Crombie Country Park - Another Day, Another Park

Crombie Country Park
Parking	The park has a good car park but you have to pay and dismay, except in winter when it's free.
Distance	Approximately 2 miles to go around the whole park
Height / Ascent	less than 20m - the park is pretty flat
Bogginess	2 / 5
Strenuosity	1 / 5
Other Info	None

Introduction

 

Right! Off we go again! The script was much the same as before. Iffy looking weather so staying close by. Since Monikie proved quite fruitful last time, we decided to go and visit it's sister park, Crombie.

I was also about to have a stab at HDR photography here. I had read a bit about it and had tried it with my camera's built in setting but the results were rubbish. So I though I would get snapping here and use external software when I got home to try it out. Some of the results are posted here. 

Getting There and Parking Up

 

Crombie sits quite close by to Monikie and is located on the B961 which is the back road running between Dundee and Arbroath. You can get onto this road by turning of the main A92 at Muirdrum and heading North. There is then a left turn at a staggered cross junction which takes you onto this road.

There is a good car park but again they charge from Easter Weekend through to September. There really isn't anywhere else to leave your car, as there is in Monikie, so you will have to pony up the fee.

Parklife

 

So we park up and pay up and head into the park. After a short walk along a wooded path we came out at the main pond / reservoir. It is very pictureque set in a backdrop of mature trees. Plenty good enough for a few photos of just the pond alone. In addition, the weather was brightening up too.

The pictureque reservoir

We then had to decide which way to go. The park has a circular walk around it with a few alternate routes as you go round. There are information boards and a leaflet which detail all of these. We decided to go clockwise around along the bank of the reservoir to hopefully grab some more snaps of it while there were blue skies.

One of the small jettys around the reservoir. Pity its locked off

So after walking by the banks of the reservoir, the path heads into the woods. We then hit a crossroad with one way leading further along the banks of the reservoir and past a bird hide or the other, the 'Fallaws Trail', heading deeper into the woods with the promise of much wildlife to be seen. So we head along the Fallaws Trail. Unfortunately, we didn't see any wildlife in there, just dense woodland and muddy, boggy paths. Great! So after the disappointment of Fallaws Trail we come out at Hairy Nicol's Cottage at the far end of the reservoir.

We don't know who Hairy Nicol was but his / her cottage takes pride of place at the far end of the pond. It's stone built but looks like it has been renovated and inhabited in the not to distant past so it kinda lacks that quaint charm we were expecting. And it's all locked up so no entry. However, it is set in an idyllic garden area and some old bits of farm machinery have been left out to give it that hint of rural kitsch. There is also a bench so we were able to take a load off for a while. Not that the walk was that strenuous anyway.

Hairy Nicol's Cottage. Looks like the weather is on the turn as well.

Some of the old farm machinery around the cottage

So after a sit down and a smoke we headed onwards. The cottage is at the far end of the walk and the path turns back here along the other bank of the reservoir. So off we trot back along the other bank.

As we are walking back through the semi-wooded are we notice am information board telling us about Giant's Heads located in the trees throughout the park. We hadn't noticed any. So we tilted our heads upwards and holy shit, there they were. These huge, malign looking sculptures hanging in the trees. Certainly something to give the kids nightmares.

The tree giants. They're like something out of the Wicker Man.

So after that scare, we head on again. We come into a more wooded area and notice a hide. We had a look inside but couldn't see anything of interest from it, apart from the wasps nest constructed inside. Again, the lack of wildlife is quite worrying.

A wasp's nest. The only hint of wildlife we saw from the hide.

However, we make our way back and have a nosy at the jetty on the bank. It has it's share of boats moored up but nobody was taking them out today.

The rowing boats moored at the jetty. That's an HDR photo BTW

So a walk across the small bridge and we are back at the start. Our interesting walk around Crombie is over. Time to get back before the rain starts.

Heading Home - Reflection

We had a good day out at Crombie. It has a pleasant and picturesque walk around the reservoir taking you from the banks of the pond into woodland areas with some nice curios such as Hairy Nicol's cottage thrown in. We got a lot of interesting snaps and although my first real foray into HDR photography wasn't as rewarding as I'd hoped, I still got some not bad results. All in all a good day.

Worth a Visit?

Definately worth a visit. It's sister park Monikie is geared up more for outdoor sports whereas Crombie is more for nature enthusiats. It has a number of predefined walks all set in an idyllic natural landscape. There is supposedly a lot of wildlife to see but we hardly saw any. That might be better in the warmer weather. However, there is still plenty to see and photograph and the park is well geared up for visitors of all ages and abilites.

Monikie Country Park - Rain Stops Play

Monikie Country Park
Parking	The park has a good car park but you have to pay to play. Alternatively, you can just park in the village and walk in.
Distance	Variable depending on how far you want to walk around the park. But no more than a few miles if you want to go all the way around.
Height / Ascent	less than 20m - the park is pretty flat
Bogginess	1 / 5
Strenuosity	1 / 5
Other Info	None

Introduction

After being geed up from our last outing we couldn't wait to get out again somewhere new. Unfortunately, on the day we picked, the weather was (you guessed it) dull, grey and looked like it was about to pour down. So again we decided to stay close and plumped for a trip to Monikie Country Park. It was close by and we thought there was bound to be plenty to photograph at a big park such as this. Moreover, it was a school day so there wouldn't be any annoying little shits running around either. Enter car - exit Carnoustie

Getting There and Parking Up

The park is easy to find. Its located off Panmure Road in the village of Monikie. You can get to the village by turning off the A92 (the main dual carriageway between Arbroath and Dundee) onto the B962. The village and the park are well signposted so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it.

There is a car park but there is a charge for it between spring and autumn. Outwith this period they welcome contributions. Alternatively, you can do like we did and park in the village of Monikie and walk into the park, it's not far. You might be thinking we are a couple of tightwads trying to avoid charges wherever possible. I guess we are to an extent but facilities such as Monikie are run by the Council and as such should probably be a free service. Maybe I am asking too much.

Anyway, after parking in the village just across from the entrance to the park, we headed in.

Duck Tales

Afer we got into the park we headed to the southern pond titled 'Island Pond' for obvious reasons. We were met by a group of ducks paddling close by. They seemed to like getting their photo taken.

One of the many ducks lurking around Monikie Park

After the ducks had finished their photoshoot we headed over to the small hut and jetty where a load of rowing boats were tied up. A couple of old geezers clocked our cameras and asked us if we worked for The Courier (the local paper). They seemed a bit disappointed when we told them we didn't. I think they just wanted there mugshots in the paper to show their friends.

So after a little banter with those two we started snapping at the jetty. The weather was really closing in and rain wasn't far away so none of the boats had been taken out. Still, the jetty and the dramatic cloudy sky made for some good photos.

The jetty at Island Pond

We then headed on past the high ropes adventue area and up to the North Pond. Again there was a jetty with some boats moored up but not much else happening. As we started snapping, the rain started pouring down and it didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon, so this terminated our very short journey to Monikie.

On the jetty at the North Pond. The storm clouds gather

Heading Home - Reflection

 

Considering how little time we actually spent there we got a good haul of snaps. The stormy skies made for some dramatic photos. If the rain hadn't sent us running we may have walked around the perimeter of the ponds to see what else there was but I doubt thee would have been a great deal more to see. All in all it was a fun day albeit a short one and there were some good photos to show from it.

Worth a Visit?

 

It depends what you want to do. Monikie is geared up for recreational pursuits such as fishing and watersports and has a large picnic area for families. If this is your thing then Monikie is perfect. As for our pursuts walking and photographing it is less well equiped. Although you can walk around the perimeter of the ponds there won't be a great amount to see although it would still be a pleasant walk. Photographic opportunites are limited to the local wildlife and whatever is happening on the ponds. However, it would make a good place to photograph sunsets over the ponds.