We make our way under a perfect sky to the edge of Tentsmuir Forest, looking forward to wandering through the mature pines and sandy dunes.
Strange things lie deep in the woods. Smoke rises from a cabin. I’m not sure I’d camp round here. It’s unsettling enough in daylight.
A mobile cafe provides welcome hot food at the main car park. We switch to walking across the dunes, scanning the salt marsh in vain for birdlife, emptied by the dogs running about.
The north section of the forest is rather desolate, with swathes of trees felled by storms and heavy machinery scattered in the mud. The sky turns grey and additional layers shut out the cold wind.
We stop for another coffee at Tayport, before parting company. Duncan takes the bus into Dundee, via a trip to St Andrews to collect his gear, while I walk the last five miles over the long Tay Bridge, with panoramic views of the rigs docked at the Port of Dundee. A bus zooms past, an arm waving from the window — Duncan, by a strange coincidence.
Arriving in Dundee, the rain falls, but nothing can diminish the impact of the wonderfully curved Gothic Revival staircase leading up to The McManus Art Gallery and Museum.
The building opposite is the headquarters of the publisher DC Thomson — memories of childhood comics: The Beano, The Dandy, Commando, The Broons, and Oor Wullie, with his trademark bucket.
Our Travelodge is round the corner from the original Bash Street. Thankfully, the kids are nowhere to be seen.
Duncan has dinner with family and I have a special date with fellow round Britain coastal walkers, Joanna and Billy (aka The Scottish Vagabond), who live in Fife. They are wonderful, generous company and the time flies past as tales are told and experiences swapped. I feel so many benefits from long-distance hiking. Crossing paths with like-minded souls is always the most enriching.
Walk distance: 15 miles.
Total distance: 3,940 miles.
Well, I recognise the Dundee landmarks but have not been to the part of Tentsmuir with the weird mannequins.
The mannequins are off the main trail, so you would need to make a specific detour to see them. I only went there as my son mentioned them, knowing I have an interest in weird things.