We spent the better part of three hours trying to find the Antonine Wall and the Roman fort, with little (actually no) success. We found one sign which directed us to the wall, but we asked a local on the way, and he told us that, no, that wasn't the way, but that if we followed a path in the opposite direction, we'd find it. So off we went, and each person we asked along the way told us that it was just over the next hill. After a few "next hills", and as it was starting to rain quite heavily, we decided that enough was enough, and we would save the Wall, and the fort, for next time.
However, undeterred (although I should have been deterred!), I said, "let's try coming in by Dullatur". I was hoping that there might be a road or path that would take us closer to the fort. Well, we got totally lost, and for the first time in 29 visits to Scotland, i wished that we had SatNav in the car! So once we got back to a main road, I said once again, "Let's save it for next time!"
Fortunately, we had seen a large part of the Wall on a previous trip, in the gardens of Callendar House and Park in Falkirk.
We drove back through Kirkintilloch (where, according to The Corries, there are no pubs), and stopped once again at the Regent Centre. At the Tesco, we purchased Meal Deals (chicken and bacon wrap and chicken salad sandwich, with Copella apple juice) for dinner, and loaded up on Wispas and Starbars for our onward journey. As we wandered about the Regency Centre, I noticed a large charity shop on the ground floor. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day, but I said, that's for us! We'll be back tomorrow! Back to our Premier Inn, and our Meal Deals.
Monday, July 22nd.: The weather had cleared, so we set out for Kirkintilloch once again. After breakfast at the Courtyard Cafe, we headed downstairs to Rookies Charity and Music Shop. This is one of the largest charity shops we've visited in Scotland. We wandered around a bit, and Mrs A spied a very nice ASDA carrier bag near the counter. (I should explain that Mrs A collects carrier (tote) bags, especially from supermarkets and CalMac.) She asked the lady at the register how much it was, and she replied, "That's my bag!" Mrs A explained how much she admired it, and the lady said that Mrs A could have it if she put a couple of pounds in the charity tin. Well that was too good an offer to refuse, so Mrs A put in two pounds, and the lady emptied out her bag and gave it to us. We also picked up a few CDs and books, and left Kirkintilloch in a very good mood.
And that good mood continued, as we made our way north to Aberdeen and the end of our holiday. After Dundee, we headed along the A92 coast road, as I had Arbroath Smokies in mind for lunch. We stopped at Cel's Fresh Fish on Ladybridge Street, and bought a couple of smokie pies, which we devoured in the car. One of the culinary highlights of of our holiday, and I have to admit, much better than a Meal Deal!
As we were running a bit late by then, I decided to forego continuing on the A92 through Montrose, and cut across to the faster A90. That proved to be an interesting choice, as we drove through some small towns and hamlets, one with the unusual name of Friockheim. Back on the A90, we paused for a welcome toilet break at Stracathro ("Ye May Gang Faur and Fare Waur") Services, then drove through Stonehaven for the southern end of the A90 Aberdeen Bypass.)
Instead of staying at our normal home away from home at the Premier Inn Mundurno, I had decided to stay west of Aberdeen in order to facilitate our next day's journey. So we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Westhill. As it was our 51st wedding anniversary, we decided to forego the usual Meal Deal, and splash out for a good dinner. There was nothing at all appetising on the menu at the hotel, and the only other restaurant nearby was at the Premier Inn Westhill.
More to come...