Postcards fae Fife (part 1)
Getting away seems like an immense privilege at the moment. Fortunately in Scotland, we are surrounded by excellent places for a few days away. Even though I went to university at St Andrews, I'd never properly explored the East Neuk of Fife. We found a charming little flat called the Puffin Place in St Monans. A quick Tuesday evening jaunt around this lovely place evoked memories of the fishing villages of Cornwall we used to go to in the caravan holidays of the 90s and early 2000s. The steep and narrow streets, coupled with the harbour and the deep smell of freshly caught fish could have easily been in Port Isaac hundreds of miles away.
Wednesday brought a good walk along the Fife coastal path to Pitenweem. The dogs loved this part- lots of interesting sniffs for Bramble (who prefers a more sensory experience in her middle age), and loads of interesting pools on the rocky beach for Candy to leap around in and try to find dead crab snacks. There was a small art festival when we arrived, although the pandemic had sufficed to decimate the bulk of it. Lunch was in a quirky chippy/tavern/pub/cafe and was unsurprisingly a surfeit of fish.
The evening found us on a soggy drive to Elie. It's a charming wee place and we picked up delicious treats from it's deli. We paired the hot smoked salmon with a cucumber grown in my greenhouse and some strong Brie with sourdough crackers from Peter's Yard (seriously recommend these!).
Elie felt a little more like one of the surfing towns of our Cornish holidays, perhaps Polzeath, with a plethora of activity in the choppy sea.
We finished the evening watching 28 Days Later. Because that's what you do in a pandemic.