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 4 and 5: Pillars of Hercules, Cupar and the East Neuk

Brock's walk on Tuesday 22 March, was around the forest trail next to The Pillars of Hercules Organic Farm Shop and Restaurant. Then we had a tasty lunch: Rob ate the 'crepe of the day' with brie and apple - it happened to be gluten free. I had GF chilli, which came with tortillas, salad and little pots of cheese and yoghurt. Rob had a slice of coffee cake, and I had lemon and poppy seed polenta cake. With two Americanos, the bill came to around £25.

We bought some vegetables, and vegetable seeds from the shop, the latter for sowing in our own garden, after the holiday.

Cupar was our next stop: a nice, small town with lots of independent shops and historically interesting buildings. The Scottish Deer Centre is nearby (with many types of deer, wolves, lynx, wild cats, birds of prey to see).

On Wednesday 23 March, we did a driving tour of the East Neuk villages, starting at Largo, then Elie, St Monans, Pittenweem, Anstruther, Cellardyke and so back to Crail. All have their own points of interest and we have holidayed in three of them now. I think Pittenweem, Anstruther and Crail are my favourites - all picturesque, with nice shops and cafes to visit. Here are some of our photos from previous visits to the area.

 Windmill, St Monans

 I love this blue-shuttered house in Crail - imagine living there! It looks straight out over the sea.

Pittenweem Harbour

Church at St Monans

Holiday in Fife September 2013

Rob, Brock and I had a lovely week in Fife recently. We stayed at St Monans in the East Neuk.

Two half days were spent walking on the Fife Coastal Path between Cellardyke and St Monans; and St Monans and Elie.

We visited all of the small and picturesque fishing villages: Crail, Pittenweem, Elie, Anstruther; and also enjoyed visits to St Andrews, and Dundee.

Here are a few of the highlights of the visit. [Please click on any photo to see a larger version.]

 St Monans harbour

 St Andrews harbour

Ruin on the coast between St Monans and Elie

 McManus Art Gallery, Dundee

Brock at Camperdown Park, Dundee

 Pittenweem Harbour

Beautiful stonework, Pittenweem Harbour

 Lunch at the Pillars of Hercules Farmshop/Cafe

 

 Autumn Colour at Cambo Gardens

 The Bass Rock

 Brock on the beach at Leven

Holiday in Fife: Day Five

Saturday 22 September 2012

The journey home, via Dunfermline

We had time for a last look round Anstruther, before loading up the car for the journey back to Dumfriesshire.

Brock makes a new friend.

Rob plays chess in the SNCL in Dunfermline and knows the Pittencrieff Park area well, so we headed there first. The Park was gifted to the town in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie, who made his fortune in the American steel industry. It is a huge park with acres of grass, trees, gardens, play areas etc etc. Brock was delighted to see so many other dogs. We were equally delighted to be able to stop for a coffee in the cafe there and keep Brock with us at an outside table.

 

 We wandered into the town for lunch later on and ate at an outside table of an Italian Restaurant called Carlucci. I had a mushroom risotto, which was a very large portion with sliced white mushrooms and a creamy sauce and chopped parsley. Although it was quite tasty, it needed a bit more flavour in the stock, maybe using some wild mushrooms or a hint of lemon. Rob had gnocchi with tomato sauce, which he enjoyed. We could see the impressive city chambers building (below) from our table.

 After that, it was a straightforward drive over the Kincardine Bridge and back down the motorways home. If we had had the full seven days (instead of just four), it would have been good to visit Dundee (where we once lived for a while), and Edinburgh. There is certainly plenty to do in the area for a week's entertainment.

Holiday in Fife: Day Four

Another sunny day, so it was off to Cambo Gardens, Kingsbarns, near St Andrews.

There is a huge Victorian walled garden with a vegetable plot, herbaceous borders, fruit trees etc.

One reason we picked this garden to visit was the fact that they allow dogs on a lead, so Brock was able to accompany us. We took the woodland walk down to the beach and found another golf course running along the coast, and part of the Fife Coastal Path.

There is a small covered courtyard where you can enjoy tea, coffee and cakes. The waitress managed to produce a gluten free chocolate chip muffin for me, so I was quite happy with that. There is also a gift shop, and plant sales area. Entrance to the gardens costs £5 per adult.

 

The town of Cupar was our next stop. We had lunch in a small cafe, where we had courgette and carrot soup and a sandwich for Rob with Mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes/gluten free roll for me with egg mayo. The food was very good and reasonably priced and the proprietrix was very helpful. I think it was called Cafe Moka.

We had a walk through the small park and continued along the river bank where there were people fishing and walking dogs.

Back in Anstruther that evening, we decided to have chips for dinner. There is an award winning chip shop that we had intended to eat at, but the queues were too long, so we went to The Waterfront Restaurant up the street and sat outside overlooking the harbour, eating some of the best chips I have had in a very long time. Brock was with us and enjoyed the attention he received from a boy who seemed quite smitten with him. I had some ice cream from the Anstruther Fish Bar Ice Cream Parlour, which was delicious: cherry cola and rum and raisin flavours.

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.

Autumn Sun in Fife!

Hello everyone! We are just back at home after an enjoyable 4 day holiday in Fife.

We visited lots of towns and villages in the area, and stayed in Cellardyke, which is very picturesque and surrounded by a string of lovely coastal, fishing villages. Highly recommended for an autumn break!


Day One:- Tuesday 18 September 2012 - Journey to Cellardyke, via Kirkcaldy.

On the way to Cellardyke, we stopped off at Kirkcaldy, for a walk on the beach and a look around the town. Here is a photo of our new rescue dog, Brock, enjoying the beach at Kirkcaldy. About a minute after this photo was taken, he found a dead 'thing' hidden in some long grass, to roll in. Ugh! Some wet wipes came in handy.

 

Some views of the self-catering flat we stayed in, Seaglass. The flat was just right for us - very 'shabby chic', with white-painted walls, bare floor boards, rugs, local art work on the walls, a comfortable bed and sofa. Brock liked the hatch from the sitting room through to the kitchen, as he could keep an eye on us, when we were making dinner. I should add that pets are not normally allowed, but the owner made a special dispensation for us on this occasion!

 

Cellardyke Harbour

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.