Holiday in Fife: Days 6 and 7: Cambo Gardens, St Andrews and Crail to Anstruther Coastal Walk

Cambo Gardens were our first port of call on Thursday 24 March. It is our third visit to these lovely gardens. They are famous for their snowdrop display, which was just about finished, but there were still plenty of Spring bulbs to see - and the pigs!

 The forest walk leads down to the sea.

The stables, which are going to be refurbished shortly.

Some of the pigs - you can buy potatoes to feed them. So cute! There was a sow with a litter of piglets in a distant area, but we didn't go over to disturb them.

A collage of some of the flowers and statues we saw; including hellebores, primroses etc.

We had a morning coffee and cake in the cafe - dogs allowed and gluten free available, so it gets my vote! I think we might have been the only people there apart from the staff.

For lunch, we went back into St Andrews to Tulsi - a Thai and Indian Restaurant. We had the vegetable thali, which was delicious. A large compartmentalised tray each of rice, dal, okra, aubergine and spinach with potato curries. The owner/waiter was very friendly and helpful. Rob had a mixed veg curry instead of the okra with his, and parathas. We were also given complimentary poppadoms with mango chutney. With two soft drinks, the bill came to £31.40. There was far more than we could eat, although I would have liked to! The food was mildly spiced, but with plenty of flavour, made with freshly prepared vegetables and herbs. I am sure we will return next time we are in St Andrews.

On Friday 25 March, it was another sunny day, so we headed out to walk from Crail to Anstruther along the coastal path. This is one of my favourite sections of the walk. 

Looking back to Crail harbour.

Strange rock formations.

Cellardyke.

Anstruther harbour.

We had a coffee and cake in the Coast Coffee Cafe, sitting outside overlooking the harbour. Very pleasant! We just had time to wander around the harbour before heading to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Crail. The buses run along the coast hourly during the day.

Lunch was at the Crail Harbour Gallery. Dogs are allowed (at least in the garden) and we piled in there with everyone else on this lovely day. The garden overlooks a small sloping area with chickens in it, and beyond that, the sea. It is quite 'cosy', so everyone soon started chatting and it was a very friendly little party. The Cafe serves paninis and fish dishes, but sadly no vegetarian gluten free food, apart from cake. Rob had a cheese panini with salad and crisps. I had yet another piece of cake: this one with apple. I would definitely come back to this cafe again, though, for the coffee and the view.

The week had gone very quickly, as holidays always do, but I'm sure we'll be back for another visit to Fife. The best bits were the lovely coastal walks, visiting the pretty fishing villages of the East Neuk, and shopping in St Andrews. Most of the cafes we visited were very good - my favourite lunch was at Cuppa Coffee House in Pittenweem, favourite main meal at Tulsi, and favourite takeaway (we only had one, but it was good - hot and spicy!) was from Eastern Touch in Anstruther.

Holiday in Fife: Day 2: Fife Coastal Path From Crail to Fife Ness

We decided to take it (fairly) easy today with a walk along the Fife Coastal Path between Crail and Fife Ness. It was quite hot and sunny. Very unexpected in March.

This pathway is about 5 minutes walk from the Crail Posthouse, so it was easy for us to go North or South from here.

You pass through a caravan park on the outskirts of Crail, then the path hugs the shore for the next few miles.

Looking back towards Crail

There is a wildlife reserve at one point - Kilminning. We certainly saw lots of sea birds and some early queen bees feeding on the gorse blossoms.

Approaching Fife Ness Coastguard Station (which I believe is no longer in use).

We had heard lots of screeching tyres and revving engines as we walked along, and all was explained as we turned inland at Craighead, passing the golf course, and coming to the Crail Raceway. The racetrack is based on an old airfield and is fortnightly filled with amateurs coming to drag race or track race. Fun for those taking part, not so much for those looking for peace and quiet!

We were going to have dinner in the Golf Hotel, which allows dogs in the bar area, but it was packed with people, and the three or four small tables were all taken, so we bought some food in the local Co-op and Smoke Fired Whole Foods shop for dinner. 

Holiday in Fife: Day One: Dunfermline and Crail

Rob, Brock and I are just back from a week's holiday in Fife, staying at The Posthouse in Crail. We had a great time and enjoyed lots of walks, shopping, relaxing in cafes and at the lovely accommodation.

We started out with a stop-off in Dunfermline at the Pittencrieff Park. There are acres of grass and trees, flower borders and a cafe with an outside deck for having a coffee in the sunshine. Brock had a fine time meeting and greeting the other dogs.

Pittencrieff House Museum

The Peacock Room Cafe

There are lots of beautiful old buildings in the town, and I was surprised to learn that it was originally Scotland's capital.

We arrived at the Crail Posthouse at about 3 pm. It is beautifully furnished and decorated with many artworks including photographs of wildlife, large posters for the Canadian railway, oil paintings and more. There was a welcome pack including champagne, a bar of chocolate, milk, crisps, shortbread, ground coffee etc The two shower/bath rooms were well stocked with toiletries and, most importantly, loo rolls! On the ground floor is an entrance hall with bookcase and coat pegs and a staircase leading up to the first floor where the kitchen/diner and sitting room are found. There is also a shower room/toilet, a utility room, and a double bedroom. On the second floor is a small study/library with comfortable chairs and lovely views to the sea, also a gorgeous bathroom (I adopted this one!) with a free-standing roll top bath, stained glass window, power shower, and loo. There are also two more bedrooms, although we didn't use them.

Brock making himself at home. He should actually be on the comfortable bean bag provided for dogs, but has sneaked onto the sofa albeit on a 'throw' we brought with us.

There is no garden with the property as it is a 'town house' on the main street, however, there is a very short walk (five minutes or less) to the nearest grassy area, which leads down on to the coastal path. We very quickly found a nice circular walk for mornings and evenings, which was extremely beautiful by moonlight.

Holiday in Fife: Day Two

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Cellardyke to Crail Coastal Walk
Drive to Pittenweem & Elie
Dinner in Falkland

Taking a picnic lunch with us, we set off on the 3 - 4 mile coastal walk from Cellardyke to Crail. The Fife Coastal Path runs from the Forth Estuary north to the Tay Estuary covering 117 miles.

 Field of wheat with beautiful blue sky - seen from the coastal walk.

It was a lovely, sunny day and we enjoyed seeing the farm animals, birds, insects, flowers and sea views along the way.

 

At one point, there were some extremely weird rock formations that looked like a head.

 

At Crail, (above) we caught the bus back to our starting point before driving on to the pretty fishing villages of Pittenweem and Elie (below).

 

 People learning to wind surf.

 

Lighthouse at Elie.

In the late afternoon, we drove inland to Falkland (famous for its Palace (part of which, is seen below)), hoping to get a meal at a Chinese Restaurant we had visited a year or so back, but sadly it had closed down. Instead we had a meal at the Stag Inn. Rob had nut roast with mashed potato and vegetables, with the garlic bread from my meal. I had five bean vegetable chili, and we shared a portion of 'hand cut' chips. It was a filling and tasty meal. The chunky chips were particularly nice.

Holiday In Fife: Crail

Crail is a small town in the East Neuk of Fife. It is situated south of St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. We had a lovely time here, exploring the harbour, pottery, and shops, eating ice cream, and just wandering around taking in the scenery and pretty cottages and houses in the town.

Crail Pottery is well worth a visit if you like handmade ceramics, earthenware and pottery. It is run by, and features the work of, the Grieve family. There were a number of styles, from terracotta herb planters to ornamental pieces featuring decorative patterns and glazes, to plain, but beautiful, everyday pieces.

Rob chose this cup and saucer.

And I picked this one. Ideal for morning coffee!
They cost £12.50 each.

Here is part of the interior of the shop. There is quite a lot more to see inside, plus an outside area.

Here is Crail Harbour.