The traditional county town of Angus is Forfar. I've been there many times for football matches and Nicole and I have passed through on occasion. I decided to conduct a proper exploration of the town and its history when Nicole was travelling up to Dundee to attend her part-time university course. I dropped her off then drove 12 miles up the A90, passing my old student accommodation (at 50 Forfar Road) as I navigated my way northwards through the city. I parked at Forfar Loch Country Park and began my day with a 2.5-mile stroll around the water's perimeter, now a fraction of its original size. The loch was partially drained in the late 1700s to allow the town to expand westwards
It was a pleasant wander, although the grey skies presented limited opportunities for photos. I passed the tidy grounds of Strathmore Rugby Club and Forfar West End Junior Football Club. Note - junior football in Scotland is played by men and refers to regional sides, as opposed to members of the Scottish Football League. Forfar Athletic play nationally and have achieved a fair bit of success over the years. They play at Station Park but - ironically - no supporters have alighted here in decades as the town's extensive network of passenger railways had been wiped out by the 1960s, including the high-speed Caledonian route from Perth to Aberdeen. This joined the present East Coast Main Line north of Montrose but two trunk railways to the Granite City were deemed unviable in 1967, although freight continued between Perth and Forfar until 1982. The branch to Kirriemuir closed to passengers in 1952 and freight traffic ceased in the mid-60s. The direct route northwards from Dundee to Forfar followed a similar pattern of closure, as did the line that looped from Forfar to Brechin. The first railway to reach Forfar opened way back in 1839, linking the town to Arbroath. The Caledonian company leased a section of this track in their drive to reach Aberdeen. Local services between Arbroath and Forfar ground to a halt in 1955. A sad but familiar tale. These closures condemned the county town to exist within a rail desert. Frustratingly, the final freight connection could have been repurposed had the operation lasted a few more years, as the public and political mood became increasingly protective of railways towards the end of that decade.
The entrance to the country park is just a short walk from the town centre and I left the car there and reached the busy junction of High Street and Castle Street. The Town and County Hall is located here. The impressive neoclassical building dates from 1788 and a major extension was completed in 1824. Municipal administration was moved to new premises in 1975 but the old town hall continued to function as a civic meeting place. It was a short walk along to the Meffan Institute, which houses an art gallery and the town museum. Paintings by Fife wildlife artist Derek Robertson were on display, mostly for sale. Coincidentally, a selection of his bird artwork is currently hanging in the community gallery at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and we visited just a couple of weeks ago. Derek is based in Balmerino and has been exhibited all over the world. The prices of the paintings today ranged from £380 to £4950 - slightly above my budget. Almost all the artwork featured birds, either overtly or in the background. That's a thumbs up from me. The museum aims to tell the story of the people from the Royal Burgh of Forfar and wider County of Angus, from Neolithic times to the 20th century. I was most impressed with the selection of Pictish stones. Many have been found in this area and they give a vital insight to an age before history was written down. The Kirriemuir Stone (pictured below) is decorated on both faces. The cross on the front is adorned with a woven interlace pattern and an eagle-headed figure stands above each arm. Two robed men carrying books are depicted below. The Picts are thought to descend from an amalgamation of tribes around the 3rd century. They had expert knowledge of metalworking and appreciated the medicinal properties of plants. Crops and cattle were farmed. The symbols left behind give vital clues to Pictish culture.
A highly significant (and tiny) artefact on display was the South Leckaway Anglo Saxon horse harness fitting. This object was found by a local heritage group during a field walking expedition. Made of gilded copper alloy, it dates from AD 550 - 600 and the design shows an animal. The find was of great importance to archaeologists because it is one of just a handful of 6th-century Anglo Saxon metalwork discovered north of the River Forth. It is also the only example of a harness fitting from this period to be found in the whole of Scotland. In another glass case, my eye was caught by a Bronze Age urn. They were placed upside down in the grave, sometimes with personal effects included. I also admired the remains of the Goosecroft Logboat, dug up by local workmen in 1952. Scooped from a single oak tree, the vessel has been carbon dated to around 1090 AD. As stated previously, Forfar Loch once covered a far larger territory and it is reckoned that logboats would have been a regular sight. Forfar developed into a market town but the loss of the burgh records in 1660 - burned by Cromwell's troops in revenge for supporting King Charles I - means that educated guesses must be taken about growth prior to this incident. A walk-through exhibit named The Vennel recreates a slice of commercial activity from the past. The mock cobbled street features the premises of a shoemaker, clockmaker, weaver, confectioner and baker. Forfar weavers were known for producing a thick cloth called Osnaburg. It was fashioned from linen fibres and shipped to America to clothe slaves. The town had four clock and watchmakers by the middle of the 19th century and it was interesting to learn about these industries of the past. The information about the death of Queen Victoria provoked a wry smile as the impact paralleled much of what we have just experienced with the passing of Queen Elizabeth. The text stated most people in 1901 had never known any other monarch and there was great shock when news of Victoria's death broke. The display featured a poster that would have been pinned to the town hall to inform residents of the end of an era.
Having a personal interest in the shameful treatment of women accused of witchcraft, I was drawn to the installation showing a scene from the Forfar Witch Trials. It is reckoned the town was involved in the witch hunts of 1628-1630 but no documentation from this period has survived. What does still exist from this period is a torture instrument known as the branks. An iron band fitted around the head and a metal projection went into the mouth. A chain could be attached to the wall and the purpose of the branks was presumably to prevent accused witches from uttering curses. Forfar was the only Angus burgh to execute convicted witches. Over 40 suspects were imprisoned between 1661 and 1663. They were kept awake and denied lighting and warmth. Many were prodded by pins in an attempt to locate the supposed witch mark, indeed the infamous witch prodder John Kincaid was brought all the way from Tranent to perform this gruesome task. If found guilty, the women were usually strangled then burned in a tar barrel. The final execution took place in 1642 when Helen Guthrie was condemned. The Forfar Witch Trials were finally over. The situation was replicated all over Scotland and the appalling injustice is finally being recognised as a national scandal. The museum walls projected beautiful examples of antique town and county maps. I love looking at old cartography and it allows us to see exactly how society was physically laid out in times before photography existed, or was in its infancy. It had been an educational visit but lunchtime was approaching and I decided to sample a local delicacy known across the land. The Forfar bridie. A legendary meat pasty that contains minced beef or stewed steak.
Said to have been invented by a Forfar baker in the 1850s, the bridie is now a Scottish institution and the Forfar variety is traditionally encased within shortcrust pastry. A famous purveyor of this delicacy is Saddlers Bakery, located on the High Street. I had eaten Saddler's produce many times at Station Park during the football half-time interval but today was my first visit to the actual shop. I ordered two bridies at the takeaway counter (one for Nicole to consume on the way home) and treated myself to a couple of sweet things for dessert. Saddler's has a tea room through the back and the business will hopefully maintain a presence in Forfar for many years to come. I wandered up to Reid Park - via the narrow Osnaburg Street, built in 1783 - and ate my lunch before mounting an assault on Balmashanner Hill. The bandstand in Reid Park was erected in 1900 and there is also an ornate fountain, now purely decorative. The park is named after local sweetmaker Peter Reid (1803-1897), who built a successful business empire and donated almost his entire fortune of £25,000 (around £3 million today) to the town that helped create his wealth. A gateway at the top of the park provides access to the grand war memorial on the hill summit. A panoramic view of Strathmore Valley is available and it's well worth making the short hike up from the town centre. I walked back down to the car and headed along the road to Dundee. A great day out in Forfar. Towns with a senior football side became known across the UK in the days when the Saturday results were read out on TV and radio. Did the much-quoted East Fife 4 Forfar 5 ever happen though?
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