Bygone days

A recent news item regarding trips on the Tay brought recollections from a former resident of the Fair City.

He emails: “Having sailed with the river pilots on numerous occasions between Perth, Newburgh and Dundee from the mid-1950s through to the early 1980s, there was always something different to observe – historic buildings, ancient sites, former piers and landings or the abundant wildlife.

“While structures such as Balmerino Abbey, Ballinbreich Castle, Lindores Abbey are ruinous, others, such as Elcho Castle and Abernethy Round Tower are in a state of preservation. There are also follies which can be seen on the hilltops above Kinfauns.

“It was interesting to see the look on a foreign sea captain’s face as the intestinal Tay narrowed at its upper reaches and the Perthshire mountains could be seen to the far distance, especially in winter when capped with snow.

“Perth’s river highway was busy with commercial shipping in those days and it was not unusual to pass another vessel in the narrow confines of the navigation channel. Maritime traffic consisted of mainly Dutch and West German ships, but also Danish, Norwegian and Faroese. Once ‘flags of convenience’ appeared, previously rare flags such as Cyprus and Panama became more commonplace. The last steam coasters were in UK ownership into the 1960s and were a lasting reminder of John Masefield’s familiar school days’ poem Cargoes.

“Advances in coastal ship design gave Perth a new lease of life with ‘up-anddown’ wheelhouses, folding masts, bow thrusters and a shallow draft thus allowing heavier cargoes to be carried in longer vessels – by then the era of the river/sea ship had arrived.

“I clearly remember my first trip upriver from Dundee to Perth on board the coastal collier Cornel in 1956. It was involved in the then recently started bulk lime trade from Tyneside.

“Coincidentally, I recently came across an article in the December 8 1920 edition of The Courier headed ‘Developing the Tay – Perth Scheme Set on Foot to Restore Lost Glories of the Port’ which gave an interesting insight into the commercial potential of the River Tay.”

An ex-dundonian, now living in Chipping Camden, supplied this image of a programme issued at a schools event to mark VE Day. Lord Provost Sir Garnett Wilson said inside the programme: “This is a day to remember, when peace in Europe has come after so many years of war and we are free again to think of happy days to come.”

“This picture of a mother coot feeding her chick was taken at the South Inch pond in Perth,” says Arthur Bruce of Almondbank.