Forfar 27-31 July 2016

The sun threatened to shine as we set off from Pitlorchy towards Blairgowrie. We decided to follow the cycle path on the other side of the valley but very hurriedly regretted as it climbed some big hills. But it did have one advantage. We were able to look at a low flying jet which must have been only 100 m above us but further across the valley. I am sure I could see the whites of his eyes. The noise was deafening and I was surprised at how much angle was on the jet as it flew. I guess that is needed at such low speeds.

We found a new cycle path that ran along the valley floor and followed it to Dunkfeld. A beautiful horse begs us for some fresh grass so we

picked some from our side of the fence to feed it. The new route had one other benefit – it climbed slowly to the turnoff to . On the other side of the pass we dropped slowly with a following wind so we made good time. All through Scotland we have often remarked how much like NZ it looks. But this valley WAS New Zealand. It looked like pasture from home. The roads looked like home. The animals looked like home. It smelled just like home and the sun was shining like home. For an hour we were back in New Zealand and we got a little home sick.

At Blairgowrie we decided to check our bank balances but the system in NZ was down. So much so that we could not draw any funds from the money machine. Not a problem we decided – we will just go down the road a bit and find somewhere to wild camp. 3 hours later we arrived at Forfar having covered 80 kms in one day, but with the wind on our backs we were not completely exhausted. We found a

campground beside the Loch ( who charged a compulsory 6 pounds for power even though we had no way of using it). The campground itself was very nice and we fell off to sleep to the sound of children playing.

The next day it was sunny and we booked a second night, and set off to find any remaining relatives of mine who may have been still in Forfar. (My mothers father came from Forfar). I asked everyone I met in shops if the had any Crabbs in their family but to no avail. We had been offered lunch at a host who could not take us but was happy to help in the hunt. So we went off for a wonderful fresh lunch with Brian where we discussed relatives and cycling. He was a great help and suggested we book some time at the local registry office to access birth records for the last 150 years. He also told us the house where granddad was born was just down the road. After lunch he walked us down to Coutties Wynd and we found the house easily. We took some

photos and set off for the cemetery where we found several graves which turned out to be no-one related.

Later in the afternoon we spent our hour at the registry and found out..

Granddad had five brothers and five sisters.
The oldest, James, was born out of wedlock and the words ILLEGITIMATE adorned the certificate.
James also had a first wife who died of lung problems, re-married, and his child died at four years old, of kidney problems.
We could find no further births with James as the father.
Granddad was married and lived in Glasgow for a while. He and his first wife left Scotland between 1903 and 1913.
After one hour we realised the enormity of the task and decided to do further research when we returned to New Zealand.

The next day we were offered the chance of turning up a day early at our hosts Kirsty and Daan and while eating breakfast he turned up and chatted to us. I left early and went to the local bike shop to talk with older cyclists in the chance that they knew about any relatives. No luck. I returned to the campground and we packed up and left for the short trip to the farm just outside town.

As we arrived the 2 Labrador dogs greeted us enthusiastically and Bertie straight away made his mark by having a pee on Don’s front pannier! He was NOT popular but soon wormed his way into our hearts. Gracie was a much calmer personality but a heavy snorer.

Pebble, the cat, came and went as she pleased, as cats do. Kirsty and Daan were great hosts and we shared cycle touring stories. We discussed her adventures as a Girl Guides leader. They took us to a local beach with golden sand at Carnoustie, a town famous for its golf course. We cooked a vegetarian lasagne and apple crumble for dinner on Sunday.

We spent three wonderful nights with our hosts at their charming farm house which they are renovating (a big task). We were able to catch up on sleep, do the washing and generally laze about. It was the first time on our trip (5 months) we had 4 days in one place. We needed a good break and we got it.