27/08/2021
Friday's Fabulous Fly-in..."Where the Fox Hat"
When thinking of a destination to visit for today's episode of Where Do You Want to Fly Today, I was originally planning on visiting a destination quite different from where we are going to end up. Just as I was about to research it, a memory of a beer commercial from way back when popped into my head and when I looked this place up on Google, I found out it was actually a real place! ( Yes, I know.. thinking of a beer commercial at 09:30 in the morning is not a healthy thing but hey... these are stressful times! )
So... today we are going to visit a little town called; Auchtermuchty in Scotland.
To help you pronounce it, I will attach a video of the actual commercial I was talking about in the comment section for you to enjoy as well.
To reach Auchtermuchty, we are going to have to fly into Edinburgh Scotland, take a left turn onto the A90 and head north. From there you will need to turn right and take the Low Road.. yes.. you litterally have to take the Low Road to get to Auchtermuchty,(in this case I am referring to the A91) and head east until you hit the village. Auchtermuchty lies astride the A91 as it makes its way from the M90 towards Cupar and the heart of eastern Fife. It's one of those places that people don't want to have to ask directions for: a four syllable mouthful by any standards. Which is probably why it's known to its residents simply as 'Muchty.
Auchtermuchty's roots are deep. Archaeologists have found the remains of houses dating back to AD350 here. Going back even further are traces of a Roman marching camp, said by some (possibly in an effort to inject an air of mystery into the 'Muchty' story) to be the last known camp of the Roman 9th Legion which, some time around AD100, marched into Caledonia and simply disappeared off the face of the Roman world. Less mysterious is the origin of the name itself. Auchtermuchty comes from the Scottish Gaelic phrase "uachdar muc garadh" which means "upper pig enclosure". That is something I am sure the locals don't share much. Various spellings and variants of the name were recorded in medieval times, but it was as Auchtermuchty that it emerged blinking into the daylight in the centuries when enough people could read and write for the spelling of names to become fixed.
Auchtermuchty became a Royal Burgh in 1517 and spent the following several hundred years engaged in a wide variety of industrial ventures, ranging from weighing machines and engineering through linen and flax to beer and whisky. The town's brewery opened for business in 1809, but survived only until 1813.Textiles proved a larger scale employer. In 1843 there were 700 hand weavers in Auchtermuchty, while 30 people were working in the associated bleachfield. Not long later, in 1853, the branch railway from Kinross to Ladybank opened a station in Auchtermuchty, bringing the usual spurt of growth: though it closed again just 93 years later in 1950.
Now, getting back to the airport we will need to fly into to get to Auchtermuchty, Edinburgh Airport (ICAO:EGPH). The airport is located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by total passengers in 2019. It first came into existence as Turnhouse Aerodrome which was the most northerly British air defense base in World War I used by the Royal Flying Corps. The small base opened in 1916 and it was used to house the 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron from 1925, which consisted of DH 9As, Westland Wapitis, Hawker Harts, and Hawker Hind light bombers. All the aircraft used a grass air strip. In 1918 the Royal Air Force was formed and the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership transferred to the Air Ministry. When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft (1,189 m) was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain, 3, 65, and 141 Squadrons were present at the airbase.
Things You Need to know about Auchtermuchty:
1) Its most famous son is Jimmy Shand. There actually is a statue of him in the town centre. Jimmy Shand was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion. His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka.
2) It has it's own primary school, bowling alley, health centre, air conditioning business, plumbing and heating business, drug store (Chemist), pub and cemetery. When you think of it, what more do you need to enjoy a happy life???
3) It is surrounded by actual medieval castles such as:
a) Myres Castle, which when built in 1530, Myres Castle is a truly magnificent Scottish castle. Today it serves as a wedding venue that is nestled in the Kingdom of Fife.
b) Balvaird Castle, a bit, shall we say more rustic if not more authentic then Myres Castle. Balvaird Castle was started in about 1500 as residence for Sir Andrew Murray. Sir Andrew's successors in time include Earls and Dukes.
c) Dairsie Castle a castle built between 1298 and 1328. A Scottish parliament was held at the castle in early 1335. It is now operated as holiday accommodation.
4) The bells in the Bell Tower of the town church have an interesting history. One is a medieval bell with the angel Gabriel on one side and Mary and Jesus on the other side . The other bell is called the Reformation Bell and was made in the Netherlands in 1618.
5) If you want to enjoy some fishing, you just need to head down to the Auchtermuchty Burn which runs though the center of town. Burn, it the Scottish word for a waterway or small stream.
I hope you have enjoyed this little foray around our beautiful world... lets raise a glass Scottish water.. aka.. Johnny Walker and toast the day when we can make these trips together for real again.
