It was a clear night and the bright morning made me wake earlier
than usual. It turned out to be handy as I have around 15 miles to
ride to get the train in Dundee. I was packed up and away by 6:30
a.m. and descended the first bit of rough track back to the road. I
had a short stretch of very steep climbing to do before I could
start The descent that passed Gallows Knowe. It was a gorgeous clear
morning with blue sky and I soon had to take a layer off, even on
the descent.
Overyards access
I rode down the valley of Knapp Burn and then a steady climb up by
Rossie Den. I reached the old A90 which runs parallel with the new
road which swung round to the right to an underpass which took me
into Longforgan. I missed my right turn by the village store as
there was a no through road sign which confused me. When I realised
my mistake I ignored the sign and continued down the road where
there was a barrier, but only for cars. It was open to cyclists and
pedestrians. I continued along the lovely open lanes passing Castle
Huntly which I could see across the fields to my right. I stopped by
an avenue of picturesque trees which were either side of the
approach to Overyards. It was now quite warm so I changed to a short
sleeve shirt and continued to the approach to Dundee Airport. I was
riding the cycle track by the main A85 which was quite uncomfortable
because of the volume of traffic. I continued along it until I came
the promenade area on the approach to Dundee. When I got to the
railway bridge the cycle track was closed for some repairs. I had to
follow a diversion along the footpath on the north side of the A85.
The Tay Rail Bridge at Dundee
I follow this to the Tesco supermarket car park where I went in to
buy some bananas and biscuits. When I came out I was able to re-join
the cycle track along the front to the Discovery Point Building.
This is the museum for the
RRS Discovery which was built in 1901 for Antarctic surveys.
RRS Discovery not looking very good
It was used by Captain Scott on at least two occasions. The ship
itself is adjacent to the museum in dry dock but has its masts
removed for repair so was not looking very good. Across the road was
the railway station which was my next objective and as expected the
entrance had police there. I cycled back to the roundabout where I
returned to join the path to the railway station pedestrian
entrance. There were two armed police there who were keeping an eye
out following the Manchester bombing on Monday night.
On the train from Dundee
I went inside and used the lift down to the platform where I
waited for my train to Glasgow. The bright sunny weather continued
and I arrived in Glasgow on time at the Queen Street railway
station. Outside there were two armed police and I was able to take
their photograph with their permission. I still had a long time to
wait for the 12:40 train from Glasgow Central so I wandered around
slowly and sat for a while waiting in the sunshine.
Police at Queen Street Station
At Glasgow Central station there werte more police and I was
able to take their photographs as well. The train left on time at
12:40 and it was a mostly uneventful journey back to Preston except
for a signal delay at Carstairs. It was still warm and sunny in
Preston and I had an enjoyable cycle ride through Avenham Park and
along the cycle track back to Bamber Bridge and then home.
Donald Dewar (1937-2000) Scotland's first-ever First
Minister.
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Whittle Wanderer
