Great places to visit

[Our Scotland (Sean Whittaker)]

Tell us all about your favourite place and why we should go there.

[Jim Kelly]

Dundee www.visit-dundee.co.uk

[Jim Kelly]

Meet celebrated Scottish poet William Topaz McGonagall as you enjoy an easy stroll along Dundee's magnificent waterfront and what remains of the harbour area. Visit the two famous Tay bridges, the RRS Discovery (which took Scott to the Antarctic), HM Frigate Unicorn (the oldest British-built ship still afloat) and the North Carr lightship. Numerous information panels along the route give details of historical events on the Tay and introduce you to a sample of McGonagall's poems.

Walk ID 4630
Classification: Moderate Distance: 10.5km (6.5 miles) Typical duration: 3 hours Height gain: 150m Starting point: Maes Aberiestedd, in Criccieth OS grid reference: SH495377 (Explorer map 254) Why it's special
William Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902), poet and tragedian of Dundee, has been widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. The chief criticisms of his poetry are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. Far from making his poems dull, however, the combination produces wonderfully unintentional comic verse. Of the 200 or so poems that he wrote, the most famous is The Tay Bridge Disaster, which recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay rail bridge collapsed as a train was passing over it: "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." Following the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, McGonagall walked for almost 100km over mountainous terrain from Dundee to Balmoral through a violent thunderstorm to ask Queen Victoria if he could be the new poet laureate. Unfortunately, he was informed the Queen was not in residence and had to return home
isit

Meet celebrated Scottish poet William Topaz McGonagall as you enjoy an easy stroll along Dundee's magnificent waterfront and what remains of the harbour area. Visit the two famous Tay bridges, the RRS Discovery (which took Scott to the Antarctic), HM Frigate Unicorn (the oldest British-built ship still afloat) and the North Carr lightship. Numerous information panels along the route give details of historical events on the Tay and introduce you to a sample of McGonagall's poems.

William Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902), poet and tragedian of Dundee, has been widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. The chief criticisms of his poetry are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. Far from making his poems dull, however, the combination produces wonderfully unintentional comic verse. Of the 200 or so poems that he wrote, the most famous is The Tay Bridge Disaster, which recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay rail bridge collapsed as a train was passing over it: "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." Following the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, McGonagall walked for almost 100km over mountainous terrain from Dundee to Balmoral through a violent thunderstorm to ask Queen Victoria if he could be the new poet laureate. Unfortunately, he was informed the Queen was not in residence and had to return home

[Gordon Ellis]

I reckon I've probably got the best existence in the world. I'm about to move to a job which extend my Highlands and Islands Area to include Grampian. I shall have about 15 offices, all over Grampian, the North of Scotland and the Islands, so I shall have to visit Skye, Lochmaddy in North Uist, Stornoway in Lewis, Kirkwall in Orkney, Lerwick in Shetland, Aberdeen, Stonehaven, Banff, Peterhead, Dingwall, Fort William, Wick and Elgin. It is virtually impossible to choose a favourite from all these, as I see them at different times of the year when the weather is so different, and the whole atmosphere changes. They are all spectacular in their own right!

In addition, I get to visit the central belt regularly so have the delights of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Would like a bit more of the Borders and Galloway though.

To top it all I stay in Nairn which is a very pleasant place to live. Does life get any better?

[Ana]

Sounds ideal Gordon!!!!!!!

[Ana]

My husbands family is from the area - sounds very beautiful.....archaelogy and no people - sounds perfectxx

[Kirsten Easdale]

I'm very lucky to live in a beautiful wee town, Helensburgh. We have a south west facing seafront with great views and plenty of interesting shops, cafes, bars and up the hill a wee bit, there is the Victorian Hermitage park with public tennis courts and a bowling green.

Along the front a bit, is Kidston Park which is right on the shore and is a good place to watch the sunset.

The National Trusts famous Hillhouse designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh is right here, as well as other fabulous architechtural gems from victorian villas to arts and crafts mansions.

For those who like sport, there is the Golf course, tennis club, rugby and cricket club. Helensburgh and Rhu are the home to 2 sailing clubs (Helensburgh sailing Club and The Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club). We also have facilities for visiting craft at Rhu Marina (Simon Le Bon's old yacht, 'Drum' is based there). There is canoeing and sailing courses at Blairvadich and round the loch (Gareloch) at Roseneath.
There are also cycle tracks to Garelochead and over to Loch Lomond.

Helensburgh is also only a stones throw from Loch Lomond (15 minutes drive) and you can take the passenger ferry over to Kilcreggan and Gourock, with wonderful views of the Clyde resorts.

Helensburgh upper station (yes we have 2) is the first stop on the Highland Railway line, and we are only 45 minutes from Glasgow, from Helensburgh Central, so I think we have the best of all worlds right here.

I've probably missed out loads of other things, so if anybody can think of anything else that Helensburgh has to offer, please let everyone know.

Please come and visit us on your road North, and take a wee detour over the hill from Loch Lomond on the A82

[Geniusmentis]

Glen Coe is wonderful and sublime!

Glen Coe (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Comhann) is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated National Scenic Area of Ben Nevis and Glen Coe. The narrow glen shows a dramatically grim grandeur. The glen, approaching from the east on the main A82 road, is surrounded by wild and precipitous mountains. Further west at Invercoe, the landscape has a softer beauty before the main entrance to the glen. The main settlement is the village of Glencoe.

The name Glen Coe is often said to mean "Glen of Weeping", perhaps with some reference to the infamous Massacre of Glencoe which took place there in 1692. However, 'Gleann Comhann' does not translate as 'Glen of Weeping'. In fact the Glen is named for the River Coe which runs through it, and bore this name long prior to the 1692 incident. The name of the river itself is believed to predate the Gaelic language and its meaning is not known. One possibility is that it was named for a tribe once living in the area; however this remains speculation. It is also possible that the name stems from an individual personal name, Comhan (gen. Chomhain).

[Chris Cuthbert]

I am lucky enough to be a part of the Creag Dhont M.C, who's Dhoss(bunkhouse) is situated in the grounds of the Kings House Hotel. This is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been and visit as much as possible.(just back from our latest visit yesterday) The views as you drive along the A82 are some of the best in the country. If you venture up into the hills it opens up a whole new picture of the Highlands. No matter what direction you look there are Mountain tops and lochs as far as the eye can see. A photographers paradise. Every time you visit, it looks different to the last time you saw it. Will never tire of Glencoe. If your ever there, pop into the Kings House for a good whiskey, good food and great company.

[Charlie Clark]

We are very Lucky living in Scotland as there are many great places to visit.I have been lucky to visit a lot of Scotland.

 

My Fav's are

Orkney

Western Islands especially Isle of Barra

The Borders

Edinburgh (Great City to live)

Isle of Mull

Isle of Skye

 

 

[Alison Allen]

Sanna Bay is breathtaking, I try and visit at least once a year!

[Sebastiaan van Wordragen]

Wel we have made a trip of almost 1700 km within 3 weeks.

It was a very nice way to discover scotland in our own pace. We made at forehand all the arrangements, so we knew we had a place to stay. We planned everything around the things we would love to see that trip and so we did.

The only thing we didn't do was to plan where we would eat, because the locals know best and they have shown us a great time and places, so tis trip is not soon forgotten :), See this link for an overview The Trip

If there is anyone on this forum who want to know where we stayed or where we have eaten, I can make some changes to the map, with names of restaurants. etc...

hope you will like it