While walking in Angus as part of Hay’s Way, I went from the Angus Glens to Forfar in land, and then onto Arbroath and down the coastline to Dundee.
Here is a collection of pictures showing what I found interesting on the way.
Among the highlights of this leg of the journey was a visit to the back door of the Arbroath Fisheries – one of many businesses in the town that produces the famous Arbroath smokie.
1. Dee Ward, Rottal Estate
A driving tour with the owner of Rottal Estate, Dee Ward, in the Angus Glens. It was the first day of spring when I was there and we saw an abundance of wildlife including lapwings, curlews, oyster catchers, red kites, kestrel, snipe, just to name a few. Mr Ward also showed me where he has some tree planting projects on the go along the river to keep water cool for salmon, but also up on the hill to help drain water during bouts of heavy rainfall to reduce the impact of flooding on towns nearby. At one point we were encircled by some greylag geese, honking at us and getting a bit close while we were walking and talking by the Rottal burn. There must have been a nest there so we moved on quick. Mr Ward gave me the opportunity to have a break from the tent and invited me to stay at the estate, where I spent the evening talking more about nature projects with him and his son, Archie, who also takes a keen interest in wildlife.
2. A final goodbye to home of Piries pies
While in Angus as part of Hay's Way I was able to snap a picture of J.Pirie & Son before it shut up shop for good at the beginning of April. Alan and Norma Pirie are the five-time winners of the World Champion Scotch Pie Awards, and had just clinched their fifth title in January this year. But after 64 years in the business, they decided to hang up their aprons for good. The world-beating recipe, however, has been sold to the award-winning McCaskie’s Butcher and Café of Wemyss Bay, which was crowned the UK’s Butcher Shop of the Year last year. The Inverclyde business now owns the Pirie brand, coveted recipes and intellectual property. McCaskie’s managing director Nigel Ovens said the company would increase production of the internationally renowned Pirie Pie, along with other leading Pirie favourites at their production unit in Wemyss Bay. So maybe it's not goodbye to the Pirie pie after all.
3. Glamis Castle and the story of the "little people"
A screenshot from a video I took of Glamis Castle during a drive around with Kay Adams, who farms with her family at nearby Newhouse of Glamis, Forfar, which I went to visit on Hay's Way. The castle was childhood residence of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and is now home to her great-great nephew Simon Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore. The building is open to the public and has a string of ghost stories, including one about the ghost of the woman with no tongue. She has reportedly been seen wandering around the grounds pointing to her badly wounded face. One of my favourite tales about the fairy tale castle though is how attempts to build it initially on nearby Hunter’s Hill were thwarted by the “little people.” Legend has it Hunter’s Hill was their special place and, each night, after the builders had finished, these "little people" would sneak up to the site and dismantle the stones so that there was no trace of the building work left by the following morning. This went on for some time until the builders took the hint, and moved to build Glamis on its present site.
4. Arbroath Fisheries
(From left to right) Colin Mudie, Campbell Scott, Lauren Angus and Elaine Green showed me around Abroath Fisheries where they make the famous smokies. I saw the process from start to finish with Campbell preparing the fresh Haddock delivered on a ferry from Shetland before they are tied in pairs at the tails over a beam to then dangle over a fire in a barrel and smoked. The soft, white fish turns a coppery colour on the outside as the flesh develops a melt-in-your mouth buttery flavour with a hint of smoke. It's no surprise there is a resident seagull, Elvis, who sits patiently on a nearby rooftop waiting for any scraps to be thrown his way. https://www.scotsman.com/hays-way/hays-way-two-smokies-swinging-from-my-rucksack-a-perfect-snack-and-social-deterrent-4571847