Leith & Glenrothes 17-19th Feb 2019

Sunday
Heading for Leith, we drove through Newcastleton and then Jedburgh, spotting the 12th century Abbey from a distance … another place to visit in the future?

Continuing through Kelso and Berwick we headed north along the coast to Eyemouth. Another place we had never been to, so we headed for the harbour and a wander about.

The harbour appeared to have a range of vessels - from fishing vessels to pleasure craft of all sizes and types. It also had a flock of 20-30 eider ducks on the day we were there. Love the sounds they make! A bit like a very saucy Frankie Howard!

 This seal was, we think, a regular around the harbour. He just sat in the water looking at the people watching him. Not many fish scraps about on a Sunday!

As we walked along the promenade, overlooking the harbour, we came to the bronze memorial unveiled in Oct 2016. The work, created by Jill Watson, commemorates the disaster following the  storm in Oct 1881 when 189 local fishermen men were lost. 129 of these came from Eyemouth. Widows and Bairns, which is 5metres long, depicts and names of every mother and child who was directly affected by the disaster.

On the morning of 14th October 1881, the vast majority of the fishing boats on Scotland's North Sea coast were tied up in port. But skippers from Eyemouth, along with fishermen from other nearby ports, ignored the warnings and set out at dawn. By midday they were in the teeth of a severe storm for which their wooden boats were no match. They fled for the shelter of the port but many never made it. Their vessels either overturned or were dashed on the rocks at the entrance to Eyemouth harbour. Hysterical women and children looked on helplessly as their menfolk were thrown overboard and swallowed up by the sea. Family members watched as their husbands, brothers and fathers drowned before their eyes.
After that sombre story we moved on to conclude our wander around Eyemouth.

Moving on our next stop was another harbour - there are many interesting little harbours and villages to stop at along this stretch of coast!
This one was Dunbar - a working harbour (although not on a Sunday!) full of fishing boats, lobster pots and nets.

Dunbar once had a castle but it was torn down and the stone used to build two harbours. The ruined castle still stands guard over the twinned harbours and once sheltered Mary Queen of Scots.

The battery at the end of the harbour has been turned into a venue for outdoor events.

Bass Rock is visible - on a good day - from the harbour walls.

We finally moved on - not far to go now before reaching Leith, and we soon began to see very large ships moored in the docks.

Monday
Beginning where we left off yesterday …

We set off, heading across the Queensferry Crossing for St Andrews! We love this bridge and every time we cross have to take photos!

Reaching St Andrews we finally found the beach. However the wind was so strong it was a sandstorm! OK if the wind was behind you, but turning back was something different!

We have passed through St Andrews before and always intended to visit the Abbey and the Castle, but never actually have. Well today that was going to change. The Abbey was our destination.

We left the Abbey and wandered along to the Castle - or what is left of it!

Well St Andrews was certainly worth the effort to visit. Might even have to go again as there are some amazing buildings on the streets - not to mention the golf courses!
However we wanted to go and see some snowdrops today too. The Snowdrop Festival promotes some of the best gardens and woodlands where swathes of snowdrops can be seen. As we were in the area it seemed rude not to visit Cambo Gardens and see their snowdrops.
There have been snowdrops at Cambo for many years and there are many different varieties too, but it is not just snowdrops. There were some other wonderful plants flowering too.

We had a wonderful wander around the grounds looking at everything, even wandering through the woods to reach the beach.

The day ended with a lovely sky too.

Tuesday
Crossed that bridge again …

… and then searched out the Pentland Hills Regional Park. After a short walk through a wood we found the  Harlaw House Visitor Centre, where there were displays and information about the Park. We had a wander down to the reservoir but on this occasion there was not a lot to see!

However looking at the information we gathered from this centre (which is one of two information points within the park) it may well be worth another visit.
This draws to an end another trip - and although we have found some new places to visit, there is still much more to see and investigate, so we may well be back! 

Dundee 7-10th Feb 2019

Our plan was to travel by train to Dundee using the Border railway - so Thursday saw us set off by car to Hawick. Why go via Hawick? Well the friends we were going with live there! We took the scenic route via Talla Reservoir and St Mary's Loch on a lovely sunny day. The hills looked amazing - the sun and shade  made all the variations in terrain really stand out.

Talla looked pretty too with the sun just behind the hills.

But … just to prove we were only in February - some water was still icy from the overnight frost.

Friday
Not such nice weather this morning as we really began our latest adventure. We headed for the stop to catch the bus to Galashiels before crossing the road to the train station, where just a few minutes wait soon passed. The train arrived on time and our journey to Edinburgh began.
After a refreshment stop we boarded our next train to Dundee. Some sunshine allowed us good views of some of the scenery.

Crossing the Tay Rail Bridge meant we were arriving in Dundee

- unfortunately just as the rain started again. We were lucky it was only a short walk to the hotel, where Reception is on the first floor giving  stunning views overlooking the Tay road bridge. (barring lamp posts!) It is really easy just to sit in reception and watch the traffic and people passing by. One of the reasons we enjoy coming back to this particular hotel! You also get a good view of the new V&A Museum.

Saturday
We had planned to visit the Dundee Museum of Transport today. Another short bus ride (good use of our free bus passes this trip!) led to an absorbing couple of hours. We don't know why, but we were treated as VIP's with personal service and complimentary drinks!

Don't think this was a real person, but it did make us look twice!

Another use of our bus passes took us back into Dundee where we went to the new V&A Museum - recently opened by The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. We had seen the outside of the museum on a previous visit but now we could go inside!

What a building - the outside is stunning - what would the inside be like?

There are terraces as well where you can get a really good view of the city and the river.

On leaving the V&A we revisited the Discovery Centre next door - another place always worth a visit with a nice café too.
Sunday
Two members of our party decided to walk across the Tay road bridge this morning (only two, because of a bad knee) - there is a pedestrian walkway that goes across the bridge between the lanes of traffic. The ladies did walk to the bridge, but not all the way across. More traffic/people watching from the hotel instead while we waited for the walkers. The men had planned to walk across (about 1.4mi) and then catch a bus back, but the best laid plans …….
It was Sunday, and the bus was going to mean waiting for an hour on the other side - so they walked back as well!

They got back to the hotel just in time to collect our luggage and head back to the railway station to begin our journey home. Connections and timings almost worked as well on the return journey as they did on Friday. A slight delay leaving Edinburgh meant we missed our bus connection at Galashiels but a local café and a cup of tea soon passed the time.
An uneventful journey from Hawick had us back home by tea time, having enjoyed another trip away. Looking forward to the next one already!