#Scotland 2015 – Sept 21, 2015

Other than when we first arrived in Scotland on 12th September, this was the first day we had rain – heavy rain. After breakfast, we grabbed our umbrellas and walked to Broughty Castle Museum which was closed for the day when we arrived here on the 19th from Kennethmont.

There were a number of interesting artifacts and displays housed in the museum over the three floors that were open to the public and we were able to leave our dripping umbrellas downstairs inside the door to the castle.

After our tour we went for a walk along the Esplanade for a short distance before turning around and walking back to Fisher Street and eventually, our hotel room.

I mean, there’s only so much you can do on a rainy day. Our original plan was to spend part of today with nearby family, but that fell through so we were left at odds as to what to do. We’d done the planes, trains and automobiles thing so decided to add bus to our modes of transport used and hopped one to where we could purchase a golf hat for the guy who administers hubby’s cancer treatments (after all, you have to keep him sweet so he’s good to you). I had only ever used a ‘transit’ bus once in Scotland and that was back in 1993 to go from the Guild Street station in Aberdeen out to the airport at Dyce. For that trip, I had to have the exact change.

This trip, shortly after we sat down, a ‘clippie’ was there to collect our fare. Exact fare wasn’t needed but no doubt appreciated. It cost £4.30 each way for both of us, which was very reasonable, we thought.

Our shopping trip completed, we caught the next bus back to Broughty Ferry. On the way, the rain started again and at one point, it teemed so hard and the windows steamed so much that we could hardly see. At least the driver could and he was the one who mattered.

When we returned to Broughty Ferry, the rain had stopped but it was still quite overcast. We got off the bus at the Post Office Bar stop and walked back in the direction of the railway station. I thought I had seen a bank with a cashpoint but I hadn’t. Looking down Gray Street, I spied the familiar Clydesdale Bank logo so we went there so we could get some cash. Of course, after we stopped here we saw all kinds of banks along Brook Street.

I had picked up a City Centre Walk brochure earlier at the museum so took a good look at it when we went back to our room. While we were there, it cleared up and the sun came back out. We picked up the cameras and out we went again – this time to capture images of some of the locations in the brochure.

As much as we both like old graveyards, we never did find this one, although towards the end of the day we got close. By now we knew that you had to get the key from the Ship Inn but we’d not seen this sign along the street before.

There were other people milling about in the area and when an older woman came along and unlocked the high gate, we thought all our Christmases had come at once. Unfortunately, this only led to her garden but if you look in the Google street view below, you can see a stone wall in behind there and another one behind it. Sure as anything, that’s where the old burial ground is.

We had already determined that we would stay in Broughty Ferry again and at the same hotel. So between now and then, I’ll be doing some more digging and printing directions and other pertinent information for us to have with us. I’d say sending it to our phones, but that only works when you have data on your phone, or can find a wi-fi hotspot.

Broughty Ferry – we’ll be back!