a (lovely!) cruise on the Douro River in Portugal, and we were scheduled to fly out of Porto to Munich (It was Lufthansa) and from there back to the US. But the flight into Porto was delays, and delayed, and delayed…. We were told that the plane in Munich would wait for us, but–it didn’t. So Lufthansa shuttled us over to a nearby hotel, where the dining room had a buffet specifically for stranded Lufthansa passengers, which suggested this happened pretty regularly. I used the Lufthansa phone to call the cat sitter to say we were delayed, and we did get home the next day. This pales next to what you’ve had to do!
Oh dear, it’s telling that they had the buffet on stand by for stranded passengers, Mary Jo! There is extra concern when you know you have to get back for a pet or for an event that’s in the diary. But it does seem to bring out the best in a lot of very helpful people, which is lovely.
Nicola, I’m so glad you managed to negotiate this ‘stuckness’ and were able to find not just shelter, but a dog-friendly place to sleep. What a relief.
Years ago when I was backpacking, on Stuart Island in NZ, my friend and I arrived the night before the ferry was due, only to find everything was closed and no accommodation was available. So, having hiked all day and not feeling like the 3 mile hike to the nearest camping ground, we found a suitable bushy place and pitched our little tent. No food left except for a few dry slices of salami, and a piece of chocolate, so that was our dinner. In the morning I was woken at dawn by a cock crowing really close to us. I peeked out and discovered we’d camped in someone’s back yard, so we stealthily packed up the tent and walked back into town.
I once was stuck at the Hong Kong airport when my plane (on the way to London) developed difficulties. At first we just sat in the plane getting hotter for several hours as they tried to fix it, then they let us into the airport with a meal voucher. Later they gave us a room at the airport hotel, and told us to watch the TV in the room for updates and the notification to get back on the plane. Some people immediately headed into Hong Kong to go shopping. I thought they were foolish, but in the end they were proved right. I got very little sleep, watching the TV. I washed my undies — having already spent a full day in them — and in the morning there was another voucher for breakfast. In the end, we got back on the plane at mid-morning — and this time it was half empty, the airline (QANTAS) having arranged for the complainers among the passengers to get alternative flights with other airlines. The worst thing, apart from little sleep, was that my undies hadn’t dried, and I had to wear them damp. *g* (These days I travel with spare underwear in my carry-on bag. *g*)
The funniest thing was that when the plane was about to take off, we had another delay, because, the plane having to cross over Russian airspace, the Russians were understandably suspicious at two planes with identical flight no’s wanting clearance at the same time. Once we took off, there was a big cheer from all the passengers, and honestly, it was a bit like a party atmosphere — we were so grateful to be moving again, and the staff and airline had really done their best to look after us.
Goodness, Anne, what a drama! I love that you discovered you were camping in someone’s backyard and crept away without them realising! And the tip about the spare underwear is very important. I do that too!
The most recent travel mishap I recall is from some dozen years ago when my husband and I were traveling by bus down the south island of New Zealand. We’d bus a while and then stay in a motel for a couple of days. (It was my husband’s first time in NZ and my first time back in forty years.) There was a road closure, but fortunately our motel was kind enough to let us stay on and the next motel graciously allowed us to arrive a day late.)
My most interesting travel delay took place when I was 14 and traveling alone from Texas to stay with family I’d never met in Vermont. I flew into NYC and then waited and waited for a connection that never came. Ultimately the airline put us up in a hotel and then ferried us to a different airport the next day to continue on. My parents, hearing from the family in Vermont that I’d not arrived, paged me in the first airport. I told them not to worry as I’d be going to a hotel with a group of people including a nice marine. (I’m sure their minds were eased…not!) The next morning, said nice marine went with me backtracking to a different terminal when we got to our terminal only to find that someone had mistakenly taken my suitcase at a previous stop. Don’t ask me how we found that person, but the suitcases were switched, I got back to the correct terminal, and arrived in Vermont a day late. Were my life to be a romance novel, I’d have met the nice marine five years later, but such was not the case!
And thank you, Nicola, for your post and the resulting trip down memory lane!
LOL, Kareni, what a great story! I bet your parents were totally reassured by that!!!
I really enjoyed Nicola’s very interesting island stories & pics, and each travel story so much! And laughed! Will definitely keep following this thread!
My husband’s always been the instigator of travel excitement: While at the Incheon, South Korea airport to head home, my husband was escorted away by armed security. The flight attendant asked me if I was to board, it seemed I was the last person at the gate. Security brought me to my husband where he was surrounded by Security and others, all admiring the sword (checked in on arrival). The sword had to go back to his instructor due to outdated purchase documents. We were shuttled to a motel, had a meal with other layover guests and somehow got a flight home next day. We didn’t travel with pets and our suitcases were checked on the first flight… we were in the same clothes for 2 days but had a toothbrushes!
OMG! That is a very dramatic travel story, Michelle. When you hear the phrase “escorted away by armed security” you can only be grateful that it ended so well even if you were in the same clothes for two days!
My husband and I spent our honeymoon in a cottage on the beautiful, rustic island of Monhegan, off the coast of Maine. Cars were not allowed (still aren’t) and one ferry, the Laura B, brought everything – people, food, building materials – to and from the island. It was the first week in October and it rained every day. Every. Single. Day. For a week, we read, did jigsaw puzzles, and ventured out periodically to squish our way through the gorgeous woods, looking for the tiny fairy houses built by unknown creators. Because we were closing down the cottage for the season, we made sure to finish all the food we’d brought, put up the shutters on all the windows, and packed away in cedar boxes all the blankets and linens. When the day came to leave, we woke to clear blue skies, crisp fall air – and 50mph winds. No ferry was coming that day! Since the few businesses on the island were also closing for the season, we were lucky to get a loaf of bread, some cheese, a jar of peanut butter, and a very expensive bottle of very bad wine from the small general store. The owner threw in a large bar of chocolate as a wedding present! We picnicked on cliffs with waves crashing below, hiked across the island, and crammed into one day most of what we’d planned for the week. The winds died down, and we were able to leave the following day, after breakfasting on peanut butter toast. I’ve always wished we could have stayed on for a few more sunny days!
What a beautiful place to spend your honeymoon, Constance! But like us you had the “island” problem of getting marooned. Not that that sounds like a hardship – it sounds as though you had a blissful time!
WOW! Y’all have stories. I have no adventures of my own to tell. But, I recommend that everyone see the play “Come From Away.” It is about the generosity of the Canadian people and the sad unknown after 9/11. Planes were sent to Canada because no one was allowed to fly over nor land in the US. And Canadian heart and soul came to the forefront. If anyone wants to know the soul of Canada, this play shows it. I loved to read about all the adventures each of you have had. And I thank you for sharing.
I have heard that is a wonderful play, Annette. One again the kindness of strangers comes through when people are stranded. Its so heartwarming to know.
Thanks for the exciting vacation adventure. It could be an idea for a novel or movie! The closest we came to an adventure was a trip to the channel islands . When we were ready to travel back to England, a very dense sea fog moved in and cancelled all the airline flights. We managed to get on a ferry and headed to Portsmouth . When we arrived there we found there had been a train strike and no trains were moving! Then my father-in-law managed to talk a taxi driver into driving us to Heathrow. I never asked how much that must have cost. We still missed our flight and had to spend some hours in the airport before we could fly home. I won’t forget that trip.
That sounds a very memorable trip, Carolyn and par for the course with British island weather. You were all very resourceful!
I love stranded travelers books & loved Nicola & everyone else’s stories. My travel adventures & delays are pretty mundane. Semi interesting is when we had to fly from California to Wisconsin for my father-in-law’s funeral. He passed unexpectedly & for some reason the other siblings (all WI based) scheduled the funeral immediately. Boy, did we have to scramble to find flights from Fresno to Milwaukee. Forget about anything direct Then one of our connections was delayed so we missed our connection from Chicago to Milwaukee. This was now like 8pm so we took Lyft to Milwaukee. We were staying there with my family. We took my Dad’s car to the funeral the next morning which was a 2-1/2 hour drive. This was April but we had a late snowstorm. Unbelievable! Expensive too. I had purchased travel insurance so we were reimbursed for the Lyft ride & some meals. The kicker came when we couldn’t check in to go home. Because we had missed the Chicago flight they cancelled the return flight. Can you imagine?!
Oh my goodness, Jeanne! Another memorable trip and I imagine you could have done without the stress under the circumstances. Human ingenuity is a wonderful thing, though. We all manage to find a way around the problems somehow.
What an interesting adventure you had! Thanks for sharing. Yes, it would make a great novel. My travel adventures are also pretty mundane, the usual flight delays and cancellations, wrong turns, flat tires…nothing exciting.
But I do love stories of what happens when travelers are stranded, especially historic ones when people are snowed in at an Inn or a remote Country house. The characters get to know one another better because they are thrown together and see each other more frequently than they would normally. I can,t think of a specific one off the top of my head, but i do love some of the regency ones and also ones that take place in the 1920’s(some of them mysteries.) I do love the cover of the Harlequin Regency at the beginning of your post, Nicola. Very romantic the way they are looking at each other!
I love those stories too, Jane, and the weather and the forced proximity really helps people get to know one another and throws obstacles in their path. It’s no wonder it’s such a popular idea for historical romance!
The Cockermouth Mail! I really dislike travel; it’s become hideously complex of recent years. But I’d love a ride on that stagecoach! It’s a shame that Dinah Dean’s sort of regency has gone out of style 🙁
Oops. I did it again. Sorry.
Yes, i miss those type of regencies also. I still have quite a few of the old Signet ones that i reread every so often and Heyer, of course!. They were fun to read. Much more so than many of them today.
Yes, travel is generally a lot less fun than it used to be although I do like it when I get to my destination! I’m heading to my keeper shelf to re-read Dinah Dean!
No, I don’t have any holiday dramas, but somehow this made me think of the book Lucy Worsley mentioned in history documentary Elegance and Decadence The Age of the Regency. The book is called The Tour of Doctor Syntax, in Search of the Picturesque.
It has some hilarious pictures, too.
Thank you for the recommendation, Minna. I will look that one out!
I love road trip romances, including The Cockermouth Mail, which is a great story. I just returned from a European vacation, and there were no major mishaps, although we did get on the wrong train from Civitavecchia to Rome.
In all my travels, I’ve never been stranded, or missed a flight, although there have been some very close calls. Once I arrived by train to a town in the Netherlands, I hink it was Leiden, where I was supposed to take a bus to a friend’s house. The last bus of the day had already left, but the ticket seller in the train station very kindly shut down his booth temporarily and drove me to her house! I’ll never forget that favor.
I’m so glad you had a European trip without any major mishaps, Karin. Your experience in the Netherlands serves to underline again the kindness of strangers, which is lovely.
That is a lovely story, Karin! All the more so because my mother (gone now for some years) was born in Leiden.