 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
| |
|
The name might sound French but it actually
comes from the Gaelic moine t’ros -
the moor on the peninsula. Geographically speaking I guess that’s exactly
what was there prior to the town which lies between the North Sea to the
east, the outflow of the River South Esk to the south and the wide tidal
Basin to the west. Draining at low tide the Basin and its reed beds are the
home of vast numbers of wildfowl and a gathering point for Pink-Footed Geese
on migration. The Basin’s importance as a home for wildfowl and waders has
resulted in much of it being designated a nature reserve and the Scottish
Wildlife Trust runs a Wildlife Centre on its south shore.
|
|
|
|
Montrose itself has a spacious, prosperous air
and appears very different from any other town in Angus and the Mearns with
its High Street resembling that of towns in the Low Countries. This is
perhaps understandable given its extensive and long-standing trading links
with the Low Countries and Scandinavia – a trade which was supplemented by
extensive smuggling after the Act of Union in 1707 – and it was also the
favoured watering-place for the landed gentry of Angus, many of whom built
their town houses here. Thus the High Street has very much the look of a
Flemish Groot Plaats, as in Mechlin or in Aalst.
|
| |
|
|
|
Dominating the High Street is the Steeple
and, below it the Town House with its arched loggia. The Steeple is attached
to, but not part of the parish Kirk (The Old Kirk) and was built in 1832 by
the distinguished architect Gillespie Graham. It is a wonderfully ornate
structure and houses “Big Peter”, a bell which is still tolled each
evening to mark the “curfew”.
Montrose was spared many of the
tribulations of Scottish history. Since William Wallace destroyed the
English-held castle in 1297, the most stirring events were probably the
frequent clashes between smugglers and excise men in the 18th
century. The campaigns of Montrose’s most distinguished citizen The
Marquis of Montrose – James Graham - passed the town by during the
Covenanting Wars of the 17th century. The Old Pretender
re-embarked here for France in 1716 following his ill-fated bid for the
throne.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Continental influences were at work in
the 16th century when the French Protestant Pierre de
Marsiliers taught at Montrose Academy (left) which is still the town’s
secondary school. Among his pupils were George Wishart and Andrew
Melville who both played major roles during the Reformation in Scotland,
the latter reminding King James VI that he was but “God’s sillie
vassal”! It was at the Academy that Greek was reputedly first taught
in Scotland when John Erskine of nearby Dun founded the school in 1554.
|
|
| |
|
In recent years the town added involvement in
the North Sea oil industry to its shipping and other industries, but
nonetheless remains a popular spot with tourists and golfers, with its easy
access inland to the Angus Glens and seawards to a low but rocky rugged
coastline, with coves favoured by smugglers and wonderful sandy beaches where semi-precious
agates are to be found.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Scurdyness
from Montrose Beach
|
Montrose Bay
in winter
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the south bank of the South Esk lies the
village of Ferryden and although its now very much a suburb of Montrose it
retains its separateness from the town. It was once a thriving fishing
village in its own right and, as the name implies, a crossing point long
before bridges spanned the river. Following the coast south from Ferryden are the
lighthouse of Scurdyness, the Elephant Rock with its natural arch forming
the “trunk” (and the nearby gravestone of a man who died before he was
born!) and Boddin Head with its now sadly ruined lime-kiln at the northern
point of the Golden Sands of Lunan Bay.
Pictures clockwise from below left:
Elephant Rock, The Bell-Tower Ferryden, Scurdyness Lighthouse, The Boddin
Limkiln in better days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Further
north and into The Mearns the crumbling cliffs have claimed as victims a
fair-sized village, Miltonhaven, and most of the castle of Kame of Mathers.
St Cyrus, the modern village has retreated to the cliff top, but the
tangle of cliffs and “dens” along salt marshes left behind when the
North Esk changed its course in 1879 form the National Nature Reserve
which is home to many rare species of plants and birds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
St Cyrus Beach with the "haar" coming in over Montrose Bay
|
|
For a map
of the area, click here.
|
 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
