Smokies three ways

 Here in Arbroath the smokies have to be sampled, so we bought smokie pate, smokie and cheese scones and smokie pie. The scones and the pie were ‘interesting’ but we absolutely loved the pate.  A fabulous lunch yesterday and today.  It is Sunday and we are still here - the winds have been pretty strong and I would say it is fifty/fifty whether or not we get off tomorrow.  The winds look reasonable but the sea state may be too rough for us. We shall see. 

We have enjoyed our time here - Arbroath has a fascinating history and we particularly loved the exhibition at the Abbey which tells the story of the turbulent times of Scottish history in the time of Robert the Bruce and the Declaration of Arbroath, which was sent to the Pope in Avignon from Arbroath Abbey. It contains these wonderful lines: As long as a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself. 

We’ve also been fascinated by the history of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, built between 1807 and 1810 by Robert Stevenson on the Bell Rock in the North Sea.  It is an extraordinary feat of engineering and has saved many lives. 

Yesterday we ran (well Alan and I did a walk/run) in the Arbroath Park Run.  It is an out and back, entirely flat course along the sea.  We felt quite pleased with ourselves afterwards but it has to be said that Alan and I were not at our liveliest for the rest of the day, having run quite hard so as not to be completely last. 

At lunchtime we went into Dundee by train and spent an interesting hour and a half on HMS Unicorn - a 200 year old warship that has survived because it never saw active service. In those days the navy could afford to have some spares - ready to rig if needed! We also spent time in the Dundee V and A - a stunning building. In the evening we had a tour round RSS Discovery - an Antarctic Research ship, launched in 1901, carrying Scott and Shackleton on their first Antarctic expedition.  We ended the evening with a buffet in the Discovery Centre.  We haven’t all been moored together in this party port, but have been in three different places.  We think we were rather lucky in being comfortable in Arbroath Harbour which is very sheltered. The boats on swinging moorings in the River Tay had a rather too exciting night in the strong winds. 

The swinging moorings - video courtesy of Ricks


Photos of the Park Run, HMS Unicorn and RSS Discovery with the V and A in the background






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