Scotland Road Trip 2022 - Part Two - Forcible and Pathetic
Day Three
It rained again overnight.
It was raining when we woke up.
And it was raining when we left home and went out exploring.
But what do you know, it stopped within a few minutes of us going out. Maybe things were starting to look up for us weather wise after all.
Actually, the day had already started in spectacular fashion when, hearing a whole lot of noise outside, we looked out of the window and saw wave after wave of geese flying overhead. There were thousands, all honking in the way that geese do, flying across the dull and damp sky. This went on for what seemed like ages, with new groups regularly appearing on the horizon and announcing their audible arrival.
With a goose generated soundtrack overhead, we headed down to St. Cyrus beach again after our very positive experience the previous night. The low clouds and moody skies made sure it was another dramatic visit, although there was very little wind this time. We decided to follow one of the designated trails and very soon found ourselves in the old Nether Kirkyard of St. Cyrus, an old graveyard nesting under the granite cliffs and just a few yards away from the sand dunes and beach.
Whilst there is so much I could share about this place and its eerie and rather desolate atmosphere, there are probably two things worth a mention here.
Firstly, the old watch house. Built into the grave yard wall and designed to allow relatives to keep an eye on recently interred bodies back in the time of body snatchers and resurrectionists. Imagine standing watch over a grave through the night with the wind and rain adding to an already very uncomfortable situation. And then we have the second, and perhaps most interesting, aspect of this wild place, the grave of and memorial to the poet George Beattie.
Beattie was born in St. Cyrus, the son of a modest crofter, in 1786. He became an attorney in local Montrose and gained a reputation as a philanthropist, humourist and writer of great distinction, But his story took a dark and tragic turn when, aged only 38, he had his heart broken when his wife-to-be jilted him for a more wealthy man. Using a pistol he shot himself whilst standing next to the grave of his sister in the same Nether Kirkyard. There are a number of places online with more information about this sad yet fascinating story, including a rather quirky video of a ukelele bearing follower of Beattie who tours the graveyard and memorial (Strange Places in Scotland, watch it, it is weird and wonderful), a paper written and shared via Aberdeen University and a Wikipedia page.
Whilst his memorial contains many kind and considered words from those friends who missed him (charitable and benevolent in his principles) it also, rather unkindly perhaps, suggested that he was “forcible and pathetic in his manners”.
Work that one out.
It really was a wonderfully strange and evocative place and I could have stayed there all day!
But move on we did and we took another walk along St. Cyrus beach. The big skies changed from dark and moody to bright and blue rapidly and we still had it all, well mostly anyway, to ourselves. A truly magical place.
But we were getting greedy. Having been advised of an even better beach by a friend (thank you Marion), we decided to jump into the car and head south of Montrose down to Lunan Bay to check it out.
After a couple of stops on the way to take photographs of the beautiful Montrose Basin and rail bridge, we found ourselves in an almost empty, and free, car park behind the massive dunes at Lunan beach.
I feel like I am repeating myself a little, but it was a beautiful beach, recommended along with St Cyrus as one of the best beaches in this part of Scotland, with large dunes of soft sand and once again it was almost empty. Yet another glorious example of what this part of Scotland has to offer.
On the way back we decided to stop for some food and paid a visit to Charleton Fruit Farm, just outside of Montrose. Being a “pick your own” farm we found ourselves swamped by young kids on half term break all excitedly selecting their pumpkins for Halloween. It was a lovely place, full of excitement and positive energy and well worth a visit to their restaurant and shop.
And what better way to round off the day than to catch up with friends. Well, when I say friends, what I mean is my wife and one of her old school friends meeting up again for the first time in about 25 or so years. In a different country and continent from where they grew up.
It was lovely to see them both getting lost in the memories of their school days and sharing what had been going on in their respective lives since then. It was a fun and enjoyable evening, made all the better by knowing that we were all meeting up again the next day.
And by the way, we found out later that the geese, or pink footed geese to give them their correct name, migrate down to this part of Scotland every winter. There are approximately 50,000 this year wintering just down the road in Montrose Basin. What we had witnessed was them going out to feed in the morning and then coming back home again before it gets dark.
Wonderful.
Day Four
It rained again over night.
Sound familiar? I suspect that this may be the opening to most of my posts on this trip. Anyway, the sun was out by the time we hit the road and the short drive to Brechin was through very pleasant, autumnal countryside.
After a quick catch up we were back out again in the car, this time off for a walk in the beautiful countryside we had just driven through. We stopped off just 5 miles away in Edzell, a small Georgian planned town in Angus. Entered through a rather grand and totally unexpected archway which spans the road, the Dalhousie Arch was built in 1887 as a memorial to the 13th Earl of Dalhousie and his wife, the town was small, quaint yet rather grand all at the same time.
We were taken on part of the Rocks of Solitude walk, located through a blue door in a wall beside a bridge just outside of the town. This absolutely stunning walk along the River North Esk, with rapids, steep banks, lush vegetation and woodlands, was made all the better for the wonderfully bright autumnal leaf colours overhead. We definitely chose the right time of year to visit.
Back to Brechin for the afternoon and we split up for the next part. My wife disappeared off for some lunch and another reunion with old neighbours and friends from back home whilst I got what I thought was the best part of the deal, an afternoon at the football!
I met up with Alan and his friend Grant and we made our way to Glebe Park to watch a Scottish Cup 1st round match between Brechin City and Stirling Albion. Both Alan and Grant were genuinely welcoming and I was introduced to many locals during the afternoon, something that I really appreciated and enjoyed. For those who enjoy a little trivia, the Brechin City ground is the only one in Europe with a hedge on the perimeter of the pitch. In fact, Brechin has a couple, but who is counting.
It was an entertaining game which finished 2-2 after extra time with Stirling rather luckily winning 8-7 on penalties. I will be back if they can guarantee 19 goals next time! And to cap it all, I was intrigued by the offer of a macaroni pie at half time. Now I am rarely the sort of person to make a fuss over food, but wow, this was truly spectacular! If only they were available back home.
We ended the day with a meal and a few drinks in a local pub, a warm, friendly and really lovely way to wrap up a great day. Many thanks to Marion and Alan for being such kind and welcoming hosts and to Grant for an afternoon of Scottish football banter and also Anne for joining us for an evening of entertaining conversation.
