The vivid gorse blossom welcomes me first to the Northumbrian coast and then to the Scottish borders on the way to Edinburgh. I have travelled these rails so many times over the years that the journey itself feels like a supporting character in my life. An old friend I’ve been out of touch with for too long. The grandeur of Durham’s Cathedral, the slow crawl of the train over the Tyne as we head into Newcastle. Admiring Berwick-Upon-Tweed yet never alighting there. To arrive in the brilliant sun is unexpected. Often the cliffs along the coast are clad in mist or haar and the sea just various shades of grey. Today is glorious. It manages to be surprising and familiar all at once. I know these places from this moving spot but have forgotten I know them, and so every reminder is a delight. There’s Bass Rock in the distance and whilst I can’t seat from here, I know the Isle of May is behind it a bit further on. I could wrap the fast-moving scenery, and my comfort with it, around me like a duvet.