I had toured the castle there in January, and knew how beautiful the area was. As we walked through the castle, the rain began to pour, and suddenly, we were feeling hail stones. That seemed the perfect time to stop into the tea room for a Cream Tea.
The original plan was for us to have a pot of tea and share a scone with fresh Scottish butter and home made strawberry jam. But, when we went to order, the young lady pointed to the oven and mentioned that the scones would be just a few minutes as they weren't quite finished baking. That's when we quickly changed our minds and ordered one each. And, believe me, it was absolutely the right decision to make!
By the time we finished our cream tea, the raindrops had finally disappeared.
We headed to walk the Coastal Trail, and as luck would have it, the sun broke through the clouds, making the walk quite comfortable.
We walked past those houses that you see in the distance to discover this view:
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Look straight out and you will see Inchcolm Abbey on the island in the Firth of Forth, which we had explored on Sunday.
Just around the corner from those cliffs, we could walk out onto the rocks and I was amazed at the blue color of the Firth.
We climbed up a path to the top of the cliffs where I was able to take this photo of the town nestled in the distance.
Even though the sun was shining brilliantly at this point, the wind was still whipping by, causing quite a chill along the coast, so we decided to board the train back to Kirkcaldy.
Beginning today, Kirkcaldy hosts the oldest fair in Scotland, having been in existence for over 700+ years. Stacey and I decided to walk down to the waterfront to see exactly what the fair featured.
We were pretty amazed to see full size amusement rides, one after the other, for most of the esplanade in Kirkcaldy. I liken it to taking rides from Kennywood Park and putting them next to the firth. We couldn't believe it when we saw a full-fledged flume ride, complete with log boat to ride in, as well as roller coasters, haunted houses, merry-go rounds,bumper cars, etc. The only thing I didn't see was a Ferris Wheel, but they have plenty of comparable rides that offer a similar type of ride, but with more thrills involved. Nothing I'd be interested in seeing.
From my room window, I can see the arm of one of those rides sticking way up in the air above the rooftops in the distance. I'm glad our hotel is a bit away from all of that activity!
One thing I noticed while walking along the firth with Stacey was that the water was actually lapping up and over the sea wall. I had never seen such activity in the firth.
My friendly weatherman, Ernest, tells me that there is an unusual weather front over the United Kingdom. "You must imagine a huge merry-go-round turning anti-clockwise," he told me.
Well, that probably explains the white caps on the water. Mother Nature must want to compete with the Kirkcaldy Fair. I can tell you this much. I'll be staying away from that kind of excitement for the rest of our trip!
How fascinating that weather where you are is just as "weird" as weather here in the States these days.... All I know is that the thought of riding a Ferris Wheel on the waterfront with that cold wind blowing, (especially since it's the one ride that I avoid like the plague), made my stomach do a flip. Luckily, I just turned my focus toward those fresh-out-of-the-oven scones with butter and jam, accompanied by a cup of strong tea, and I instantly felt better! ;-)
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