Wormit to Balmerino (3 miles)
This short stage takes us along the shores of the Tay to the ruins of Balmerino Abbey. It achieves something else i.e. shortening the final trek to Newburgh. Pick up the trail at the Tay Bridge and proceed to Wormit Bay. This is a quiet spot and a memorial commemorates those who lost their lives in the 1879 disaster.
We then gain height and walk above the Tay with lovely views back towards Dundee and the Law Hill rising above the city. The path drops back to the shore and passes between a row of attractive cottages and the water. You are literally walking past someone's front room. We reach an old mill at Balmerino and leave the path to visit the abbey.
The National Trust look after Balmerino Abbey and a donation box is located at the entrance. Stroll around the remains which are believed to date from 1229. A bus stop is located at a T-junction further up the minor road that runs past the abbey. A distance of less than 300 yards. At the time of writing there is a regular service back to Wormit but only after 4pm. Before this time, it's necessary to turn left at the junction and walk 1200 yards further along to the hamlet of Bottomcraig where buses stop approximately every hour all day long. This may indeed be the preferable option as the bus shelter at Bottomcraig (pictured above) is exquisitely furnished and possibly the most comfortable in Scotland.
