Tag: The East Neuk

The Forth Ferry and a Walk

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, Ferries & boats, Scotland, walksLeave a comment

The Forth Ferry is run by Sula Boats between North Berwick and Anstruther. It does not run every day but only 2-3 times per month in the summer because of the tides. We were down at the harbour in North Berwick a while before it sailed so I had a wander around and saw some Eider ducks.

Our boat was soon ready and we set off.

There were only six of us, including three women going to do some wild swimming at Pittenweem accompanied by their dog.

There was also a guy with a bike who was going to cycle to St Andrews. The captain said that in high season there could be 50 people on board. We passed by Craigleith Island which we can see from our house.

In summer, puffins and gulls nest there.

We also saw several flying gannets with seaweed in their beaks. It was being taken back to their mates on the Bass Rock as a gift. After almost 45 minutes we were approaching Anstruther.

Entering the harbour, we passed the Chalmers Lighthouse which was built in the late 19th century in memory of Thomas Chalmers a native of Anstruther who died in 1847. We disembarked nearby.

After coffee we walked a section of the Fife Coastal Path eastwards towards Crail. The trail is 117 miles in length and runs from Kincardine to Newburgh in the Firth of Tay. We walked through eastern Anstruther and then through Cellardyke where there is a harbour now used for drying washing.

On the other side of the village is a tidal pool.

The path passes a campsite and then runs along the coast with views towards the Isle of May.

There were beaches with lots of shells

rockier ones

and one with some sand where we ate our picnic lunch.

There were several examples of fly tipping.

We passed by Caiplie Caves which were a site of early Christian worship by St Ethernan, monks and pilgrims. St Ethernan moved to the Isle of May to establish a monastery there. It was ransacked and they were killed by the Danes in 875AD.

Street artists have decorated the cave. We then retraced our steps back to Anstruther to give ourselves time to sample the fare at the well-known award winning Anstruther Fish Bar and Restaurant. Afterwards I had time to walk along the western beach. Here and on the path, I had found quite a lot of sea glass including some very small, coloured pieces.

Our boat was then approaching so it was time to return to North Berwick on a slightly rougher sea.

Soon we were almost home

and walked back to the house in the rain.

Round Britain: Anstruther to St Andrews

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, Books, bookshops and libraries, ScotlandLeave a comment


Scotland has been having some unseasonably warm weather in the last few days. On Tuesday it reached 24 degrees in Drumnadrochit and on Wednesday 25.8 in Kinlochewe which was hotter than Athens and the snowy mountains in Corsica. Our two days of driving back to the East Neuk of Fife to pick up where we left in April were plagued by closed roads, diversions and temporary traffic lights. The last few miles were through farmland where the oilseed rape was bright yellow under a blue sky and some of the potatoes were emerging. A lot of sheep were finding it very warm and I could imagine them wondering when they were going to be sheared.

Our first stop was Crail, the oldest East Neuk town. It was built around a 12th century castle and confirmed as a Royal Burgh in 1310 by Robert the Bruce. My last visit was on a primary school trip in the early 1970s. In medieval times it hosted one of the largest markets in Europe. There was much trade between Crail and Belgium and the Netherlands; delivering salted fish, linen and coal and bringing back pantiles which we were told were used as ballast. Nowadays the fishing boats bring in shellfish. The architecture of the East Neuk is characterised by crow-step gables, outside stairs and pantiles on the roof.

Heading out towards Fife Ness the road passes an old air field which was a Second World War Fleet Air Arm Station but now stands with redundant buildings and is used as a race track and to host car boot sales. At the end of the road is Crail Golfing Society which is the oldest golf club in the world, founded in 1786. There is a nature reserve on the shoreline but a height limit meant we could not park there. The golf club does allow non-players to park for £1 and a path leads down to the shore and Fife Coastal Path. There used to be a harbour at Fife Ness and a sea-beacon construction yard. This was where Robert Stevenson started to construct the first lighthouse in 1813. After five years it was almost complete when it was destroyed in a winter gale. The current low-level light dates from 1975.

There was a quay here and there is still evidence of what may have been a crane base on the rocks.

There was also a tide mill nearby and a coast guard station here since 1846.

The golf course prevents visiting Constantine’s Cave which is named after the Pictish king who is said to have been killed there by the Vikings. However, there is evidence that he died peacefully in St Andrews in 946. The cave has been used by various people over the centuries including early Christians and Fifeshire Volunteers in 1812 when there were scares over a possible French invasion.

Returning to Crail we continued towards St Andrews, stopping at Kingsbarns Distillery en route. It is outside the town, nearer to the Cambo estate. In addition to whisky, they also produce gin.

Our campsite is on the cliffs south of St Andrews and close to the coastal path where there are views over the East Stand to St Andrews.

The following morning was sunny but windier. We walked into town diverting onto the beach where the path was closed for repair.

Some of the old town walls are still in existence.

We wandered around the ruined cathedral which replaced the former St Rule’s Church and when it was consecrated in 1318, was the largest building in Scotland. The west front was completed in 1272 and then blown down by a storm. After consecration there was a fire in 1378 and it was again rebuilt. John Knox gave a sermon in the Holy Trinity Church in 1599 and during the reformation the church trappings were pulled down so that by 1600 it probably looked much like it does today.

Nearby is the ruined castle. It was here that the Protestant preacher George Wishart was burnt for heresy in 1546 at the request of Cardinal Beaton, the Archbishop. Also, in that year, a group of locals opposed to the Cardinal seized the castle. Eventually an armistice was achieved only to be followed by an artillery onslaught by the French fleet. In the 1550s it was rebuilt.

Coffee was had in the Northpoint Café whose claim to fame is that it was ‘Where Will Met Kate’. We left as students were emerging from an exam and loudly discussing their answers to the questions. Birds have been around us for much of the day. While we were breakfasting a goldcrest sat on the rowan tree at the back of the van, this gull was watching us in the street

We had lunch on a bench by the harbour sheltered from the wind.

A pair of house sparrows were feeding on worms by the water’s edge and then had a dust bath on the sandy path. A pair of Eider Ducks then landed in the harbour. We had also discovered a good secondhand bookshop and had a good chat with the proprietor who was originally from Stockport.

I recalled that while deciding which university to apply to, decided against St Andrews, partly because you could not complete the whole of your medical course there but also because coming from a small town, I wanted to go to a city and St Andrews was somewhere you took your granny on a Sunday afternoon. We have enjoyed our brief visit and tomorrow continue further around the coast.

Round Britain: Elie to Anstruther

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, ScotlandLeave a comment


On yet another wet morning we left Shell Bay and continued on the coast road. Passing the ruins of Ardross and Newark castles, we reached the east end of St Monans where the Auld Kirk stands.

St Monans (or Monance, Monanus, Monan: spelling variants have been in use over the centuries) was an Irish missionary who came to Fife in around 832. He is said to have been the first to preach the gospel on the Isle of May but was killed by Vikings in 875. The church was founded in 1265-7 on the site of the Saint’s shrine. Before 1477 the building was granted to the Dominican Friars whose priory stood on what is now the graveyard. It was burned down by English invaders in 1544 but by 1646 had been rebuilt and was the Parish Church. Various changes have been made over the years since then (some resulting from the Reformation) to how it stands today. It is open to visitors. We then walked around the town and harbour (where there were some eider ducks), stopping for coffee and enjoying the Welly Garden.

East of the town, by the coastal path stands a windmill. The Newark Coal and Salt Company was set up here in 1771, the windmill being used to power the heating of the salt pans to evaporate the water and the nearby Coal Farm is where low grade coal was mined.

Afterwards, we diverted inland slightly to Kellie Castle and Gardens. The castle dates from 1360 but was rescued and renovated by Professor James Lorimer in the 19th century. It is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. In addition to the castle, there is a walled garden and woodland walks.


As we left, passing fields of llamas or alpacas (I am not sure which) we saw a sign announcing a lost African Grey Parrot but sadly did not spot it. Back on the coast, the sun had come out and I donned my sunglasses for the first time this trip. We parked at the west end of Pittenweem by the crazy golf course and walked via the coastal path towards harbour and into town. The old seawater swimming pool lies at the foot of the cliffs but there is a sign warning swimmers that it is no longer maintained by the council and that they swim at their own risk.


It is a busy fishing port


but we also spotted a link with our recent Australian trip:

Our campsite was on the western side of Anstruther, by the coast so the following morning we walked into town in cold sunshine. Anstruther and Cellardykes are contiguous. We first came to Cellardyke Harbour which has been in existence since 1452. Over the centuries it has been destroyed by storms and rebuilt, most recently in 2002 after a 1996 storm. It was low tide when we passed by so there were no boats but it is a handy place to dry your washing.


The East Harbour in Anstruther has a small lighthouse and the waves were crashing against the end of the pier.

The main harbour was full of boats. From here you can take a boat trip to the Isle of May which we have never visited but as high winds were forecast for the afternoon (I am not a good sailor in small boats) and we needed some downtime before driving home in the morning, we decided to defer that to another time. One thing we had to do was to have lunch at the award-winning Fish Restaurant, said to be the best in Scotland and the UK. The batter on their fried haddock is made to a secret recipe. It was certainly tasty and we got a table before the big rush.

We will be saying goodbye to Fife in the morning but returning to continue our journey in May. This leg was a total of 91 miles driven and quite a few walked.