Islonia

I had no idea I was so close to the border. Frankly, I didn’t even know there was a border until I saw a sign, and my curiosity led me through a gate and down a hill along a rough path.

My route wasslippery in places, and overgrown. There was no sign of life, however, except for distant houses across the bay, bold against the brown textures of the hillsides and the grey of the sky. Coming to what I now knew to be the edge of Scotland, I approached the bridge: a low wooden structure that snaked...