I see the boys of summer...

This week’s noticeable reappearance of the sun and a welcome rise in temperatures has brought back a few fond memories of youthful days in the 1950s for at least one Craigie reader.

Mr Stanley Gordon, of Newport, has been casting his mind back almost seven decades to happy summer times spent taking a dip in the water at the town’s famous Braes. In the years before the construction of the Tay Road Bridge it was a particularly popular section of the Firth of Tay’s Fife coastline, especially among Dundonians seeking a day trip on one of the ferries, which were known as The Fifies.

The Braes originally belonged to Tayfield Estate and have been a public recreation ground for well over a century. In their heyday they provided a convenient base for watersports enthusiasts.

Reflecting on a glorious era in which the harbour was a real hive of activity, Mr Gordon says: “My peer group and I would scamper up and down Newport Braes and swim in the bay beside the Big Rock. We even had our own wave-making machine, when the wakes from the passing ferries would cause ‘Fifie waves’ to wash up upon the shore!

“On my way home, I used to pop into the local grocer to buy a bar of chocolate as a ‘shivery bite’. On weekends, families from Dundee would take a trip on the ferry over to Newport and picnic on the Braes.

“I also remember that passengers returning home on the last ferry would be dancing on the upper deck to the accompaniment of an accordionist. Families also travelled by train to East Newport

Station and would make their way to Windmill Park. Another popular destination was Wormit Station, where day trippers would alight and walk along the path to Balmerino. Besides Newport Braes and Windmill Park, we local youngsters were fortunate to have Craighead Woods and Tayfield Estate in which to play.”

It certainly sounds like Newport was quite a place to grow up in back in those days, and thanks go to Mr Gordon for

sharing his memories. If you have your own recollections of the famous Braes, we’d love to hear from you.