DAY 10

Wednesday June 1^st 2016                                                             

Dunfermline to Aberdeen                                                                   Miles 160

Today was an exceptionally beautiful day.  The weather was hot (22 degrees) and sunny.  The journey, well signposted as the Coastal Tourist route, took me through the loveliest of countryside, with the sea almost at all times visible on my right side.   Today was also the day that I returned to being my own scribe and my own company as I dropped Jim off at Inverkeithing station for him to catch a train back to Norfolk.  Today is also the day that I am staying at my first Air BnB!

Actually I am not quite alone in the car as I have Samantha, but she does not have much by way of conversation, which is usually limited to “turn right” or “take the second exit at the roundabout”.  At least when I decide to take a different route she does not shout at me.  Programing her has proved frustrating at times as she can only tell you one of three options:  Shortest Route; Quickest Route or Eco Route.  I have not yet found what the “Eco Route” actually means.  No matter which one I have programed in, if I follow the official Coastal Tourist route as laid down by Fife or Angus, she still tries to take me a different way.  I am trusting the map and my own instincts more.  I am currently writing this in Aberdeen where Samantha has twice tried to send me down streets that have barriers across them.  Just as well she does not operate more important equipment such as the radar on my boat.

The east coast of Scotland is rolling gentle hills and farmland and the sea shore is in the main sandy and the sea blue.  I did not see one town or village today that I could dislike.  I knew that before the war my father was born and grew up close to Kirkcaldy and worked as a miner.  However I was pleasantly surprised to find that Kirkcaldy has a lively beach fronting onto the Firth of Forth and it was, like all the other places I went to, smart, well kept and inviting.  I had to keep reminding myself that today was “perfect weather” and I was not seeing it in the rain, but smart and well kept does not change in rain.  There is no mining in the area now but I notice a Mill for the famous Carr’s biscuits, so they have obviously moved from mining to milling.  This is such a contrast to the north east of England where the communities do not yet seem to have overcome the loss of the mining industry.

My starting region is known as the Neuk of Fife and runs from Burntisland, a nice town on the bay looking out onto Inchkeith Island, right around to St. Andrews and on to the Firth of Tay.  I worked my way along from Dunfermline to Anstruther, passing through Burntisland, Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, Wemyss (East and West), Buckhaven and Methil.

After Methil is Leven and then Lundin Links, which I was surprised to notice was twinned with Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile.  On entering the little town I found out why.  This was the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk a mariner who was shipwrecked and became the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s story, Robinson Crusoe.  After Lundin Links I entered Largo.  Just off the coast here were a three oil rigs.  Presumably not drilling but resting, waiting for the upturn in the oil industry.  I next stopped to look at the small harbour in the lovely named village of Pittenweem.

So many of these small place have a lifeboat station, but when I got to Anstruther I had to go and find the Station Leader there.  I wanted to enquire as to the whereabouts of a model of the Anstruther lifeboat made about 30 years ago by my cousin, an expert model maker who is sadly now dead.  They had three models there of different boats, but none by him and no one at the station today recognised his name.  I tried to contact his wife to find out what she knew, but was unable to reach her.  Anyway the Station Leader at Anstruther, Roger, looked so like the Station Leader in West Vancouver, Dugal, that I thought it might be his brother and so I took Roger’s photo which I will send to Dugal.  I also purchased an Anstruther RNLI sweater in case the weather in Scotland turns to that of Norfolk and I need the extra warmth!!  The Anstruther lifeboat went out on 40 calls last year, which is about half of what our lifeboat in West Vancouver gets called out on.  But with so many RNLI stations so close together I suppose that the average call out per station will be less.  They post all of their call outs on a board outside the station and they had been out over the weekend to rescue a person who fell down a cliff and broke a leg.

My journey continued on around the Neuke without my seeing anything but prettiness.  Actually not quite true I did see two men walking down the streets with their shirts off.  Neither was an Adonis, but no tattoos either.  There is a saying in Scotland “Cast not a clout ‘til May be out.”  A clout is an old word for a coat.  As today was June 1st I think they took the saying literally but also cast off their shirts and vests as well.  On the beach is OK, but along the High Street, it can put you off your latte!

One other thing common on this lovely day was learner drivers under instruction.  They seem to be taught to drive at 5 miles per hour below the speed imit.  Much of Scotland has now instituted speed limits of 20mph in towns along with a plethora of speed bumps and traffic cameras.  Jim and I noticed yesterday a driving instruction vehicle advertising lessons for £9 per hour.  Seeing as the driver has to purchase or lease a vehicle, have it adapted for extra pedals and then pay the fuel and make a living wage, I can’t understand how anyone can give lessons for £9 per hour

St Andrews

You enter the lovely University town of St. Andrews (where William and Kate met) via the famous golf course, The Royal and Ancient.  I noticed that Fairmount had their name at the outer gate so I wonder whether they have purchased it and it is part of their worldwide resorts.  I will have to ask my son who is a lawyer and has Fairmont Resorts as one of his clients.  Almost directly across the water from St Andrews is another famous golf course, Carnoustie.  So many world class courses are in this area, which I suppose is only right as the Scots claim that Golf (or Goff as it is called here) was invented in Scotland.  No-one really knows the origins but in 1457 James I of Scotland banned the playing of golf and also football as they were a distraction from archery practice!  I have many friends who are golfers and are, as far as I am aware, also appalled by the antics of the stewards at Muirfield.  I must admit that I am assuming that women are allowed to play Carnoustie and St Andrews.  I dare say if Kate returned to her Alma Mater and wanted to play a round, there would be no-one who would refuse her.

St Andrews was named after the apostle Andrew.  It was said that Constantine fearing that Christian relics would be destroyed by Islamic raiders, had the bones of St Andrew separated and sent to different parts of the Christian world.  Apparently the ship carrying some of them was wrecked off the Scottish coast and the bones brought ashore at what is now called St. Andrews.  St. Andrew also usurped St. Columba (and St. Margaret) as the patron saint of Scotland as being an apostle he had direct contact with Christ.

The town has a superb sandy beach being used by children and kayakers when I passed by.  The ruins of the Abbey dominate the town itself.  The University has very smart buildings just on the western edge of the town.

The Coastal Tourist route took me to the lovely town of Tayport, which is close to the Tay Bridge.  The land here and on over into Angus reminded me very much of Devon rolling hills and farms.

The Tay Road Bridge is celebrating its 50^th year this year (younger than me).  The Tay Rail Bridge close by was the scene of a terrible tragedy in December 1879 when in a great storm the Bridge collapsed with a train on it killing all 75 souls on board.

Over the bridge is the City of Dundee, which I did no more than skirt as it would take me away from the coastal route.  This was clearly signed to take me right, with the City off to my left.  

I was now in the county of Angus.  The first towns, Broughty Ferry and Monifieth are at least as pretty as their counterparts in Fife.  In Monifieth I called in to Tesco (thank God for Tesco!) where I purchased a meal deal.  I got a freshly made chicken and bacon pasta (good sized bowl) a bottle of orange juice and a Kit Kat, all for £2.  Unbelievable value.  Why can’t the supermarkets in Canada be as good as this?  I sat on the sandy beach to eat my meal and looked across the Firth to North Berwick where we were yesterday.  I decided to call Jim to see how he was getting on.  He was on a train moving south in grey and overcast skies. His wife Jean had called him to say it was still raining in Norfolk.  I suggested he turn around and come back and join me!

Montrose Abbey

The next place along the trail is Carnoustie and then the ancient town of Montrose, famous for it smokies, a type of smoked haddock.  A shop selling them as I entered the town seemed to be doing a roaring trade as evidenced by the number of people waiting to go in.  Montrose is a town built of red sandstone.  The Abbey, mostly ruins, is built of the same stone and is prominent in the town.  I saw little of the docks and the tide was out in the basin, which is on the opposite side of the town from the ocean.  No doubt when the tide is in this forms a large lake, but when the tide is out, it is just mud flats.

After Montrose I continued to follow the coastal route (despite Samantha prostesting).  The view continued to be wonderful.  I stopped to brew a cup of tea at a parking area and look out, with a view across to the ocean on one side and a field of very bright yellow oilseed rape on my other side.  The colours were so striking and complementary that I had to stop.  However the smell of the rape was overpowering and I had to sit in the car so that it did not mask the taste of the tea. 

 Dunnottor Castle near Stonehaven

Stonehaven

The coastal route takes you into Stonehaven entering from a high point and the first view you get of the town and its harbour is stunning.  A notice proudly proclaimed that Stonehaven was the birthplace of Robert Thomson the inventor of the pneumatic tyre.  Without him I probably would not have been making this journey, so thank you Robert.

It was then only 15 miles into Abderdeen and my first experience of Air BnB.  I had booked it on line the night before using my computer NOT the App, which is hopeless.  Samantha took me to my hosts in a small upstairs house close to the old docks.  Very clean and my hosts were helpful and charming, making me tea and offering me the run of the kitchen in the morning.  I shall shortly be trying to book a similar place in Inverness for tomorrow night. Hope it works twice.

Last night I realised that I had completed, in mileage terms, one third of my journey.  This was in 9 days, yet my plan is for 34 days.  I am still traveling to plan so it should still work, however, I think I will have to recheck the upcoming days to ensure that my timings are correct – or take a couple of days off somewhere!

Tomorrow I turn across the top of Scotland and so my northernward journey is almost done.  On Friday I expect to be at John O’Groats my northerly cardinal point.  One day after that I will reach Cape Wrath, my westernmost cardinal point and then my journey southward will begin.