Northeast Scotland - Scotland - page 482

L-plan tower house. Sir David Lindsay, a cultured and well-travelled man, laid out the
castle's beautiful pleasance in 1604 as a place of contemplation and learning. Unique in
all of Scotland, this Renaissance walled garden is lined with niches for nesting birds and
sculptured plaques illustrating the cardinal virtues, the arts and the planetary deities.
Two miles north of Edzell, the B966 to Fettercairn crosses the River North Esk at Gan-
nochy Bridge. From the lay-by just over the bridge, a blue-painted wooden door in the
stone wall gives access to a delightful footpath that leads along the wooded river gorge for
1.5 miles to a scenic spot known as the Rocks of Solitude .
Bus 29 or 29A from Brechin to Laurencekirk stops at Edzell (15 minutes, seven daily
Monday to Friday, five on Saturday).
Brechin
POP 7200
The name of the local football team, Brechin City, proclaims this diminutive town's main
claim to fame - as the seat of Brechin Cathedral (now demoted to a parish church) it has
the right to call itself a city, albeit the smallest one in Scotland. Adjacent to the cathedral
is a 32m-high round tower built around 1000 as part of a Celtic monastery. It is of a type
often seen in Ireland, but one of only three that survive in Scotland. Its elevated doorway,
2m above the ground, has carvings of animals, saints and a crucifix.
Housed nearby in the 18th-century former town hall, court room and prison, Brechin
Town House Museum (St Ninian's Sq; admission free; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat) records
the history of the round tower, cathedral and town.
The town's (OK, city's) picturesque Victorian train station dates from 1897 and is now
the terminus of the restored Caledonian Railway ( www.caledonianrailway.com ; 2 Park
Rd) , which runs heritage steam trains (£10 return) along a 3.5-mile stretch of track to
Bridge of Dun. Trains run on Sunday from June to August, and on Saturday in July and
August; check website for other dates. From Bridge of Dun, it's a 15-minute signposted
walk to the House of Dun (NTS; adult/child £9.50/7; 11am-5pm Jul & Aug, noon-5pm
Wed-Sun Apr-Jun, Sep & Oct) , a beautiful Georgian country house built in 1730.
Adjoining Brechin Castle Centre (a gardening and horse-riding centre on the A90 just
west of Brechin) is Pictavia ( www.pictavia.org.uk ; adult/child £3.25/2.25; 9am-5pm
Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm Sun Apr-Oct, Sat & Sun only Nov-Mar) , an interpretive centre telling
the story of the Picts and explaining current theories about the mysterious carved symbol
stones they left behind. It's worth making a trip here before going to see the Pictish stones
at Aberlemno ( Click here ) .