The Fife Coast
We have been looking for the opportunity to climb into Garaidh, our new-to-us VW camper, and take some time to ourselves doing some of the things we both love. Today, the Gala was in town, so no further excuse was required. We headed along the A92 for familiar favourite places.
The first stop was the car park at Elie/Ruby Bay. This is a great facility, right by the beach with an easy walk to the Lighthouse or Lady’s Tower and an increasingly popular place for sea swimmers and tourists. We got lucky with the parking, so we opened the side door and claimed the vista as our own. Coffee on, we kicked back and enjoyed the entertainment. The local middle-class were there in their nice pearls with good bottles of bubbly for their picnics. French tourists were there doing a kind of barn dance thing as they tried to figure out how to park their two enormous motorhomes. Families and their dogs ambled by. Paddlers and small boat sailors played along the incoming tideline.
Rested, and not yet quite hungry enough to eat, we continued our drive along the coastal treasure trail to two favourite foodie places. The Ardross Farm Shop is one of those businesses that you just feel good about supporting. They stock great local produce from great local producers. There was a barbecue on today to raise money for charity, something these people do because that’s who they are. They are community; they work for community and they build community. It was easy to pick up a few non-essential essentials, like some of their own lager, which began life in the fields surrounding the building, or some hot smoked salmon from just along the road.
From Ardross, it’s a short hop to Bowhouse, to pick up some Balcaskie Beef Bacon (you read that correctly), which is one of those treats that once tasted, you cannot imagine life without. We got streaky this time as the back is still curing (the butcher pointed at it through the window). That’s Sunday breakfast sorted. Now for Saturday lunch…
Now, we all have a favourite chippy, but for me, the Chip Ahoy in Pittenweem is hands-down the best. Pittenweem is famous for its fishing, and the harbour, a few yards from this chip shop, has been landing fish for 800 years. There is no place better to enjoy a fish supper. They make their own tartare sauce, too. If you’re going to go, give the smoked haddock supper a try.
The last stop on our day out today was the Kilminning Nature Reserve. This place is not far from the disused airfield at Crail. There is a height restriction which the van managed to limbo under to access the small car park by the new wildlife pond created there. This is a sanctuary of peace and another great place to kick back and chill awhile, or walk by the edge of the estuary. At high tide, there is a beautiful clack-clack of the pebbles as the waves ebb and flow. The corn buntings provide musical counterpoint.
This was a day we needed - a feel-good adventure to feed the soul.
