Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
where Captain Scott and fellow explorer Doctor Wilson planned their ill-fated trip to
Antarctica in 1910-11, with a roadside
stone cairn
commemorating the expedition.
From here on, Glen Prosen remains essentially a quiet wooded backwater, with all the
wild and rugged splendour of the other glens but without the crowds. To explore the area
thoroughly you need to go on foot, but a good road circuit can be made by crossing the
river at the tiny village of
Glenprosen
and
returning to Kirriemuir along the western side
of the glen via Pearsie. Alternatively, the reasonably easy four-mile
Minister's Path
links
Prosen with Clova; it is clearly marked and leaves from near the church in the village.
10
Meigle Museum
Dundee Rd, Meigle • April-Sept daily 9.30am-5.30pm • £4.50; HS • Hourly bus #57 from Dundee to Perth passes through Meigle
Fifteen miles north of Dundee on the B954 lies the tiny settlement of
Meigle
, home to
Scotland's most important collection of early Christian and Pictish
inscribed stones
.
Housed in a modest former schoolhouse, the
Meigle Museum
displays some thirty pieces
dating from the seventh to the tenth centuries, all found in and around the nearby
churchyard. he majority are either gravestones that would have lain flat, or cross slabs
inscribed with the sign of the cross, which were usually standing. Most impressive is the
7ft-tall great cross slab, said to be the gravestone of Guinevere, wife of King Arthur. he
exact purpose of the stones and their enigmatic symbols is obscure, as is the reason why so
many of them were found at Meigle. he most likely theory suggests that Meigle was once
an important ecclesiastical centre that attracted secular burials of prominent Picts.
Glen Isla and around
hree and a half miles north of Meigle is
Alyth
, near which, legend has it, Guinevere
was held captive by Mordred. It's a sleepy village at the south end of
Glen Isla
, which
runs parallel to Glen Shee, and is linked to it by the A926. If you decide to stay in the
area, your best options for accommodation are in and around
Kirkton of Glenisla,
a
small hamlet ten miles north of Alyth.
Reekie Linn
Close to the Bridge of Craigisla, which is a ten-minute drive north of Alyth along the
B954, the River Isla narrows and then plunges some 60ft into a deep gorge to produce
the classically pretty waterfall of
Reekie Linn
, or “smoking fall”, so called because of the
water mist produced when the fall hits a ledge and bounces a further 20ft into a deep
pool known as the Black Dub. here's a car park beside the bridge, and the waterfall is
a short walk away along the river's edge.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE GLEN ISLA AND AROUND
By bus
Transport connections into the glen are limited. Alyth is on the main bus routes linking Blairgowrie with Dundee.
ACTIVITIES
Glenmarkie Horse Riding and Trekking Centre
Around three miles northeast of Kirkton of Glenisla
T
01575 582293,
W
glenmarkie.co.uk.
Beyond
West
Freuchies
(see below), a long and bumpy road leads to this
remote activity centre, where you can take horse-riding
lessons (£26/hr) in a spectacularly rural landscape.
ACCOMMODATION
Glenisla Hotel
In Kirkton of Glenisla, ten miles north
of Alyth
T
01575 582223,
W
glenisla-hotel.com.
Cosy
hotel, which doubles as a good p
lace for
classy home-made
bar food and convivial drinking.
£77.50
West Freuchies
Just outside Kirkton of Glenisla
T
01575
A comfortable B&B whose first-floor rooms have views over
the hills. There's also self-catering accommodation nearby
in a converted mill. Approaching from Alyth, a right-hand
turn leads northeast to t
he B
&B (signposted before you
reach Kirkton of Glenisla).
£70
582716,
W
glenisla-westfreuchies.co.uk.
