Flourishing Fife

On Sunday we went for a holiday weekend walk with Heather and Ewan. We had decided to go wherever the weather was best, and since the forecast was brighter to the east, we ended up doing exactly the same route that we did a fortnight ago. Well, why not? - it’s a beautiful part of the Fife Coast and we were happy to end up in Crail for coffee again. The weather turned out to be absolutely beautiful; blue skies over a hazy blue sea. However I was surprised to find that there were some real differences since our walk only two weeks ago. In the field where we had passed a farmer sowing seeds from his tractor, there was already a bright covering of green shoots. We noticed bluebells and primroses in the wood at Boarhills that had not been blooming a couple of weeks ago. The gorse bushes are now in full bloom with their heady scent of coconut drifting across the path, and we saw big clumps of white sea thrift. The season has rolled on from early spring to lush late spring, and all of nature was greener, stronger, and more vibrant. Having Heather and Ewan there with us was great fun too, we have notched up a good few walks with them over the years and we always enjoy their company and enthusiasm.

One less welcome addition on Sunday was the screeching of the car tyres at the nearby Crail Thrash that assailed our ears on and off. I’m glad to say that we didn’t hear it the whole time but I fail to see the attraction of such a noisy and polluting event, which apparently is held twice monthly. 

It was a grand walk, and very warm for me. I was very thirsty and quaffed huge quantities of water which necessitated frequent dashes behind bushes and rocks to relieve myself - luckily there was plenty of cover! We rested to take in the beautiful views from time to time and eventually reached the café in Crail for a welcome cool drink, before sitting overlooking the picturesque harbour in the sunshine. We passed through Anstruther and Elie on the way home but both were very busy with people revelling in the fantastic weather, so we had a tasty dinner at the attractive Boathouse in Kilsyth instead - it was a very pleasant way to end the day.
So, was it worth repeating the same walk so soon? Definitely yes - because it provided the double advantages of being both happily familiar and pleasingly different.