My parents-in-law retired from Glasgow to the delightful village of Doune in Perthshire. This Easter, our visit to my mother-in-law coincided with uncharacteristically glorious weather which showed off the village at its best.
The village is dominated by Doune Castle, a splendid 14th century property whose more recent claim to fame is as a location for the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A stroll down to the castle and along the River Teith is deservedly popular with residents and visitors alike.
We always study the river when we walk along it and are sometimes rewarded with the sight of a salmon. Doune Angling Club enjoys salmon fishing rights – which might cost a king’s ransom elsewhere – and my late father-in law spent many a quiet afternoon on the river with rod and net. Sometimes he caught a salmon, sometimes he didn’t. One magnificent specimen graced the table at our wedding reception. He gained even more respect from the guests when it was announced that he had caught it ‘in the Teith’.
Doune has expanded to accommodate commuters to Glasgow and Edinburgh but its heart remains postcard perfect. Not far outside the village, a statue of Colonel Sir David Stirling, founder of the SAS, looks out over the countryside, no doubt admiring the many wind turbines which now controversially grace the Braes of Doune. Another local sight of interest is at Argaty, Scotland’s only feeding station for red kites.
Historically, Doune was famous for the manufacture of pistols, and the village’s symbol includes the crossed pistols. If memory serves, this emblem was downplayed after the appalling events of the 1996 massacre in Dunblane, a mere eight miles away, but the pistols are back in evidence again.
Another pleasant stroll takes you to Deanston Distillery. It’s probably best to visit on foot if there is any sampling involved. Not my tipple, I’m afraid. When it comes to our national drinks, I’m more of an Irn-Bru gal myself.
Always a pleasure to visit family, of course, and we never tire of the old joke that we’ve been ‘up in Doune’!
First published in VISA 99 (Oct 2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment