Day 95 Leuchars to Ethie Castle

 

 Date: Friday 23^rd September 2011   Distance: 40.61 Miles

 

After a good breakfast we left at 9 back through the town with RAF helicopters flying overhead on route to Tentsmuir Forest. At the local school a girl ran suddenly in front of us from between 2 cars. With a screech of brakes it was lucky for her we were holding back the cars!

 

Flat roads and narrow lanes gave way to a forest track leading to a car park (£2). It was murky weather but we crossed the sand dunes to look at the view across the water. We could hear rifle practise at the RAF base and we marvelled at the many different varieties of fungi in this forager’s paradise.

 

 

 

 

The path took us by the19th century Ice House used by the Salmon Industry for storage and now is home to rare natterer bats. We didn’t see red squirrels unfortunately or roe deer but it was 6 or 7 miles through this lovely old forest.

 

 Nearing civilisation we met people multi-walking large dogs and then we were cycling through housing estates at Tayport. There was disused railway line almost to the bridge and the weather deteriorated to rain again. Cyclists and pedestrians have a central lane with high sides on the Tay Road Bridge. It was noisy but perhaps this was someone’s idea at cutting down people committing suicide by jumping, which would be impossible.

 

Now in Dundee, a special lift took us down from the bridge to the cycle path again and as we could see the beautiful ship the Discovery we headed straight for that. There were some light refreshments here and then we had a look at the exhibition on Scot’s Antarctic expedition and around the ship itself. It was £8 but well worth a visit. Walking round the ship was evocative with coal placed in every nook and cranny. You could see where the cross beams went to prevent crushing from the ice, the salt pockets in the wood to absorb moisture and the vegetation in shoes and mattresses to absorb sweat all to prevent ice forming. An elderly attendant told us that naturalist Sir Walter Scott ( son of Robert who went on the expedition) had his children baptised on the boat using the ship’s bell as a font!

 

Bob needed trousers for our stay in the castle tonight so we stopped at Primark. It took a while what with the roads being dug up but eventually we were on our way out of busy Dundee via the Docks. An official in a little kiosk called across to us when we found a locked gate barring our way.”Have you got your passports with you?” he cried. Flabbergasted, we shouted that we had our driving licences and he said that would be OK and he released the lock and we went through. He was surely joking but he told us how to get out the other end that was also locked.

 

The route became nice and flat and we could see where we had come from across the Tay which was choppy. At Brought Ferry we stopped at the Ship Inn, a real ale pub for beer and soup. We changed into our shorts as it was now sunny and warm.

 

 

 

 

 

The Coastal cycleway took us to Arbroath with sea views most of the way. We had gone by the 3 famous golf courses at Carnoustie looking out for the3 Japanese, other guests in Hillpark House who were on a golfing holiday. The really tall one had his birthday today and we had sung him” happy birthday.”  One was very small and the other was middling size but altogether they made a noticeable trio. A builder’s lorry was parked across the track and we sidled by-just! No sightings though.

 

We would have liked an Arbroath Smokie but we had tea and scones instead at a seafront cafe attached to a Gallery. A young family from Dundee had followed us from the Docks and we chatted as we came into the town. It was about 17 miles so a fair way for young children. They would take the train back.

 

It is odd to see the well preserved ruin of the Abbey in an urban setting but when it was built 800 years ago few buildings existed around it. The visitor centre of red stone and glass has a moss covered roof.

 

We climbed 95 metres then it was down hill to Ethie Castle approached by a private lane. It is medieval in parts and we were shown to a room with a four poster bed and tapestries and a roll top bath in the warmer bathroom- the bedroom was draughty. We were a little surprised to realise that the connecting door to the next room allowed sound through from the guests there. It is an enormous building but they huddled the guests together. Was this to give moral support in the night when the ghosts are said to walk. We didn’t read up on them as we didn’t want to experience spooky appearances. Despite this I couldn’t sleep but that was probably the red wine and long drawn out dinner we had with our neighbours, who we found came from Sussex-my neck of the woods. Green lipped mussels, duck, creamed beetroot and stinking bishop cheese were some of the culinary delights we had, while a well stoked fire blazed in the cast iron stove and the castle’s 4 dogs (Jack Russells) squeezed behind the chair seats or looked at us with pleading eyes for a morsel from the table.

 

Before dinner we had walked around the restored walled garden with plenty of box hedging and quite a lot of late summer flowers. A folly allowed one to view the garden from a height. The owner gave guests guided tours of the castle but for some reason we didn’t get one, perhaps leaving too early in the morning. Our bike went in an out- building in the courtyard.