The Ancient Mariner, Skinny Dipping and Chips.
Wanting to take a break from the biting cold weather prevalent here in our wee corner of Perthshire at the moment, I headed for the coast on Sunday, hoping that the briny waters of the Firth of Forth had stored a little warmth to share with the fringes of terra firma.
Travelling cross-country on minor roads, I crossed the border into the Kingdom of Fife. Fife was one of the major Pictish Kingdoms (then called Fib) of ancient Scotland, the Picts being a tribal people of the east and north of Scotland during the late Iron Age and early Mediaeval period. Today the Council Area/Lieutenancy is still commonly referred to as the Kingdom of Fife, indeed, the welcome signs where roads cross borders proudly display that name.
I was bound for the East Neuk of Fife; the word ‘Neuk’ is a Scottish form of ‘Nook’, meaning corner, and a beautiful corner it is too, home to many lovely and historic coastal villages.
My first stop was at Lower Largo where I found the tide was fully in, that meant that I could not get out onto the expansive sands to take photos. Instead I shot a few things of interest (to me anyway) on the landward side of the village.
The raggedy looking chap pictured above can be found high above the doorways of some terraced cottages on one of Lower Largo’s narrow streets.
The bronze statue is in memory of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish mariner who, in1704, was marooned on the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez off Chile, wherehe survived alone for almost four and a half years before being rescued.Selkirk is believed the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s fictional character, Robinson Crusoe. No doubt capitalising on the connection, one of the pubs in the village is named ‘The Robinson Crusoe’.
Lower Largo, like many of the coastal villages in the East Neuk is home to a few artisans. The above photo of a colourful gate and those of the totem, below, depict some of their work, publicly displayed for all to enjoy.
Moving on up the coast from Largo I found myself in the town of Elie and Earlsferry, a former Royal Burgh comprised of the twin villages of Elie and Earlsferry which were formally merged in 1930. I headed down to picturesque Elie harbour and ‘the Ness’ to take the following photos.
Above and below: Images of Elie over the upturned the boat hulls that rest among the dunes surrounding the harbour.
Moving away from the harbour I walked out onto the Ness, a promontory of land covered in coarse grasses that defy the coastal winds and hold the sands in place: As I walked, I came across one of several memorial benches that are dedicated to locals who where known to have loved the place. On this particular bench was evidence of an ongoing loving memory, which I found to be very touching as it is a fair walk to the spot.
On the southerly end of the Ness sits the Elie Ness Lighthouse - Est 1908. At an elevation of only twelve metres, the lighthouse shines a white light every six seconds with a range of ten miles.
The Elie Ness light has been protecting shipping in the Firth of Forth for over a century.
Below: A fellow explorer taking in the view over the Firth of Forth.
Not far away from the lighthouse stands the ruins of ‘The Lady’s Tower’. The tower was built during the 1770’s as a summer house for Lady Janet Anstruther, who was reportedly something of a naturist and liked to swim naked in the sea at Ruby Bay, so called after the garnets which have been known to wash ashore there.
A few metres from the tower, hewn from the rock face, are the remains of Lady Janet’s disrobing area. It is said that when she wanted to take a dip, a bell ringer was sent out to warn the local people to stay away from the area.
Before I took my leave of Elie, I made sure to let my best pal have a good run on the Ness and retrieve several bits of flotsam from the sea.
After drying my dog and getting him some water to drink, I set off up the coast towards Anstruther, stopping briefly to take a snap of St Monans, another of Fife’s fishing villages, also known for salt panning.
I finally arrived in Anstruther, a small town which once boasted a large fishing fleet, however; more recently it’s fishing industry has declined, leaving the town to re-brand itself as a popular holiday destination. I enjoyed a walk out onto the harbour wall, a chat with the fishermen and a look at the lighthouse.
The octagonal Lighthouse, built in 1880 to mark the end of the breakwater, stands nine metres high, its light is no longer in service although it still operates a nautophone fog signal. The small metal pole pictured to the left of the lighthouse now shows LED lights to assist shipping.
Above: Last light over the harbour
A lovely sunset and a sudden return to freezing temperatures.
Before driving the hour and a half back home, I treated myself (and my dog) to a top notch fish supper from the famous Anstruther Fish Bar. Many a famous person has enjoyed food from there, reportedly including Tom Hanks, who caused a local newspaper to come up with the headline "Fife is like a box of chocolates".
The images on my blog are compressed for web viewing; Full resolution originals can be made available. I hope to fund a new lens one day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_and_Earlsferry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Monans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anstruther
