The Sassy Seagull

When we were at the beach early in the month, Marty commented that it was nice to see a non-Scottish Seagull.

I asked him what in the world he was talking about.  After all, a sea gull is a sea gull......right?
Marty insisted that Scottish seagulls have an attitude, unlike American Seagulls.  I, of course, found that to be quite funny.  Now, how in the world could a bird have an attitude?

This past week has opened my eyes to the difference in Seagull personalities.

When I was in Dunfermline, I watched a sea gull go ballistic, screaming and swooping down towards a man who was walking by carrying a bag of groceries..  The gull kept dive-bombing this man until the fellow rounded the corner.  I picked up my pace, because I was very concerned that I'd be the next victim, but the gull made no attempt to come after me.

In the meantime, we've been hearing the gulls screeching and carrying on into the wee hours of the morning.  There really is no explanation for their tirade.  It sure makes it tough to sleep though.

And, just the other day, one of the B&;B patrons asked Yvonne's husband, Les, what was going on with the sea gulls at 3:30 a.m. Well, Les didn't have an answer to that question, but he went on to tell the story about how he had been out the previous afternoon and had not yet eaten lunch.  So, he went into a shop, bought a meat pie, and was enjoying it while walking down main street.  Lo and behold, a gull swept down, grabbed his meat pie AND bit his finger!

Soon after I heard the story, I was sitting at the train stop and this gull landed and began to stare at me. Luckily, I had no food or I'm sure I'd have been taken out.  You can see it in his eyes.

So, perhaps Marty is on to something.....

In the meantime, today was once again a lovely day and I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to get out and enjoy it.  So,  I  walked into Dysart, which is a lovely Coastal Trail walk, which,unlike yesterday's trail, is well marked.

Now, here's what you're supposed to see when you walk the Coastal Trail:

• Every now and then, there is a bench for your viewing pleasure.  I did NOT come across any benches yesterday.

• Posted signs showing that you are on the trail.  Now, without a sign, this "cave" would look kind of scary to attempt entering (at least to me it would), but the sign says that it is part of the trail.

Well, you can actually see the light at the other end when you enter it, so that made it much less scary as well.

Walking through this tunnel made me feel like I had stepped back in time to a little fishing village.

I went to the Harbormaster's house, and stopped in the Bistro for a scone and a latte.

Great decision on my part!

Then, I decided to go through the little museum that just opened up downstairs that told the story of the Harbormaster, as well as info regarding the Fife  Coastal Trail.  Well, it turns out that yesterday's section of the trail is considered to be one of the more difficult sections of the trail and it can be tricky to follow.  No kidding!

Do you remember how Marty had mentioned that I probably shouldn't follow anymore of Yvonne's suggestions regarding "lovely" walks? In addition to yesterday's adventure,   she had suggested that I take a bus into Elie as the walk there was" just fabulous with outstanding views".   I could walk part of the trail, then have Marty meet there for dinner.

Well, let me show you what she had suggested:

Guess what?  I probably will NEVER have enough of the horizontal, thank you!  Rocks, chains, and worrying about the tide do not bide well with my psyche.  

That would definitely fall under the "don't do anything crazy" category.

Since I wasn't so concerned about being lost in the wilderness today, I did manage to get some beautiful photos of the landscape:

Near the beginning of the Coastal Trail just north of Kirkcaldy:

Ravenshead Castle in the distance

Dysart Harbor

And the view from Ravenshead Castle

As you can see, it was quite a lovely day.

As far as sleeping is concerned, I spotted these two on the way back from dinner

They were already warming up their vocal cords.  Here's hoping that they decide to perform in a different neighborhood tonight!

Spring in Fife

Yesterday could be described as a typical Spring Day.....one that we rarely seem to experience nowadays.  Just a bit cool.  Fresh air.  Bright sun.  Blue sky.  Really, an overall perfect day.

Days like this are made for being outside, which worked out quite well for my plans, as I had walking North Queensferry on my list of items not yet accomplished here in Scotland.

So, I headed to the train station and bought a round trip ticket to Queensferry from the teller in the Kirkcaldy, who seemed to feel that he needed to make a comment about my credit card being a pain in the neck.  How nice was that?

You see, Europeans have a chip in their cards.  They place it in a card reader and put in a pin.  Marty was sure to have his corporate card replaced with a chip, simply because people here become quite annoyed at having to swipe American cards.

Some have no idea how to even swipe a card.  And, with Marty around, that is always an adventure, because he goes into his "let me teach you how to do this correctly" mode.
Then, he goes through the step by step directions of using the swiper on the machine.

• hold the card in the right direction and swipe quickly (at which point he reaches over the machine and swipes it himself, not even giving the teller the opportunity to do so.)
• wait for the communication to go through the line
• punch in the last 4 digits on the card (there is generally a pop up screen that expects this)
• wait for the paper to print (at this point, the teller is generally quite excited because the procedure has worked. And, Marty loves to share in the enthusiasm.)
• sign the paper (Marty uses the pen to sign his name)
• then he instructs the teller to compare the signature with the one on the card

Now, this last step is always amusing, because the teller generally hands the card back to Marty after punching in the numbers.  Marty  puts it in his pocket, signs the paper, then says "Now you have to compare my signature with the one on the card" and he pulls back out the card and lays it next to the slip, then asks the teller if it looks the same. 

So far, all the tellers have said "yes". So far, all have been quite amused by Marty's explanation.  One of these days I fear that we will stumble upon a not-so-friendly teller who doesn't appreciate Marty's instructions.  But, until we do, Marty sure is having a lot of fun with this.

When I arrived at Queensferry, the weather was fabulous.  There's quite a bit of history worth investigating in one little area of this town.

This is North Queensferry.  Across the forth there is South Queensferry.  The towns are named such because Queen Margaret initiated the first ferry across the firth so that pilgrims could travel from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, which held relics of that saint.  This was the narrowest part of the firth and Queen Margaret herself traveled quite frequently between Edinburgh castle and Dunfermline via ferry.

On the pier stands a light beacon that was built 1n 1817 by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis the author.

This is actually the smallest "lighthouse" in Scotland, but it was designed to illuminate the area so that people disembarking from the ferry could see where they were going on land.  The flame was originally sourced by whale oil, but rapeseed oil is now used when the beacon is lit.

The building was open, and I was encouraged to go inside and take a peek, so I did.

I took a shot of the "beacon's eye" view

Walking down the pier, I was able to see the signal house that continues to stand today.

The forth Railroad Bridge looms nearby, and I thought that the owner of this house was quite clever to feature an entrance gate that resembled the construction of the bridge.

I decided to take a quick walk up the coastal trail, just to see some views out over the firth.  I was not disappointed.

On the way back to the train station, I spotted St. James chapel, bequeathed by Robert the Bruce in 1320.

In later years, it was converted into a graveyard for sailors.

Since it was such an awesome day, I decided to take Yvonne's advice, and walk the coastal trail from Dalgety Bay to Aberdour.  I had my handy GPS loaded up on my phone, so I was ready for the task.

I boarded the train to Dalgety Bay and pulled out the phone at the station.  I was able to find my way down to the harbor, by using the nifty map that had loaded on my phone.  This is Great Stuff!  My roaming and cellular data are turned off, but this system works by using the Satellite signal.

By this point, I was pretty pleased with myself, so I turned off the phone and put it back in my purse, and started out on the "Coastal" Trail.  What soon became obvious is that this trail wanders away from the coast, as I  found myself walking through the woods.  At one point, the trail split into 2, so I took the one that would lead to the coast.

Well, it was in the right direction, but this was what I came to at the end of the path.

There was obviously no trail to follow, and that is a fenced in field loaded with sheep, so I wasn't willing to make any attempt to walk through that!

Back up the hill, and I chose the other direction.  Much to my surprise, I came upon the ruins of a church on the trail.

 St. Brigit's Church was built in 1170.

I certainly hadn't expected to stumble upon that.

Walking along, I came to an even wider path, on the edge of a wooded area, and, once again, found myself at a split in the road.  Once again, I decided to go right, since that would lead to the coast.  I passed all sorts of concrete structures that had been strategically placed in these woods during World War II.  They are all abandoned at this point. 

Soon the path began to narrow, and I found myself heading toward the coast, but down a very narrow, rocky path.  I followed it down to the shore, but it sort of teetered out into nothing.  I'll admit that I was a bit annoyed by this point, because when one claims to have a Coastal Path, it really should be marked better.  I spotted a couple with four dogs on the pier, so I presumed that they had come from the left, as they departed to the right.

So, I found myself trudging along the rocks on the edge of the sand of the firth, concerned by the fact that if the tide had been up, there would be no path where I was walking.  Within short time, I spotted a trodden down path, about two shoe-widths wide, with grass on either side up to my hips.  I decided to take it, but was very nervous, as it wove in and out around the cliffs over the shoreline.  I had hiked other sections similar to this, but they were more defined.

Soon the path led me back up to the woods, which was quite a challenge, as the pitch was extremely steep.  I'll admit that I was really concerned about being in what seemed to me to be such a remote area.  Finally, after making my way through the woods attempting to ascertain just where the path was, it began to widen and I felt confident that I was on the right trail.

I came to yet another split in the road, but I remembered Yvonne telling me that I would be walking through a marked path in a field. Sure enough.....I found that.

So, I knew from what Yvonne had mentioned, that I had to be on the trail, but let's face it.....that's a bit crazy, don't you think?

But the view from this pass was pretty spectacular.  Sheep with the Forth Railroad Bridge on the horizon.

Soon I was walking through those woods at the end of the field and I once again came to a split in the road.  Luckily for me, someone was riding a bike, and I asked which way to Aberdour, and I was told to go right.  (which is what I had done all along the trail so far....I had thought about trying left this time....good thing I asked.)

By this time, as you can imagine, I was exhausted...partly by the intense walking up and down steep hills, and party from the past worry of being lost in the woods.  All was well now, but I was anxious to get to the end of this trail.  It was supposed to be a scenic coastal walk.  I hadn't seen much of the water on this walk.

As I headed towards Aberdour, I spotted the couple with the four dogs that I had seen on the pier.  Do you remember how they had gone to the right, and I had gone to the left? 

Well they were walking much slower than me, and were pretty far ahead.  Obviously, they knew a short cut that I did not.  I caught up with the one little dog, who was struggling to keep up with his owners.  He was a beagle,  panting, obviously struggling with every step, and when he looked up at me with those big brown eyes, as if to say "help", I told him that I understood exactly how he felt. 

When I saw the golf course, I knew I was close to the end of my day's journey.

I took the train back to Kirkcaldy and although I was pretty tired from my adventure, I decided that it would be great to go to a restaurant that overlooked the firth.

So, Marty and I walked to the train, departed in Kinghorn, and walked along the road until we came to the Bay Hotel, which did offer a spectacular view.

If I look tired....it's because I WAS!

We had a lovely dinner, then walked back to the train station, where we had to wait 40  minutes for the next train. But, it was a beautiful evening, and we thoroughly enjoyed the view.

That photo was taken at 9:30 p.m.  Pretty amazing that it is so light, don't you think?

What's up for today?  Well, I decided it was time to take it easy!  As lovely as our hostess, Yvonne, is, Marty and I both decided that I would refrain from future trip tips on her part.  I know that she means well, but yesterday's adventure was a bit too over the top for me.

I think I'll stay on solid ground today.  But the weather sure does look enticing out there!

Perhaps I'll just go take a walk.

Dalmeny 1/2 Mile

You DON’T want to know just how many times I saw this sign today.  I was beginning to think that the local ASDA recently had a sale on “Dalmeny 1/2 ” signs because they kept popping up in the darn’dest places.

I had planned the day’s trip to Dalmeny House but couldn’t seem to find any actual directions to the place….. not for lack of trying. Even the woman at the information center couldn’t help me.

So, I searched for the place on google maps and wrote the directions down in my notebook,  and alighted from the train station in search of Bankhead road. 

I noticed a sign marked “Dalmeny 1/2 m ” pointing to steps leading to what looked like a bike trail.  So, I made my way to the trail and walked along for what seemed to be about half a mile when I finally saw an exit to the left.  So, I climbed up the steps, and saw a similar sign that said “Dalmeny 1/2 m” pointing in a different direction. 

 I was a bit confused by this point (who wouldn’t be?), but I made my way to the street and started heading in the direction where I expected to find Dalmeny House.

I finally came to a tiny village that I figured had to be Dalmeny.

 I was on Bankhead Road, which I was supposed to take to Main street, but if I was actually on Main street, it ended in a yellow field…with no sign of the road indicated on Google maps.

So, I continued along Bankhead Road, and it was quite obvious to me that I was heading back in the direction of the train station.

I continued until I could go no further, turned around and saw the sign, “Dalmeny 1/2”.  Ok, I could believe that.

Then, I spotted another sign that said “Dalmeny House” with the little blue thistle, indicating that it was an Historic Home, and I followed the direction of the arrow.

I can’t tell you how far I walked, but I did come to another sign  and you can guess what that said.  That’s when I came up with my ASDA sign sale theory.  And, the really amusing part of this whole fiasco is that the town consists of a church, mercat cross and a few houses. 

In any event, after walking a VERY long distance, I finally came to an intersection, intending to turn right (leading me in the direction that google maps had indicated), when much to my surprise, there was a large blue sign that said, Dalmeny House……on my left!

A Church Gate House stood on the corner,

 and a very friendly man was at the gate and greeted me.  It was obvious that I was quite excited to find the place, and this fellow was amazed that I had walked from the station, and he went on to comment that it was a shame that I arrived so early, because the place wasn’t open yet.

I mentioned that I was quite aware that it did not open until 2:00, but that I had left extra time….just in case I got lost….which I had.  He left out quite a chuckle, and directed me to go along to the house and to enjoy the sheep along the way.

What he did NOT mention, was that the walk to the house from the street is 1.6 miles.  He probably knew that it would take me awhile at that point to get to the house after already walking my feet off!

I crossed the cattle grates

(the first time I’ve seen something like this) and began the walk down the road.  It didn’t take long for me to realize just why those grates are there. They are designed to keep the sheep from getting out of the pasture.  Their skinny legs would fall into the spaces if they tried walking over it.

I really don't know much about sheep, except that I have seen ewes become very territorial when their babies are around.  I've always respected that, and have backed off and away so that mamma doesn't get upset.  But here I found myself amidst the wooly creatures.  And, I was obviously the object of interest

which became quite obvious when everywhere I looked I was being stared down.

I decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to stare back, so I just ambled along, enjoying the day.  I found it rather amusing to see sheep hiding just about everywhere.

I was reminded of an episode of Shaun the Sheep and I looked to be sure that there weren't any sheep hiding up in the trees!

I could hear the calls of the Grouse, and soon spotted a pair within short distance of the road.

This was turning out to be quite an entertaining adventure for me. 

When I finally arrived at the house,  there were no signs indicating where I should enter,  no benches on which to rest and…..more importantly….no sign of any people, anywhere.

Does this kind of stuff only happen to me?

Long story short (OK, so it's already a long story, but definitely less than it could be), I found a workman who led me to the office which was NOT the entrance.  No worries, a woman escorted me through the house to the entrance, where I met an extremely entertaining woman who was obviously very excited to greet me, and even more so when she heard my accent.  I felt rather lucky because I can't imagine that anyone would be happy to have a stranger come strolling through the wrong door.

I should mention here that Dalmeny House is only open in the months of June and July, and only Sun – Wed from 2:00 through 5:00.  The house is only accessible by private tour, of which there are two:  2:15 and 3:15.

With such limitations, I would have expected more people to show up. (Perhaps they were out following the maze of "Dalmeny 1/2" signs).

 I found myself as part of a tour of three as an older couple showed up just around 2:15 p.m.

The guide was an older gentleman who obviously loved his job because he spent a LOT of time explaining the history of the family and showing us the contents of several rooms.

The family name is Primrose, but the earl is officially known as the Earl of Roseberry.  The 5th Earl of Roseberry can be credited with the beautiful house as well as the many fine collections.  He married into the Rothschild family, and with that came quite a fortune as well as countless priceless heirlooms.

From tapestries commissioned by Goya hanging in the stairwell to the original porcelain statue of Maria's Antoinette's dog found in her apartments after her execution, to an entire room dedicated to Napoleon, this manor house was brimming with countless priceless items.  And our guide was thrilled to supply all of the details.

Since the family is in residence year round, we were permitted to view five rooms,  but with so many items of interest, each with an explanation of some sort, our guide had us completely occupied for a full hour.

The final room on the tour boasts a table that can serve up to 48 guests.  Famous paintings and sculptures decorate the perimeter, and a captivating view of the firth is on view from the picture windows.  When the tour was finished, the guide asked us if we would like a cup of tea "on the house".  The couple on tour with me declined, but since I hadn't had anything since breakfast, I was more than happy to accept the offer.

The guide invited me to sit at the end of the beautiful long table while he showed the elder couple out of the building and went to retrieve the tea.   But prior to leaving, he looked at me and said, "I'm going to leave you here.....but don't touch anything!"  I had been on my best behavior during the tour, so I can't say what caused him to make that comment! 

I laughed and assured him that I would behave myself.  It was quite obvious to me that the camera in the upper corner of the room was there for a reason.

In short time, the guide returned with a cup of tea and a plate with no less than 3 slices of different tea breads.  I was told that all three were for my enjoyment. I asked him to please share them with me, but he apparently suffered from Celiac's disease and wouldn't be able to partake of the yummy looking treats.

We chatted for a few minutes, and he was called off to do the second tour.  I must have appeared trust worthy by this point, because he left just bidding me farewell.

And, I found myself in this beautiful room, with a gorgeous view of the firth

sitting at a long table that could accommodate 48 people

alone....... with a cup of tea

AND 3 slices of scrumptious looking tea breads!

Only I wasn't really alone because every few minutes a strikingly beautiful small shetland sheepdog kept running in the room, giving me a look, then running back out again. 

I sat there sipping my tea, enjoying the view and wondered if I should pinch myself.  That's the one thing about gallivanting alone.  If I wasn't living this experience, I probably wouldn't believe it.   How in the world could I expect someone else to believe this crazy stuff?

So, did I eat all three slices of tea bread?   No......I decided to partake of two, and gave some serious thought to consuming the 3rd, but decided to wrap it up and bring it back to the room for Marty.

Somehow I made my way through the maze of rooms to the entrance where I bid farewell to the friendly woman and she wished me a lovely walk.

Once again, I was in the company of sheep, but this time they didn't seem so concerned by my presence. 

In fact,  I’m pretty sure that I heard a couple of them saying “Baaaaaaye” as I  made my wait out to the road.

I decided to take a different route back to the station, rather than risk getting lost again, so I headed towards South Queensferry, 

climbed 120 steps to the top (yes….I counted them), and finally managed to make my way to the Train Station.

Marty enjoyed the tea cake, even though it was flat as a pancake by the time I got back to the room.

And, after I told him of today's adventure, we managed to put a GPS system onto my cell phone for future use.  Good-bye "Dalmeny 1/2" signs!

What a great end to the day!  

A Fabulous Day in Fife

Could I have asked for a more picture perfect day?

No grey clouds in sight.  Now, how lucky was that?

I could hear the Coastal Path calling my name.

As I indicated in my last post, I decided to head out to find those seals that I had searched for on my first visit to Scotland.  That was in January ’12, and although I remember a brilliant day, the trail was practically non-existent after a certain point, and quite contrary to what you may have been led to believe, I had no intentions of doing anything crazy just to view some seals.

But, Yvonne, the woman who runs the B&B where we are staying here in Kirkcaldy, mentioned that she and her husband had just seen the seals this weekend.  Well, that comment was all I needed to do a quick plan change and put on my walking shoes.

I headed through town, down to the Firth where the tide was obviously recessing.   The access to the Coastal Path was a bit complicated due to a lot of new construction going on right along the firth where the path entrance runs.

Apparently some genius decided to build a giant supermarket right against the firth, destroying the breathtaking views from dozens of homes built along the coast with the purpose of actually seeing the Firth.  The homeowners were told that they did not buy the view when they purchased their homes.  Now, I ask you, how sad is that?  Who in the world would want to gaze upon a supermarket instead of the beauty of nature?  And why would any company think that such an idea would be acceptable?  But, it appears to be a done deal, and I'm certain that there are a lot of very disappointed home owners.  

Well, I finally accessed the path and just could not believe the beauty of the day.  I walked along until I could see this stone tower ahead. 

This is the point where I had to stop the last time I attempted this walk. Yvonne had told me that this tower is one of many that had once stood along the coast.  People would travel up the coast on holiday, and would need a place to stay to break up the trip, so families had their own privately owned tower to overnight in. 

When I had walked the coastal trail at this point previously, the well trodden path had ended here.  Much to my surprise, a cindered walkway was greeting me this time,  and I knew that I'd have no problems hiking this part of the trail.

I rounded the corner and began my descent along the path.

 I wasn’t too far from the tower when I heard a long bellowing sound in the distance…….like a very sad moan.   Over and over again.   

Had the weather been foggy, I might have been convinced that there was some ghost haunting the tower, but I realized that the sound that was echoing off the cliffs came from the source of my quest.

How exciting!

It wasn’t too much further along the trail when I could glimpse the seals on the rocks.

Here’s a close up of the happy creatures

Can you see them laying on their backs, sunning their tummies?  They probably don't get many sunny days in which to bask themselves, and they were obviously enjoying themselves.

I stood there for quite awhile, watching them jump in and out of the water, just having a grand time, while continuing to  bellow out a forlorn cry.  It was obviously low tide, and I wondered if they would have come in much closer during high tide, but I certainly  wasn’t going to wait the hours involved with the changing of the tide to see.  I didn’t need to shake hands with them to enjoy their magnificence. 

At this point, I decided to continue on the coastal path to Kinghorn, since I had noted that the tower was just about a halfway point, and since it was newly graveled, I felt comfortable that I would have steady ground to walk along.

The vistas were gorgeous.

 And, there was plenty of activity along the way.  Obviously, something must smell awfully good here to attract this much attention.

Once in Kinghorn, I made my way to the train station to catch the train back to Kirkcaldy.  The station in Kirkcaldy is next to the art museum that just opened up last week.  I decided to pop in and see what the place had on display.  It was free, and I had plenty of time……so why not?

I was very impressed with the set up inside the museum.  Someone obviously put a lot of time into putting together the displays.  I was surprised to see that the museum holds the original charter from 1644 when Charles I confirmed Kirkcaldy as a Royal Burgh.  It is mounted behind glass, in its entirety, behind a steel door that you open up to view, then close when finished. .   Now that’s pretty amazing.

The place was brimming with the history of Kirkcaldy, which was once world renown for its linoleum industry.  Unfortunately this town ended up like many of the steel towns when those businesses closed down.  There is little vibrancy in the town today.

One facet of the museum that I was excited to see was its genealogy center.  If one had family to research from Kirkcaldy, or any nearby area, the resources that one would need are right at your fingertips. 

It is a genealogist’s dream.  Microfilm, with three readers, shelves of books that included parish registers and biographies,  census and newspaper films.

And all of these resources are free. 

So, if you have any family to research in this area…….you know where to go.  It’s right off the Kirkcaldy train station.  And, there’s a café where you can take a break and get a wee snack.   What more could you want?

I could have spent more time looking around inside, but I wanted to be sure to get outside to enjoy the lovely weather, which is a rare treat.  The grounds around the museum are landscaped beautifully and offer a pleasant walk in themselves.

Since the museum is free, I may just try to get back to view it in more detail should the weather become rainy.

In the meantime, I hope to get out on another outdoor adventure today even though the sun has disappeared. Ernest has promised me dry weather....but I'll be wearing my raincoat just in case.

Until tomorrow.......