Idyllic days at Lunan Bay

Last week, we printed a lovely photograph of Craigie reader Muriel Farquharson with her father on the beach at Lunan Bay.

She writes: “The interesting photograph of Lunan Bay Station in the weekend supplement brought back many happy memories to me.

“My late father was born and brought up at Lunan, so during my childhood years (1930s and ’40s) my brother and I spent many happy times on the beautiful Lunan

Bay beach with its magnificent stretch of golden sand. Since we lived inland, we looked forward so much to these outings.

“In those days, few people owned cars so there was not a proper car park at Red Castle. As a result, the beach, which was separated into two parts by the Lunan Water, was frequently deserted.

“My uncle was the signalman at the railway station, which closed for passengers in 1930 and to goods in 1964. The signal box remained in use till 1964. My brother and I used to stand on the road bridge beside the station to watch the trains pass beneath us.

“Our family used to walk from the station to the northern part of the bay. We had to cross a couple of fields and descend under the railway bridge, further along the line, by a very steep path through the gulley known as Buckie Den. Quite often we were the only people on that secluded part of the beach, which was close to Boddin Point.

“My father loved to take us there and reminisce about his own happy childhood. He taught us, with great enthusiasm, about the different stones, shells and sea creatures found on the beach. We used to return home with collections of souvenirs including interesting pieces of driftwood. We occasionally found agates, which was very exciting.

“It was idyllic. Many wonderful, happy childhood memories!”

“This plucky wee hedgehog was out on a stormy day and attempted to cross the road from Camperdown Park to Templeton Woods in Dundee,” says Eric Niven. “Luckily, I was cycling past when he rolled up into a ball in the middle of the road. Everyone was able to stop their cars and I was able to lift him off the road to safety.”