We recommend parking in one of the many car parks close to the High Street. All are free for at least two hours as is on-street parking. Follow the High Street uphill to the starting co-ords which should take you to a large courtyard outside the Abbey. The co-ords in bold are for places you need to stop and answer a question.
Start with a general knowledge question. If you entered Arbroath from Dundee you passed a statue commemorating a major event in Scottish history. (It's not a difficult one for Scots to guess and this is Arbroath -hint hint!!! CF Vgf va gur grkg orybj!)
· What was the date of this event? Ath April BCDE
The Abbey N56 33.740 W002 35.011
The function of the Abbey, like all Abbeys was to provide an ordered way of life based on the teachings of the Gospel under which the monks could serve God and sanctify their souls. The monks did not work outside the Abbey
Arbroath Abbey was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion in honour of the murdered St Thomas Becket of Canterbury. It was placed in the hands of a group of Tironensian monks previously resident in Kelso. He also bestowed endowments. These included the income from 24 parishes, lands, fisheries, ferries and Arbroath itself. The monks were permitted to set up a burgh, hold a market and build a harbour.
When King William died in 1214 his body was brought to the Abbey to be buried in front of the high altar in the still incomplete Abbey Church. This was finally consecrated in 1233 although it may not have been fully completed at this time.
The Declaration of Independence
On 6 April 1320 the Abbot of Arbroath, Bernard de Linton drafted the Letter of Arbroath. This document is perhaps the most important in Scottish history. The letter was written to Pope John XXII on behalf of Robert de Bruce asking him to pressurise King Edward II of England to recognise Robert de Bruce as the legitimate King of Scotland. It also asked him to remove the excommunication that he had placed on Robert after he had murdered the Red Comyn in a Dumfries Church in 1306. The letter is famous for one phrase in particular: -
…. as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.
A much more significant implication was that any future King of Scotland could only rule with the approval of the people of Scotland. It was the first time anyone, anywhere had thought of royalty in that way. The letter prompted the Pope to arrange talks although they were unsuccessful in finding a peaceful compromise.
The Arbroath Pageant Society have an annual reconstruction of the signing of the Declaration.
Full text of the Declaration may be found here English or Original Latin
After 1320 the Abbey started on a slow decline. An English attack in 1350 badly damaged it, there was a great fire in 1380 and in 1446 the Battle of Arbroath was fought in front of the Abbey resulting in 600 deaths. In 1606 Parliament granted the remaining Abbey estates to the Marquis of Hamilton, who, as the last Abbot of Arbroath had converted to Protestantism. Most of the remaining 40 or so monks continued to live at the Abbey until over time it was only the building that remained. The Abbey was then used as a source of building materials for the rest of Arbroath.
Lia Fail - The Stone of Destiny
There is also a slightly more modern connection with Scottish patriotism. On Christmas Day in 1950 the Stone of Destiny was stolen from its position under the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey by a group of Scottish Nationalists. It remained hidden until the morning of 11 April 1951 when the Abbey custodian discovered the stone on the site of the high altar. The stone was then returned to Westminster Abbey where it remained until St Andrews Day in 1996 when it was returned to Scotland and given a new home in Edinburgh Castle. There are still many who believe that the stone found in Arbroath Abbey was a replica made during the time the stone was missing.
There is an admission charge for entry to the Abbey and visitor centre (£4.50 Adults £2.25 Children £3.50 Concession). You do not need entry to the Abbey to complete this cache.
· Under the two tall arched windows are some arches on the wall. Adding halves together, how many are there in total? F
Follow the footpath through the archway.
· There are some lights set in the ground between the arches. How many are there? G
Continue along West Abbey Street until you reach the Library at N56 33.592 W002 34.825
· How many statues are set into the facing wall of the library? H
Continue along Hill Terrace and then downhill into West Newgate, turning right at the very end of the street into Seagate.
Fit O The Toon & Danger Point N56 33.382 W002 34.814
You are now in the area of town known locally as the Fit O The Toon. This area is where the fisher families of the town traditionally lived. Arbroath town council invited some fisher families from the village of Auchmithie (4 miles up the coast) to immigrate into the town in 1830 and the fishing industry grew from here. The world famous Arbroath Smokie -pairs of haddock,tied at the tails, smoked over oak chips- originally came from Auchmithie too! It was unusual for fishermen to marry outwith the fishing community and consequently there are still many of the original family names in Arbroath : Spink, Swankie, Cargill, Smith …. (You will probably see some of these names outside shops and on boards advertising fish in this area of town)
Danger Point was the site of Arbroaths first harbour. It was built in 1394 by Abbot John Gedy. It stood until 1706 when it was destroyed by a gale. Danger point is also the place where the Brothock Burn (from where Arbroath got its name - a shortened version of Aberbrothock- the mouth of the Brothock) runs into the sea.
The 16th century building herewas originally two dwelling houses. In its time it has been a Ship's Chandlers, a school and an Inn, the main fish market, a butchers shop, and latterly the home of "Auld Meg", one of the last Fisher lassies who used to smoke a clay pipe. There are folks around who still remember her, and others who say she haunts the place. It is now Team Clovas favourite restaurant !
Turn left now and follow the roadway which goes round to the outer harbour. (In stormy conditions DON’T !!- follow Old Shorehead instead, take a left at the end (to go round the blue painted public toilets) and follow the path to the harbour.)
· What is the speed limit for vehicles along this roadway? 1J
The Harbour N 56 33.385 W002 35.019
The present harbour, overlooked by a row of Georgian merchants houses was built between 1842 and 1877. It was originally used for both fishing and commercial shipping. However the decline in local industries also meant a decline in trading until it eventually became purely a fishing port. Today, although some fishing boats will still berth here and many of the local men are still working within the industry, there is no large scale landing of fish.
As you can see from the pontoons and pleasure craft in the inner harbour, tourism has become the latest use of the harbour. The dock gates and marina are the first phase of a regeneration programme for this area.
The lifeboat shed can be seen at the far side of the harbour. Arbroath lifeboat station is one of the two oldest in Scotland and had a lifeboat for over 50 years before the RNLI was formed. At present the station has an all-weather Mersey class boat "RNLB Inchcape" and a smaller D-class inshore boat. On 27 October 1953 the lifeboat capsized when crossing the harbour bar after launching to investigate reported flares. Six of her seven crew were drowned. They are named on a memorial by the harbours edge along with the names of other local seamen who have been lost to the sea.
· What date did Bowman Peter Swankie die? KL Sept 1911
The Bell Rock & Signal Tower
One of the main difficulties known to sailors navigating the east coast of Scotland in past times was the offshore reef Inchcape Rock, also known as the Bell Rock. This sandstone reef covers an area of approx 500square metres and sits approx 11 miles from Arbroath. The danger of the rock is due to the fact that for much of the time the reef is underwater. Even at low tide, it only protrudes a little through the surface. At high tide it vanishes under seven foot of water.
The name Bell Rock had come from a story that the monks from the Abbey had placed a bell there to ring out in stormy conditions and warn approaching sailors of the danger. Due to the many shipwrecks in the area (in one particularly bad storm it was known that up to seventy ships were wrecked or stranded, many of them by either by hitting the reef or the nearby coastlines in an attempt to avoid it), the Northern Lighthouse Board had long been preoccupied with placing a warning on the rock, however the authorities in London seemed to be dragging their heels about making a decision until the loss in 1804 of the 64-gun man-of-war, HMS York, which floundered with all hands on board after striking the rock. The Act of Parliament required to undertake the construction of the lighthouse finally received Royal Assent in July 1806.
The engineer chosen for the project was Robert Stevenson, part of the dynasty known as the "Lighthouse Stevensons". Between 1790 and 1940, eight members of the family planned, designed and built 97 lighthouses around the Scottish coast. The building of the Bell Rock was difficult due to the restrictions of time and tide. Work began in the summer of 1807 and continued until the light was first lit on 1st Feb 1811.Since that time there have only been 2 accidents on the rock. The first occurred during WW1 when the light was routinely only exhibited when allied shipping was expected to pass the rock. The message requesting the light be lit was not received at the lighthouse as heavy seas had meant that the delivery boat had been unable to set off. The HMS Argyll struck the west side of the reef. There were fortunately no casualties. The second accident was perhaps even more bizarre in that it did not involve a boat. In December 1955 helicopter from RAF Leuchars on an unofficial supply drop plunged out of control over the lighthouse. By good fortune the keepers were unhurt but the helicopter on its descent damaged the lighthouse. The helicopter and its crew were lost and the light was out of action for a week. The assistant lightkeeper R T Wood who tried in vain to rescue the airmen received the Queens commendation for gallantry.
The lighthouse was automated in 1988.
The signal tower stands on the shore near to the mouth of the harbour. It was completed in 1813 as the shore station for the lighthouse. The lighthouse keepers' families lived there until 1955. The large copper ball on top of the tower was used as a signal-ball between the shore and the lighthouse. At the lighthouse an identical ball was raised daily between 9 and 10 every morning signifying that all was well. This signal was observed by the off duty keeper who would answer by hoisting the ball in Arbroath. If the ball remained down at the rock it signified a problem, A boat would be put to sea immediately to investigate. The signal tower is now a free museum (Open Mon-Sat 10-5)
The lighthouse can be seen on the horizon most days at N 56 25.875 W002 22.467
Take a seat by the harbour and work out the final co-ords at
N HG CC.(K+1)J(F/L) W EED C(A-B).BHH
