Day 31 The Harbours Alive!

A slow start chatting to a Paul and Pauline, did some washing..
Then we all set it for Arbroath... which is the mist large town in the Coast, again a Salmon fishing Village.... They took us through the streets us following behind... so many unreal old buildings, past the Huge Abbey then into the Harbour...What a brilliant little harbour it is.... the tide was out my goodness the whole harbour entrance was completely empty.... So interesting to see it empty and when we came back a few hours later it was totally filled....

All the lobster pots lined up on the wharf, the many old rusted looking boats all sitting in the mooring area, along with boats of all sizes.... So colourful. The wonderful old shops across the other side of the Mooring harbour reflecting in the water, making the scene just amazing....

We walked across a lifting walkway that had Loch gates under it, allowing the sea to be held back where the boats were moored.... when we came back later the gates were opened with the high tide in all areas of the harbour......As we walked across the bridge there was a sign warning about Rabies certain animals that can’t be bought into the harbour from Overseas crews... What blew me away was that they had a warning about the Kangaroo having Rabies...I was a bit mad as we certainly don’t have Rabies in Australia especially in our Kangaroos .... they have other diseases for sure but not a Rabies.... I actually felt like going to see the Shipping authorities and give them a piece of my mind on the matter, but who am I a lowly Aussie who doesn’t hold a degree in animal husbandry or have an shipping knowledge... but it did make my blood boil....

Pauline had organised for us to have a haircut with her hairdresser that she goes to.... She kept apologising where she was about to take us, it was housing commission units and yes it was pretty dirty around the units, but her hairdressers unit was lovely... she was a gorgeous young women, who was busy preparing her wedding, so there were flowers in lovely dine up shaggy shiek, look sitting everywhere.... She chatted happily away...Turns out she had been with her man as she kept calling him, for 17 years and have 2 boys one 14yrs old one 5 years old..Big gap.... plus they have 3 dogs as well all living in their 2 bedroom unit... but seemed very happy with her life in the units.... I think getting housing commission units or homes is set up very different than ours is... You didn’t seem to have to be on struggle street to be able to apply.... however I could be very wrong...

Once we had finished with the lovely hairdresser who only charged £15 for the 2 of us what a bonus that was less than $30 ....... best price I ha e paid for a haircut for ever I think.....

Then off we set to do our looking, as we drove to find our sights I spotted what looked like a large castle it turned out to be this unreal structure of a water tank that was built like a small castle....This unique water tower especially designed to be like a castle due to the locals of the day wanting it to match the surrounds it was be being built in. This was the late 1880’s by 1906 it couldn’t be used anymore as the town grew too big, such a shame to see it not in use just sitting there.... but that life everything changes, even town sizes hence making it redundant.....

After the look around here we headed back to the Harbour to see the sights again and go to the Lighhouse display... but first lunch at The Old Lighthouse Restaurant, very nice and dine up like an old building inside, however it was in a new modern building at the Harbour..... lunch was lovely I had fresh Salmon you could tell it was really fresh it just melted in my mouth.... they smile the Salmon here as well, with one if the smoke houses dating back centuries....

Lunch over we set off for another wonder around the harbour, by now the tide had come in and did it so very different.... like a different place we had come this morning....

Having taken some more shots of the harbour and the little old house across it, we headed up to the Lighthouse display this is where we sat for an hour watching a Doco about how the Bell Rock was conquered and built on... with the Amazing Bell Rock Lighthouse...
The Bell Rock Lighthouse, off the coast of Angus, Scotland, is the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse. It was built between 1807 and 1810 by Robert Stevenson on the Bell Rock (also known as Inchcape) in the North Sea, 11 miles (18 km) east of the Firth of Tay. Standing 35 metres (115 ft) tall, its light is visible from 35 statute miles (56 km) inland. Heritage category A listed building The masonry work on which the lighthouse rests was constructed to such a high standard that it has not been replaced or adapted in 200 years.The lamps and reflectors were replaced in 1843 and used in the lighthouse at Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, where they are currently on display.The working of the lighthouse has been automated since 1988. The lighthouse operated in tandem with a shore station, the Bell Rock Signal Tower, built in 1813 at the mouth of Arbroath harbour. Today this building houses the Signal Tower Museum, a visitor centre detailing the history of the lighthouse. This is where we were at.....The challenges faced in the building of the lighthouse have led to it being described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.

So having watched about this unreal feat done so long ago we headed off to the Arbroath Abbey..... once there realised it was pretty expensive to see it and to be honest most of the ruins were seen quite clearly from outside. So I cheated and walked around it even putting my camera through the neatly trimmed hedge to get some shots... it worked very well... Arbroath Abbey, in the Scottish town of Arbroath, was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion for a group of Tironensian Benedictine monks from Kelso Abbey. It was consecrated in 1197 with a dedication to the deceased Saint Thomas Becket, whom the king had met at the English court.It was William's only personal foundation — he was buried before the high altar of the church in 1214. The last Abbot was Cardinal David Beaton, who in 1522 succeeded his uncle James to become Archbishop of St Andrews. The Abbey is cared for by Historic Scotland and is open to the public throughout the year (entrance charge). The distinctive red sandstone ruins stand at the top of the High Street in Arbroath.

So having done the tourist looking we headed back to Paul and Pauline’s.. they had gone to a 70th afternoon party and we had said we would be fine to amuse ourselves... That we did quite easily not eating until after 8pm, they came home around 9pm, so a drink with them then off to bed...... I do love their lovely little bit very Cosy home, it is very well designed and thought out....Read more