Our adventures this week took us north and slightly west towards the Scottish town of Dumfries in search of a monument to a musician who was part of the orchestra onboard RMS Titanic.
Although we knew of the monuments existence we did not know where it was or how to get to it.
Detective sniffers activated, we left the car parked a short distance from the Old Bridge House Museum and followed the River Nith down stream.
Entrance to the small museum, contained in the oldest house in Dumfries, is free and mum was quickly sent in to get some local knowledge.
The lady was very helpful and even came outside to say hello to us. She indicated that if we headed towards Dock Park then we should find the Titanic memorial quite easily.
Concrete art – The Crossing
So the challenge was set, find Dock Park, get a good walk and come home with pictures of the Titanic memorial.
Just beyond the museum, and on the opposite side of the river, dad spotted a most unusual piece of art that reminded him of a scene from the Star Wars film – Empire Strikes Back. The scene is where one of the main characters, Hans Solo, gets frozen into a block of carbonite.
Initially, and without shadow the white column of blocks just looked like a repair had been carried out on the river bank. However, if you moved just slightly and managed to get a little bit of shadow the face and hands of a lady came into view. This just looked like the kind of image created by George Lucas in the Star Wars film.
Further research and it appears that the artwork, made from granite and not concrete, is by Matt Baker and Dan Dubowitz. It was constructed in 1998 and is called The Crossing.
Troqueer parish church
After a quick drink from the river we continued along the riverbank past the imposing but long neglected Rosefield Mills building until we came to the Troqueer parish church cemetery.
We must have spent a good half an hour looking around whilst dad took photographs and mum made mental notes. It was a vast area with many gigantic memorial stones. You should be able to read more in the next few weeks over on Gravestonepix.com.
Just beyond the church we crossed over the river via the Kirkpatrick Macmillan Bridge. It was named after Kirkpatrick MacMillan, inventor of the bicycle, who was born to the north of Dumfries in 1813.
Sick and poor seat
After a quick 20 minutes exploring Castledykes Park we started our walk upstream towards the hustle and bustle of the town centre.
Following the wide, tree lined tarmac path we found ourselves, almost by accident in Dock Park. Here Charlie found a cast iron seat just the right size for him to sit on.
Only standing about 30cm from the ground the small two seat bench had the words ‘For the sick Poor’ in relief across the front face. Almost a day after our visit we still can not find any details about why this small seat, ideal for a child, is here.
Dated 1828 it features the text ‘J Affleck Founder’ on the right hand side.
Titanic Memorial – Dock Park
Situated at the edge of the childrens’ play area is the Titanic memorial.
Placed in memory of John Law Hume and Thomas Mullin who were both on the White Star liner it is around 5m tall.
Three simple wreaths, placed at the bottom of the granite column, mark the centenary of the sinking of the vessel after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage, 14 April 1912.
Yipee, our quest complete we celebrated with an ice cream cornet bought from a nearby van. We know how to live on the edge!
Walking back towards the car we did notice a number of objects fixed to the top of the railings on our left hand side.
We think one may have been a whistle, others could have been things to spin in the wind and others looked like metal shells. It was all a bit puzzling and without explanation.
With dark clouds bubbling up overhead and the increasing threat of rain we headed straight back to the car for sandwiches and some warming soup.
Maybe you can help us out with explaining the things on the railings or possibly you know about the history of the small metal chair?
Let us know via the comments area below.
Until next time
Buster and Charlie