Crail
FIFE ROADTRIP 2011
Fife is a county in eastern Scotland bordered on the north by the Tay, on the east by the North sea and the Forth to the south. Almost all road traffic into and out of Fife has to pass over one of three bridges, south on the Forth road bridge , west on theKincardine
or north-east via the Tay road bridge , the exception being traffic headed north on the M90.
Sunday 11 December 2011 .
Leave home [Clydebank] 08.00 am. We head for Glasgow city centre .
At Charing cross we join the M8. The weather is damp but the weather forecast for
the east of Scotland is much better. After a round about an hour we cross the Forth Road bridge. Great views of the wonderful Rail bridge. Tolls were abolished on the Forth Road Bridge on 11 February 2008. No barriers to hold us back.
We turn east and drive on to the Fife scenic route .First main town we go through is
BurntIsland.
Pass by Kinghorn then we arrive at a bigger town . Kirkcaldy the home of Raith Rovers football club . Great memories of travelling through to their ground[Starks park]
during the 80`s and 90`s . No time to stop. We are on the A955 heading east.
Our first stop is Elie .
We decide to make our first stop in Elie. Lovely wee village with a wonderful sandy beach.
We didn`t stay for long but did enjoy a stroll along the beach. Ellie is on my list for a return visit.
Did you know?
The famous Floral clock in Edinburgh was originally constructed (1903) using the clock mechanism salvaged from Elie Parish Church.
Sun rises over the Elie seashore.
After Ellie we driver to Anstruther . Great seaside resort with the best Fish and chips
shops on the planet. We don`t stop as we had visited the town last year .
Now we drive on to Crail.
Lobster pots in Crail
We stop at Crail for 30 mins. Park at the Pottery and walk down to the harbour .
Crail is well known for the shellfish. The harbour dates back to the 16th century.
Crail probably dates from at least as far back as the pictish period, as the place-name includes the Pictish element caer, 'fort', and there is a Dark Age cross-slab preserved in the parish kirk, itself dedicated to the an early holy man .
Next stop.
St Andrews is a university town and former Royal burgh on the east coast of Fife. The town is named after Saint Andrew. St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife.
St Andrews Cathedral is a ruined monument right in the centre of the town. It is owned by Historic Scotland . The ruins show you how mighty the church was. 350feet long Founded on 1158. At one was known Scotland`s greatest Cathedral until the Protestant Reformation .
In 1561 it was abandoned and replaced by the parish church as the chief place of worship. Thereafter the Cathedral was left to fall into ruin.
Remains of medieval Scotland’s largest and most magnificent church
Pier Walk in St Andrews is an old tradition for students at the University.
After chapel service students in their gowns would walk down to the end of the pier
climb the ladder and walk back along the top.
The West Sands is the largest and best known of the beaches in St Andrews. It's a flat 2 mile long beach . Worth a walk on a Sunday morning .
St Andrews is known widely as the "home of golf". According to the earliest surviving document from 1552, the "playing at golf" on the links adjacent to the "water of eden" was granted permission by Archbishop Hamilton. The most famous golf course in the town is the Old Course, purchased by the town council in 1894. The course which dates back to medieval times, is an Open championship course - which was first staged in 1873.] Famous winners at St Andrews have included.