A walk to Broughty Castle and Barnhill

The Frigate Unicorn, oldest British built war ship afloat,
Quay, Dundee

On day three we decided to walk to Broughty Castle along the coastline. The lady in the Tourist Information Office had said that she thought the walk was about three miles but that we would probably have to come off the coast and walk part of the road. She was right in one sense. The walk was at least six miles by our calculation! Or maybe it just felt that way because we did have to leave the coast and follow the road behind the industrial estate. There is a roadway for cyclists but not for walkers. It was wasn't the most pleasant of walks. At times I wasn't sure what the smells were. One minute they reminded me of paint, the next manure! It was noisy and I longed to get passed it all.

Finally we found the road down to the footpath along by the water. So much better. This part of the walk was good. Broughty is a lovely little town with independent shops. I'd have loved more time there to explore but I was on a mission to find a loo! The map said there was one in the playground near the castle so we headed that way. We then went into the castle which these days is a small museum highlighting the days of the people and the ferry. There is a room with great views all around the area. For a time the castle was used when mines were laid in the sea during the war against France (I can't remember which war that was but I'm sure if you want to know it is possible to find out).

I was keen also to see Barnhill Gardens which lies a few miles further north, so we carried on our walk. The gardens were lovely. Having exhausted ourselves and knowing the prospect of the walk back through the industrial estate we decided to get the bus back to Dundee. A very wise decision, seeing as we must have walked at least eight miles the day before. The tops of my legs were aching and the night before when getting up to walk I felt quite stiff. I was aiming for something more leisurely the following day!