St Duthac's way continued

I have now completed St Duthac's Way.  This has been a delightful path with lots of coast views, along with some wet, windy and cold weather thrown in.

One of the treats on this path has been the wild geese flying overhead.  Their noisy chatter as they pass, often in formation, invariably stops me in my tracks.  Chatting with a local I learnt that, at this time of the year, many migrate to the Montrose basin, the area I was passing through. 

Leaving Montrose I crossed the South Esk River, with its wide estuary.  The path meandered along the coast to the town Arbroath, where I planned to stay for 2 nights. 

Arbroath Abbey is an important landmark in the town.  It was founded in 1178 by William 1, intended as a memorial to William's friend Thomas Becket.  Parts of the abbey were dismantled in 1580 to build a new church, and in March 1951 the Stone of Destiny, removed (from memory, without permission) from Westminster Abbey 3 months earlier was found near the high altar.

The remains of Arbroath Abbey 

The following day, which had been forecast to be quite wet, I left my pack and headed into Dundee - in the wind and rain. It seemed I was in golf land this day, with golf courses seemingly indistinguishable from each other, though I have no doubt that the players know!

In the wet weather, complete with my waterproof socks!

Not many photos from this day - too wet, too windy, and too hard to see!

In Dundee I based myself at the Backpackers hostel, a restored group of buildings, and walked for the day, commuting back at the end of the day's walk.  The final leg of St Duthac's Way ends in St Andrews.  It was a long day which was one of the reasons I planned to walk pack free, the other being the exorbitant cost of accomodation in the town. 

The Steeple Church, Dundee

The Cathedral didn't appear accessible with these steps 

The day began with a 2.2km walk across the Tay bridge.  The bridge has 2 lanes of traffic each way, and a pedestrian / cycle path down the middle.  Access for pedestrians and cyclists is via a lift, and once on that lane there is no exit until the ramp at the other end.

The pedestrian/ cycle path on the Tay bridge 

Newport-on-Tay - the view from the bridge

The Tay bridge

A special treat was the beautiful forest that the path goes through once past the Tay estuary.   It meanders through the forest for many kilometres. 

Tayport - a delightful Cafe meant a rest spot!

St Andrews, a university town, and pilgrim destination in Medieval times, and the "home" of golf.  It was in the mid 1400's that permission was granted for the game to be played.  It had previously been banned by James 11 and James 111 - because young men were busy playing golf, rather than practising their archery!

St Andrews castle.  It was here, after George Wishart was burnt at the stake as a heretic, that the first congregation of the Protestant Church of Scotland met in May 1546

St Andrews Cathedral 

St Andrews was well decorated. 

This has been a lovely way, generally well marked, and not too arduous,  though sometimes the path was a little precarious near cliff tops.  There were also some umpleasant short patches of road walking, where care needed to be taken, but all in all it gets a tick from me.  Now I begin the Fife Pilgrims Way.