Arbroath

It was the Abbot, Bernard de Linton who drafted the famous letter now called the Scottish Declaration of Independence, signed by the nobles of Scotland and dated 6 April 1320: it was despatched from Arbroath to Avignon to be read to Pope John XXII by two of their number.

It affirms the signatories' determination to uphold Scottish independence and support Robert I unless he "leave these principles he hath so nobly pursued", and contains the ringing words:

"For so long as there shall be but one hundred of us remain alive we will never give consent to subject ourselves to the domination of the English. For it is not glory, it is not riches, neither is it honours, but it is liberty alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest man will lose but with his life."

Between the abbey and the harbour, the town itself has not much of interest to offer the visitor. Down by the harbour are the old-style houses where the locals make the delicious home-cured smokies.

Here also is the Signal Tower Museum, looking like a fort with a whitewashed gateway, quadrangle and crenellated Signal Tower. It was designed by Robert Stevenson, the lighthouse builder, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson the author, as the shore establishment for the famous Bell Rock Lighthouse built by him between 1807 and 1811 on the dangerous Inchcape reef at the entrance to the Firth of Tay. It's a fascinating museum and well worth a visit.








This busy town at the mouth of the little Brothock Water (hence its name in medieval times, Aberbrothock) is well known for two things: for its "smokies", the haddocks cured in the smoke wood-chip fires in the fisher-town: and for its ruined abbey. The roofless ruins of the abbey, in the deep red sandstone of Angus, still dominate the town. Though the central tower has gone, ehough survives to indicate the one-time grandeur of this great abbey church of the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

			It was the Abbot, Bernard de Linton who drafted the famous letter now called the Scottish Declaration of Independence, signed by the nobles of Scotland and dated 6 April 1320: it was despatched from Arbroath to Avignon to be read to Pope John XXII by two of their number. It affirms the signatories' determination to uphold Scottish independence and support Robert I unless he "leave these principles he hath so nobly pursued", and contains the ringing words: "For so long as there shall be but one hundred of us remain alive we will never give consent to subject ourselves to the domination of the English. For it is not glory, it is not riches, neither is it honours, but it is liberty alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest man will lose but with his life." Between the abbey and the harbour, the town itself has not much of interest to offer the visitor. Down by the harbour are the old-style houses where the locals make the delicious home-cured smokies. Here also is the Signal Tower Museum, looking like a fort with a whitewashed gateway, quadrangle and crenellated Signal Tower. It was designed by Robert Stevenson, the lighthouse builder, grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson the author, as the shore establishment for the famous Bell Rock Lighthouse built by him between 1807 and 1811 on the dangerous Inchcape reef at the entrance to the Firth of Tay. It's a fascinating museum and well worth a visit.

For anyone who enjoys ambling along cliff-tops, the walk which starts north east of the town and continues for 3 miles to Auchmithie is well worth the effort. The deep red sandstone is fretted by the sea into a medley of headlands, arches, caves and stacks, with names such as the "Needle's E", the "Deils Head" ( a pillar bulging at the top), "Forbidden Cave" and a blow-hole, where on rough days the sea spouts up inland. For more information on the Signal Tower Museum click here. For more information on Arbroath Abbey click here.

For a map of the area, click here.