Pittenweem and Elie

Pittenweem harbour is one of those places where I just feel “at home”. It’s become a bit of a habit but today we needed headspace with the sensory assault of the Rosyth Gala in full swing this afternoon. No thanks. We needed to go and find that particular “old kind” of peace and quiet, and a scamper up the East Neuk seemed to be just what we needed.

When we got there, we sat on a bench and shared a fish supper from the best chippie on the planet (Chip Ahoy at the Larachmhor). We basked a while, and walked along the harbour, indulging ourselves in an ice cream dessert. There were other Earthly Delights to be had on our afternoon outing; sweeties from the sweet shop in Pittenweem, fresh eggs and biscuits from the Ardross Farm shop and walking the footsteps of ancestors.

For me, there’s no peace like the peace of moving water beside a beach. The “shushhusshh” of gentle waves, the call of birds, the occasional clack-clack of rolling pebbles. I like the retro feel of this image; we are lucky to know some of the best places, away from the tourists, and it felt as if we were time travelers to back when the world wasn’t quite so crowded.

I make no claim of skill here, but I feel good, just trying to sketch. There’s a little beachy bit to the West of the Lady’s Tower where you can sit in the lee and be at peace with yourself and the environment. I find the Lady’s Tower a bit fiddly to sketch quickly – all those rocks that make up the walls. I need to practice more, but that’s no hardship.