Where did you go on vacations as a child?

We spent almost all of our vacations visiting my grandparents in Alyth and having short seaside breaks in the summer at Carnoustie. When we lived in Glasgow I do remember we took the train from Glasgow to Coupar Angus or Miegle, those lines were still open then although Alyth Station was closed to passenger routes even then. How we got on to Alyth I don’t remember, perhaps by bus. Getting on to Carnoustie I don’t recall either tho’ that may have been by bus or rail too.

Alyth was always such freedom for us, after living in a flat in the city…and I know Mum felt the same way too. She could just ‘shoo' us out of the front door or the back door and tell us to go and play. Carnoustie was always fun too, we spent long days on the beach and Dad would dig huge holes in the sand that we used to sit down in as a wind break. They always had to be filled in at the end of the day - ‘ in case a a blind man was walking on the beach at night’!!!

We were often joined by cousins, my granparents or family friends and a good time was had by all. We stayed in a flat above the 'Butttercup Dairy’ which had amazing pictorial tiles on the walls, they are there to this day. After we had moved to Whitley Bay and had the car. we used to drive up to Alyth.It was 208.4miles I recall. I think we knew every inch of the old road up through Morpeth, where we had a gory fascination with looking out for the old ’Looney Bin’…. through Wooler, Cornhill on Tweedand Coldstream.On to Greenlaw, where we stopped for ice creams once and left the dog behind, sitting patiently on the sidewalk waiting for our return! then on to Dalkeith and Edinburgh.

We usually stopped in Edinburgh and parked on the Castle Esplanade, as you could then, had Mckays pies for lunch and then maybe a visit to the Camera Obscura, or sometimes even the Zoo before heading on out, either over the old ferry at South Queensferry or round the ‘long way’ via the old Kincardine bridge. All this predates the Forth Road Bridge and the fancy motorways, on up to Perth and then to Blairgowrie and finally to Alyth. It used to take 8 hours and twenty minutes… each one counted with Sheila & I and the dog in the back.

Mum & Dad & David were on the bench seat in the front - and no seat belts back then. The luggage was in the ‘boot’ and in a big steamer trunk strapped to the roof rack. Quite a caravan! We did that for years, into my teens - my granny died in 1955 and we used to go on up to Alyth to visit with Grandpa.

When we moved to Kent in 1959 I imagine it was just too far and Grandpa was ready to retire, at the age of 79, so he moved down south to live with us and that was the end of our annual Alyth visits.