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During the night I got up about 2am to
have a look out to sea and see the flashing light on the Bell Rock
lighthouse. Morning was clear with a nice sunrise but the clouds
soon began to roll in. I had to be careful packing up due to a lot
of sand about and I didn’t want too much in my kit and certainly
none on my chain. I had to push my bike through the first bit of
sand and grass and on the way re-photographed the rail bogey that
used to be used to move targets for gunnery practice during the war. |
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I reached the grass and the site of
the ice house. The light was better that yesterday so took a few
more photos. I was back on the main track heading north. I hadn’t
been going long before stopping to look at a boundary stone called
The March Stone. |
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It was dated 1794 and marks a
fishing boundary. I bounced along the rough track until I emerged
from the trees and could see the Firth of Tay to my right. I reached
Tayport and rode around the dock area to emerge at the Bell Rock
Tavern then steeply up through the streets to the B945 to head
south. |
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Bell Rock Tavern illustration |
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The Tay
Rail Bridge after the collape |
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"The Tay Bridge Disaster" is a poem
written in 1880 by the Scottish poet William McGonagall, who has
been widely ‘acclaimed’ as the worst poet in history.
The poem is by far the most famous ever written by McGonagall, and
is still widely quoted. It begins:
"Beautiful railway bridge of the silv’ry Tay
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last sabbath day of 1879
Which will be remember’d for a very long time." |
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There was too much traffic for my
liking and I was relieved to turn off right along a narrow and quiet
lane. I had a short stretch of the A914 to endure before escaping to
another narrow and quiet lane. I crossed over the A92 and then
descended towards Wormit and the Tay Rail Bridge. |
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The
remains of the old column bases
can still be seen |
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Previously I’d found a rough track on
the map and followed it down under the railway, passing a bowling
green and down on to the road under the Tay Bridge. I stopped to
take in the view of the bridge which has a fascinating history.
The first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed while a train was passing over
it, killing all aboard. The bridge was designed by Sir Thomas Bouch.
It collapsed during a violent storm on 28 December 1879.
seventy-five passengers and crew died. The second, and current,
bridge opened on 20 June 1887. The bases of the old bridge piers can
be seen alongside on the east side. |
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Approaching the cycle track |
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I joined the B946 to ride east along
the coast to the
Tay Road Bridge.
The Tay Road Bridge carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay
from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee. At around 2,250 metres (1.4
mi), it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and was opened
in 1966, replacing the old Tay ferry.
Memorial for the 6 October 1938
6,041 mi. flight from the Tay estuary to Alexander Bay. Flown by
Capt. D.C. Bennett (later to establish the RAF’s Pathfinder Force
during World War II) and First Officer Ian Harvey. |
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The
Short Mayo Composite |
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I followed a pedestrian underpass to
the centre line of the bridge where a ramp goes up to the pedestrian
and cycle track runs between the vehicle lanes. It was a very
impressive approach in to Dundee. At the north end there was a
flight of steps to get down to the path below and thankfully a lift
as well to get down. A large about of building work was going on and
the cycle path was diverted round. I reached the dry dock which is
where the ship RRS Discovery is. The adjacent museum didn’t open
until 10am so I rode to Rail Station to buy my tickets home via
Edinburgh. I returned to the museum and went in to pay my £7 entry
charge. I was allowed to leave my bike in the yard area. |
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Near to the museum was an interesting
plaque about the longest sea plane flight.
On 6th October 1938 the Maia flying boat took off from the River Tay
with the Mercury seaplane on its shoulders. The Mercury separated
from the Maia six miles outside Dundee, and flew on to South Africa
to set a record for the longest nonstop flight by a seaplane – 6,045
miles.RRS Discovery was the
last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain.
Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched as a Royal
Research Ship (RRS) in 1901.
She took Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton to the Antarctic in
1901 - 1904. |
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I returned to the Railway Station to
catch the 11:30 train to Edinburgh. It was a treat of a ride as I
passed over the Tay Rail Bridge and also the Forth Rail Bridge. I
was in Edinburgh just after 13:00 and then had to wait for the 14:18
train to Preston. I was in Preston just before 17:00. I didn’t want
to ride home through busy traffic so followed the cycle route
through Avenham and along the old tram road route to Bamber Bridge
then home. |
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Crossing
the Tay by train |
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The old
pier bases can be seen below |
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Crossing
the Forth by train |
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Return to
Whittle Wanderer
