First up is news that the £2 single maximum bus fare referred to last month has been extended to the end of June. Great news for bus passengers, and as it helps reduce congestion and carbon emissions, it meets many policy objectives whilst reducing costs for cash-strapped households.
My journey this month involved an early 08:45 Sunday train from Newcastle, but no buses to get there. The car parking was rather expensive at £14. I was making a day trip to visit Arbroath, the largest town between Dundee and Aberdeen on Scotland’s North Sea Coast. It has a population of 24,000. Formerly known as Aberbrothock, Arbroath is best known for the “Smokie”, made in the town since the award of Protected Geographical Indication in 2004, which limits their production to within 8 km (5.0 mi) of Arbroath Town House. Smokies are made from haddock by traditional methods. However, my wife cannot abide the smell so I did not purchase any, nor could I on a Sunday under local trading laws.
On arrival at 12:30, I headed first for the Abbey, founded in 1178 by King William the Lion for monks of the Tironensian order. It was consecrated in 1197 with an unusual dedication to Saint Thomas Becket, the English martyr, and completed in 1233. On 6 April 1320 the Scottish Parliament met at Arbroath Abbey and addressed to the Pope the Declaration of Arbroath. This detailed the services which their “lord and sovereign” Robert the Bruce had rendered to Scotland and eloquently affirmed Scots independence. It was therefore the sensible place for the Stone of Destiny, stolen by four students from Westminster Abbey at Christmas 1950, to return it to public view. It is now held at Edinburgh Castle, but is expected to travel temporarily to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation of Charles III on 6th May. Ian Hamilton, the last of the students to die in October 2022, was responsible for the resurgence of Scottish nationalism, and I enjoyed reading his book on the return journey south.
Unfortunately I had arrived at the Abbey during their lunch break, and had to repair to The Pageant for an enjoyable scampi and chips, one of the few pubs open in the High Street. On return I enjoyed the video in the two floor visitor centre, run by Historic Scotland. It was around 14:30 when I left the Abbey, which did not give me much time before my return train at 17:58 to sample the town’s other attractions. I need not have worried, as my next port of call was closed on Sundays. The signal station is Arbroath’s only museum, open Thursday to Saturdays (surely the best days to visit the town) from 10:00-16:00, admission free. It was the shore station for the Bell Rock lighthouse and achieves great reviews. It was completed in 1813 and has been a museum since 1974.
Along the coastal strip were Pleasureland and amusement and parks, but the delightful miniature railway was being dismantled as the owning Kerr family have expanded their interests in Cleethorpes and Scarborough. I walked along the coast until spotting a bridge over the main line railway beyond Asda and headed inland beyond the retail park to Hospitalfields for a coffee in the café just before they closed. The arts centre had been open earlier in a gorgeous Scottish baronial mansion and I took the express bus back into Arbroath for only £1.60. Clearly this excursion would have worked better on Thursday, Friday or Saturday to give more time in this historic Scottish town with no need for a car park in Newcastle.
