Pitairlie Den

Looking down on the small hamlet of Craigton, it’s school and cherry trees in bloom. I wonder what the outline of the rectangular building in the foreground used to be?

A trio of walkers approaches the reservoirs from the direction of the car park.

The beach at the north-west corner of the largest of the Monikie reservoirs, which is evidently popular with the flock of Mallards.

This is the smallest of the three reservoirs at Monikie, and as far as I can see is the only one with a name of its own. It seems to have a long and gruesome history, being derived from 'Fiend's Den'. The following is from A J Warden's five-volume set of books about Angus or Forfarshire: "The lands of Denfind were included in the barony of Downie, but, like other portions of the barony, Denfind was for a long time a distinct estate, and had its castle, the residence of the laird. The lands remain but the tower or castle disappeared long ago. "A little to the west of the farmhouse of Denfind, formerly Dunfind, there is a deep ravine called Denfiend, through which a rivulet runs. It is called the Fiend's Den, because a brigand with his family dwelt in it. He had an execrable fashion to all young men and children that he could steal or obtain by other means, and take them home and eat them. The younger they were he held them the more tender and delicate. For these acts he was burned with his wife, bairns, and family, except a young lass of one year old, who was saved and taken to Dundee, where she was brought up, but when she came to women's years, she was condemned and burned quick for the same crime her father and mother were convicted of. A great crowd, chiefly women, attended at the execution, cursing her for her crimes. To them she said, 'Why chide ye me as if I had committed a crime. Give me credit, if ye had the experience of eating human flesh you would think it so delicious that you would never forbear it again'. And so she died, without sign of repentance."

The wooded island is one of three in the southern part of the main Monikie reservoirs.

An almost monochrome view on a very dreich day.

This is a modern house with a traditional feature, a square turret on corbels on a round turret.

That's what the maps name it as, but it's actually the former Craigton Coach Inn. It was originally the manse belonging to the United Free Church next door, which has since been demolished. It was a popular pub, but closed down in 2019, blaming 'greedy discount voucher firms' for its demise, though it may be that its location and the rules on drink-driving may have played their part.

On the right is the North Settling Reservoir and to the left is the South Settling Reservoir, the two separated by a raised causeway. The Monikie reservoirs were built in the mid-19th century as part of the provision of clean water for the city of Dundee, but have been superseded by larger, more recent reservoirs.

I'm sure there must be a specific term for walkways like this that give access to where water is drawn off reservoirs.

Most of the fields in the area are just as soggy as this one, following several spells of wet weather. Beyond the field is the embankment that carried the Dundee and Forfar railway line, and the farm in the background is West Hillhead.

This channel seems to be the overflow that controls the water level in the North Settling Pond. It discharges into a ditch that drains into the Monikie Burn.

This burn seems to be the principal feeder into the North Settling Pond at Monikie Reservoirs.

It looks as if this may have been a draw-off tower when the reservoirs were being used for their original purpose of suuplying clean water to the city of Dundee.

Farm with impressive outbuildings. With pick your own blueberries, but only on Sundays!

Available on Sundays for 'pick your own'. For closer view see: Link

Some of a fieldful!

A farm in a fertile area with the cereals ripening.