Montrose to Aberdeen

Once again, I couldn't help but admire the beautiful sky when I awoke early this morning.

I took one last shot to remember the place by,  prior to heading out on our way to Montrose.

This village lies along the coast on the drive from Dundee to Aberdeen.  The House of Dun is located just a little west of Montrose, and it was on my list of "must see" sites.  But it did not open until noon, so we decided to visit the Montrose Museum prior to our visit there.  

This unique museum was actually established in 1841 and is one of the first purpose built museums in Scotland, built in neoclassical design.

Entrance was free, and we were greeted by two young ladies, who gave us a bit of instruction regarding the exhibits.

The museum is rather small in comparison with others that I've toured, but it held a remarkable amount of interesting information.  The cases held items ranging from prehistoric findings  of utensils and tools found nearby, to a death mask and hat belonging to Napoleon, as well as his physician's accounting of his last days.  I never realized that Napoleon died from complications of hepatitis, until I read it in the doctor's notes today.

Upon entering this museum, a Pictish stone stands near the door.

This area is known for its strong Pictish ties as there are many museums and churches holding similar items.  The above carving is described as a celtic cross flanked by 4 panels. The top two holding interwoven beasts, while the bottom shows a beast devouring another in the lower left corner and the right shows Delilah cutting Samson's hair.

The back shows a hunter on horseback, armed with a spear, hunting a deer, with a hound by his side.

The bottom of the caring shows Sampson striking a Philistine.    It is believed that the figure in the right corner may be a pregnant woman.

Now, I don't know about you, but sometimes I wonder just how they can come up with some of these explanations.  How do they know it was Samson?  And, actually, I had a difficult time making out Delilah in the top photo.

So, I could really appreciate this clever recounting of the same stone, this time painted in bright colors to help the figures come to life.

Delilah still looks a bit scary, but more real than the stone carving.  Similarly, the opposite side's interpretation is much clearer with the colorful paints to enhance it.

This was merely a project that was done in order to make the stones a bit easier to understand.  What a clever idea!

Among the items in the Museum collection was the Montrose Door., which reflects an outstanding example of 16th century woodcarving. 

The door was found in 1878 as an attic wall partition in a building on High Street.  It is believed to come from the Old Kirk as part of the Paniter family pew.  

Upstairs in the museum, there was a natural history section devoted to Scottish wildlife.  I decided to take a picture of a puffin, since it will most likely be the only one that I actually see here. 

He kind of looks like he is smiling at me, don't you think?

After we finished in the museum, Marty and I decided to take a quick walk around the town of Montrose.

This is the library.

Kirk

On High street, stands a statue of James Graham, Marquess of Monstrose.  He is considered to be one of the most romantic figures in British History, so it only seems appropriate that Marty should get his picture taken next to him.

Unfortunately, the Marquess suffered an early demise, when he was drawn and quartered for exhibiting Highlands sympathy and supporting Charles II.  But he is continues to be revered as a hero in the Highlands.

Moving on, we headed west to the House of Dun, which is located on the Montrose tidal basin.

The house belonged to the Erskine family and was purchased by the National Trust of Scotland in 1984.

Here you see Marty standing near the archway to the side garden.

We were delighted to find that our tour guide for the house was the same woman who gave us an extremely detailed explanation of Barry Mill on Thursday.  In fact she went way past closing time that day, intent on us not missing one important detail.

And, today was not much different, as we found ourselves alone with her once again, and she spent considerable time going through room after room with us. It became obvious that she was lagging when we had to scoot up the stairs and through a door as the next tour entered the house.

The history was fascinating, and one feature that stood out in the house was that everything was set up to be symmetrical, even to the extent of putting in a fake door, just so that it would compliment the opposite wall.

The house was designed by William Adam, and the rooms were adorned with 3-D plaster motifs, all symmetrical, and absolutely outstanding.  I did not take any photos since we were on this personal tour,  but one of the large posters in the tea room featured one of the motifs, and I took a photo of that so that you could get an idea of the magnificence of this place. 

The house contained numerous family paintings, and this poster is a duplicate of Lady Erskine with her three children just after the death of her husband.

One of the unusual items on display was a set of gold-capped horse hooves.  These hooves belonged to Timekeeper, the horse who belonged to William Henry Kennedy-Erskine, 18th Laird.   He had been in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War.  Both the beloved horse and owner survived the battle, and Timekeeper is buried on the grounds of the estate (minus two hooves, obviously!). 

Here is a copy of the original painting that hangs in the house.

When the tour was complete, we spent some time exploring the gardens and walking paths nearby.  But first, we needed a selfie in front of the house.

Here are some shots of the grounds around the House of Dun.

Notice the apples growing on the vines along the wall.

There were pears as well.

We decided to walk one of the many trails around the house, and ventured out to a spot that featured a view of Montrose.

Zooming in shows even more detail.  

Walking back, we could see the beauty of the house in the distance.

We finally made our way to the walled garden on the estate.  I spotted these beautiful Thistle plants.  The Thistle is considered the historical Symbol of Scotland.  I had never realized how large one of these thistle heads actually is until I found them today.

In the corner of the walled garden, just outside, stands an ancient Kirk. It is believed that the original tower house for the Erskine family existed somewhere nearby.

At this point, we headed back to the car park, and decided to see if we could visit Drum Castle prior to its closing.  Unfortunately, we missed the last admission by 5 minutes, but we were able to walk around the grounds and tour the famous gardens on the estate. 

This section was part of the 17th century garden, and definitely my favorite.

I loved the round fountain

as well as the colorful flowers.

I was surprised to see lettuce used decoratively around the pond.

Shucks, I had similar lettuce plants that I just pulled out last week!  Who knew that I could have used them to enhance my gardens?

As you can see, the gardens were, indeed, quite lovely, even this late in the season.

This hedge had to make me laugh.  I do believe that is a rabbit carved out of the boxwood.

There were 4 similar boxwood carvings, probably designed to taunt the rabbits, as every gate was marked as "rabbit control" with a sign stating to be sure to keep the gate shut!

Just prior to leaving, I spotted a small kirk on the property and quickly peeked through the door. 

The inside was beautiful!

As we were walking along, I spotted the 11th Lord of Forbes.

He looks familiar, don't you think?

At this point, the place was closing, so we once again hopped in the car and drove to Aberdeen, where we are staying at the Ferryhill Hotel.  Our room is quite lovely, but a wee bit noisy, as we are located directly above the bar.

Here's hoping we get some sleep!

Until tomorrow.....

The Arbroath Smokie

Didn't I tell you that it was a beautiful morning? Here is the view from our room,

which sits on the top left of the roof of this house.

I'd venture to say that it is the best room in the place, as it is the only upper floor room that also features a dormer window in the front ensuite bathroom.  How lucky is that? 

And what fabulous weather for exploring Arbroath, the next village along the coast, on the road from Dundee to Aberdeen.   What made it attractive to this gallivanting gal was an ancient Abbey ruins as well as a Signal Museum.  And, although both of these seemed interesting to Marty, it was the thought of trying an Arbroath Smokie that appealed to him the most.  More on that later.

After a marvelous breakfast at our B&B, we hopped in our car for the short journey into Arbroath.  It was certainly not difficult to find the Arbroath Signal Museum, as it stands along the coast on the edge of the harbor.

Of course, Marty needed a selfie, with the building in the background.

Once through the doors, we were immediately absorbed in the function and history of this building and its connection to the Bell Rock Lighthouse.

Eleven miles offshore stands a rocky profusion that disappears when the tide is high, making it an extreme hazard for any ships in the North Sea heading towards Arbroath or into the Firth of Tay towards Dundee. 

According to legend, the Abbot of Arbroath placed a bell on this small island in the hopes that the wind gales would cause it to ring out a warning to any ships in the area.  Unfortunately, the bell only lasted a year until a Dutch Pirate stole it.  I'm curious as to how he managed that, considering the dangers of the random rocks that were often hidden.

In any event, it wasn't until 1807 that the idea of a lighthouse on the island came to fruition.  Robert Stevenson, who is responsible for designing a large number of lighthouses along the Scottish coast, developed a plan for constructing a virtually indestructible beacon on this dangerous island.

The museum held original sketches of the plans

a replica of the original structure

as well as an explanation as to how interlocking stones were used for a secure bond

and the details regarding how the workers were able to actually build the structure, which had to be put on hold twice each day, during high tide.

The displays in this place were excellent, and you could't beat free admission!

After learning the details, we headed outside to walk along the back to check out the harbor and the lighthouse.

On this trip, we brought along a set of small binoculars which certainly came in handy, but I took that photo with my zoom in camera.  Considering that this lighthouse is eleven miles offshore, I'd say that's a pretty  good shot!

Or course, we couldn't leave without another of Marty's "selfies!"

We decided that we would walk through the town to the abbey.  It didn't appear far, but I must say that it was actually trickier to find that I had anticipated. 

Along the way we passed the harbor

and saw for ourselves the smoking of the Haddock Smokies.

The Abbey was easy to spot once we were away from  the high buildings.

Once inside, we traveled through time from the Abbey's inception to present day events.  William I had the abbey built during his reign, and he brought in grey monks to live in the abbey.  Marty decided that he would get into the spirit of the monks by dressing up like one while we listened to the history.

The upstairs has an observation room where you can view most of the abbey from an elevated perspective. 

Once outside, the enormity is quite obvious.  In the spot where the original church stood, near the altar, I spotted William I's grave.  He died in 1214 and requested burial in the abbey that he had built in 1178.

What makes this Abbey truly significant in Scottish History is its connection with the Declaration of Arbroath,  which declared Scotland as an independent country during the time of Robert the Bruce.  The document was written by one of the monks in the abbey, in accordance with the wishes of many Scottish nobles, and sent to Pope John XXII for ratification.  It was approved in 1329, but as we all know, the declaration would not hold in Scotland's favor in the years to come.

Another item of interest was a duplicate of the Stone of Destiny. This stone is significant in Scottish history because it was once the stone on which future kings sat during their official crowning.   The stone was stolen by the English and taken into England and had been held in Westminster Abbey for centuries.

In 1951, a group of four Scottish students broke into Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, and stole the beloved stone and managed to sneak it back into Scotland.  Once it was safely over the border, these young men had to figure out what to do with it.  So, they wrapped it in a Scottish flag and deposited it in the nave of Arbroath Abbey.  To them, it seemed appropriate to deliver it to the symbol of Scotland's original independence.

The night guard was shocked to find it, and it was a huge media story at the time.  The original stone is kept in safe keeping at Edinburgh Castle.  The one on display at the Abbey is, obviously, a replica. But the story does make for an interesting history, complete with photographs of the guard who found it as well as an interview of one of the men who actually stole the stone.  

After a pretty thorough tour of the abbey and the grounds, we headed east to Victoria Park where we decided to take the trail along the Seaton Cliffs which fall along the border to the North Sea.

We really couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day!

Traveling along the path, we spied the Needle E'e. (Yes....that is how it is spelled).  We could have trekked down for a closer look, but quite honestly, I was happy with just taking a photo.  The path was a pretty steep grade, and coming back up certainly looked challenging.

Along the way, I captured a photo of some Cormorants,

 and a rock formation called De'il's Head

Here you can see Marty venturing out to get a better shot of the above formation.

 Personally, I think my shot is just fine.

A short while later, we were greeted by this delightful couple.

Further along the trail, the water looked even bluer!

Notice anything different about Marty....except his lack of bright red coat?

Perhaps this shot will help.

It's a new hat.  You can't see it on this view, but there is a Scotland applique sewn onto it.   He can now add Scotland to his hat collection which already include a similar cap with a British Flag sewn on it,  as well as one with an Ireland emblem.  He seems to have Great Britain nearly covered!  (or at least his head does!)

Finally, we came to the arch formation which is at the base of one of the three sisters.  

Don't you wonder who comes up with these names?

The coastal part of the trail was closed at this point, so we decided to turn around and head back to the car park.

From there, we drove to the Brew House Hotel, where Marty eagerly ordered

A Caledonian Best 

and the much anticipated  Arbroath Smokie!

I had him take a photo of it.

Basically, it's smoked haddock.  Arbroath has the rights to the recipe, and no one outside a 6 mile radius is permitted to market an Arbroath Smokie. 

How was it?  Well....Marty loved it!  I'll refrain from offering my opinion.

As you can well imagine, by now, my feet were tired and I was perfectly content to head back to the B&B and enjoy the evening views from our room.

It certainly was yet another full day.  Tomorrow we head towards Aberdeen where more adventure awaits.

No worries.....I'll keep you posted!