Arbroath to Auchmithie

Arbroath

Arbroath is a small coastal town a bit north of Dundee, home of the 'Arbroath smokie', smoked haddock famous in this area due to their protected nature; one can only be an Arbroath smokie if smoked within 8 km of Arbroath, the same type of name protection both whisky and champagne enjoy.  According to our Lonely Planet guide book, 'an excellent walk follows a path along the top of the cliffs for 3 miles to the quaint fishing village of Auchmithie'.  On 22 Aug, a lovely Sunday morning, we decided to check out this coastal cliff side walk.

We took the train north to Arbroath, which is a lovely 20 minute coastal ride and, upon arriving, we found that there was a festival taking up most of the pier which also contained many of the tourist attractions.  We didn't want to pay the £2 entrance fee because we knew we wouldn't be staying long so we just walked around town for a bit.  We purchased two smokies from one of the many adorable fish shops and ate them on the beach.  They were delicious but difficult to eat, with the wind and all the bones (the fish are served whole, sliced down the middle).  Next time, if there is wind we'll find a shop with indoor seating.

Arbroath smokie

After our picnic we started on our walk.  It was a lovely day, except for the temperature fluctuations and occasional wind.  Luckily, we each had hoodies to take on and off as needed and the wind didn't blow anyone off the cliff.  Whew!

The scenery was just gorgeous and after the first mile we had it virtually to ourselves.  Besides the landscape, we were also on the lookout for sea creatures.  All the signs were mentioning whales, dolphins, and seals so we expected to see something and, luckily, we did spot a seal swimming about.  This was definitely turning out to be an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

We arrived at Auchmithie just before 4PM.  The bus to Arbroath would be there at 5PM and the only establishment in town, the But'n'Ben Restaurant, was closed until 4PM.  We went to walk around the town for a bit but then quickly realized that the town was only one street and we could see the end of it from where we stood at the bus stop.  Nevertheless, we walked down the street and back again.

At 4PM we went to investigate the But'n'Ben.  Although they were technically only serving high tea, which we weren't interested in, the lovely bar wench offered us a couple cups of coffee to enjoy in their front sitting room while we waited for the bus.

Auchmithie

At 5PM we caught our bus back to Arbroath and then jumped on a train for the rest of the journey to Dundee.