According to royal charter, Scotland now has eight cities. If you apply the cathedral theory, the small Angus settlement of Brechin makes the cut, despite having just 7000 inhabitants. The football team is named Brechin City and I have visited many times as a supporter of Cowdenbeath. Today I would be following a walking route I had devised to take in some of Brechin's history, beginning at the old railway station and finishing at the cathedral.
I dropped Nicole off at Abertay University in Dundee (my alma mater) and continued up the A90 to Brechin. I parked near the the impressive Caledonian Railway Station, now the base of a heritage railway. My dad and I did the 4-mile trip to Bridge of Dun a few years back and it was a pleasant trundle through the Angus countryside. The grand House of Dun - owned by the National Trust - was marketed in the railway literature as an attraction to visit but the mansion stood a mile distant from the station and Dad wasn't physically capable of this walk. We therefore had a brief look around Bridge of Dun Station before the locomotive was turned around, ready to take us back to Brechin. The line traversed by the Caledonian Heritage Railway once connected to the high-speed Perth to Aberdeen route that avoided the slower coastal option through Dundee. The two main lines to the Granite City met north of Montrose but came under the scrutiny of Richard Beeching in the 1960s and only one would survive the axe. The old Caledonian route carried its last passenger train in 1967, although freight continued between Perth and Forfar until 1982 and a goods-only stub to Brechin was left in place at the other end of this once grand transport corridor. This arrangement ceased in 1981 and Brechin was snipped off the national rail network. A group of enthusiasts came together in an attempt to save the line as far as Bridge of Dun, which they believed would make an excellent heritage railway. Permission was quickly granted to run trains within the limits of Brechin Station and in 1993, the group were in a position to launch passenger services along the full stretch. The railway currently operates a regular weekend timetable in July and August and special kiddie-friendly journeys are scheduled to depart in the run-up to Christmas this year, adopting the theme of the popular Polar Express animated movie. Seasonal family events bring a great deal of revenue to heritage operations up and down the land, which must be especially welcome after the enforced spells of closure due to Covid. A platform café trades at Brechin from Wednesday to Sunday, which didn't suit me as I happened to be there on a Tuesday! It would certainly have been nice to have a closer look at the station. However, I made up for this by walking over a bridge which gave me a fantastic view of the terminus and assembled rolling stock.
Between the station site and the elevated Park Road, stood an abandoned building within a large plot of land, now heavily overgrown. The entrance gate was blocked to the passer-by but, from my position on the pavement, I was able to look through a couple of holes in the boundary wall (probably old windows) and gaze over the vegetation towards the historic structure. Unfortunately the glare of the sun was right in my face, rendering any attempt to take a photograph completely useless. It was a drop of several feet to the ground on the other side and I noticed a couple of stepladders lying around in the undergrowth. It looked as if someone had been in for an explore and had deposited the necessary hardware to escape. I wasn't about to try this in full view of the surrounding residents. Besides, some protective gear would have been required. Subsequent research revealed the building to be an old granary. A local newspaper report from 2021 stated that plans had been drawn up to erect a care home upon the site. An interesting little nugget to discover before my walk had even started. I followed a path that paralleled the railway for 200 yards before crossing over at an authorised point (an antique Caledonian sign urged pedestrians to stop, look and listen). I then hooked up with the trackbed of another railway that served Brechin. The line to Forfar curved around the edge of town and opened in 1895 - a relative newcomer. It was never a success and remained purely a local concern, serving only remote locations like Tannadice (the village, not the football stadium) on the way to the county town of Forfar. Passenger traffic was withdrawn in 1952 and goods services ceased in 1967. I would be following the old line - now repurposed as a nature trail - to the point where the town bypass severed the tracks. I passed through a pleasant patch of woodland and encountered the Glencadam whisky distillery. Established in 1825, Glencadam is the only remaining distillery in Angus. All malt whisky produced north of Dundee is classified as a "Highland" spirit. I could see racks of casks through the mesh fence and I hadn't been aware of Brechin's role in whisky production. An older operation, dating from 1820, distilled within living memory. North Port closed in 1983.
The town's railway heritage didn't end with the line I was walking upon. A branch diverged northwards to the small village of Edzell - a popular holiday destination in late Victorian times. The line opened in 1896 and had just one intermediate station, at Inchbare. By the 1920s there were eight daily return passenger services but this petered out in the early 30s. An attempt was made in 1938 to revive the railway as a serious proposition but this bore no fruit and passenger trains were withdrawn the same year. A light goods link remained in place and traffic served RAF Edzell - later leased to the US military. The branch closed permanently in 1964, surely one of Scotland's least known railways. Brechin once had two breweries and four textile mills but this industry has all gone and the main road has avoided the town since 1976. New housing has sprung up across the old railway trackbed in a couple of locations, forcing me to take a detour through residential streets before rejoining the path. There have been few serious proposals to reinstate any of the closed Angus lines and this one would appear to have little chance of making a comeback. Eventually the path came to an end by a field near the A90 and I began working my way back towards the town centre, passing the modern high school and navigating through a handful of streets with some fine houses. Back on the main drag, I cut down High Street (which isn't the main thoroughfare for vehicles) and grabbed a bridie and chocolate slice from a local bakery. I took my lunch into the grounds of the cathedral and found a wooden bench. The compact site contains a graveyard, the church and a curious round tower. The autumn colours were starting to display and it was a peaceful spot, although a rambling group did wander through. Nicole and I once called here while out and about in Angus and we were able to look inside the cathedral. That wasn't possible today as the final service was held last year. After 800 years of ecclesiastical service, the future of the building remains uncertain. Apparently a debt of £170,000 was cleared by the sale of the adjacent manse but the Church of Scotland aren't prepared to maintain the cathedral for the depleted congregation. The closure coincided with the 800-year anniversary and the church authorities made the (perfectly valid point) that - despite the rich history of the building - it counts for little in terms of worship without the presence of a lively bunch of attendees. The cathedral must surely be A-listed and the challenge will be to find a use for such a large space with high running costs.
The 106-feet tall round tower - built around AD 1000 - is one of only two such structures in Scotland, the other being in Abernethy, Perthshire. Constructed in Irish style and capped with a hexagonal spire, the elaborate doorway is well above ground level. The tower was a place of safekeeping for precious manuscripts and relics belonging to the monastery. The quality of the masonry is superior to all but a very few of the Irish examples. The tower is seven storeys high, but there are windows only on the third, fourth and top floors. It has been attached to Brechin Cathedral since 1806 and can only be viewed from the outside. I left the historic site and took a wander down to Skinner's Burn, which flows into the River South Esk. There were several locals out for a stroll here. Brechin Castle stands upon the Dalhousie Estate, bounded by the two watercourses, but I wasn't able to see the building due to the high wall and thick woodland beyond. Apparently the castle is only open to the public on a handful of occasions per year. Something to watch out for, as photographs revealed the baronial mansion to be a spectacular sight. I found an estate agent's website offering the place for the princely sum of £3 million. I don't play the lottery, so I guess I'll have to remain content with my two-bedroomed semi.
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