Pigs at Cambo in Fife

Posted on 9 February 2015 by Katrina

I just realised a couple of days ago that it’s snowdrop season and sadly I had left the few that I had behind in my old garden, so new stocks were required. Off to Cambo we went, which is where I bought the previous snowdrops. Cambo is an estate near Kingsbarns and the Fife Coastal Path. It’s famous for its snowdrops and bluebells.

But before we reached the snowdrops it was the pigs which caught my attention. I love pigs and these ones are just crackers, not just pigs but ginger pigs. Obviously they weren’t at all interested in us, they were too busy rooting around for something good to eat. Presumably they found stuff in amongst all that leaf detritus.

This pig had come over for a closer look at us as we were walking up to the enclosure, honestly it’s enough to make you say NO to bacon!

St Bridget’s Kirk, Dalgety Bay, Fife, Scotland

Posted on 26 November 2013 by Katrina

Well we found St Bridget’s Kirk eventually, it’s a medieaval church ruin. You take a left turn along the coastal path at the Dalgety Bay Sailing Club and walk through the woods. There are warning signs along the path telling you not to eat anything from the sea there. In fact, don’t go down to the beach at all as the signs also say that there is danger of radiation!!! This is a result of contamination from the luminous dials which were in World War II aeroplanes which were dumped there just after the war. They are supposed to be cleaning it all up – sometime.

We could see the stonework of the ruined church through the trees after a while so we kept going even although it was beginning to get dark already, I can’t wait for the winter solstice when the days will begin to lengthen again.

The photo below is of the view from the side of the kirk/church. St Bridget’s was mentioned in a Papal document as far back as 1178 but obviously it became a Presbyterian kirk in later years.

This winding staircase leads to the upper floor of the kirk which is an area called the lairdsloft.

And this is what it looks like up there. The kirk was used until the 1880s so some of the graves outside date from then whilst others are so old that you can’t make out any of the inscriptions at all.

This is the other end of the kirk. The ceilings must have been quite low as the holes where the beams fitted aren’t very high up at all, it must have felt quite claustrophobic.

This is the view from an upper window, I wonder if the glass was coloured or clear. It looks out onto the island which the original monks lived on.

It’s a lovely place to visit, quite peaceful despite being popular with the local dog walkers and children.

The Wemyss Caves, Fife, Scotland

Posted on 28 February 2012 by Katrina

Walking is our main way of getting exercise but you get a wee bit fed up going to the same places all the time, so a couple of Saturdays ago we ended up going to East Wemyss (pronounced Weems) just for a change of scenery. Actually we started off in West Wemyss then went on to Coaltown of Wemyss and ended up at East Wemyss which is the location of the Pictish caves which are generally known as the Wemyss caves.

This is all part of the Fife Coastal Path as you can see from the map board. This area was mined for coal until quite recently and linen was also made here.

The photo below is of the side of a rock face on the shore, but it isn’t solid rock, there’s a cave behind it, with the cave mouth facing out to the sea.

THis is the cave which is in the rock and it’s one of a series of caves which were in use as long ago as Pictish times. There is some cave painting in some of them and it’s thought that they were not used as homes but were more likely workshops, possibly for people working with silver. The cave is actually much bigger than it looks here, it’s a deep and very high cavern. Apparently the Picts had warmer, drier homes nearby, which is just as well because as these ones are right by the sea they would have been very draughty and absolutely freezing at the best of times.

This is one of the smaller caves but it isn’t so easy to get to as it’s quite high up on a bank.

And the photos below are of the view which they had from the caves, I don’t suppose it will have changed much in the thousand years or so since the Picts inhabited the place.

You can just see the Bass Rock on the left in the photo below if you click on it to enlarge it. The rock is home to thousands of seabirds, and nearer the middle is North Berwick Law.

Time Team had a dig around the area a few years ago and if you’re interested you can see photos of what they got up to here.

Pining for the West

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Tag Archives: Fife Coastal Path

Pigs at Cambo in Fife

St Bridget’s Kirk, Dalgety Bay, Fife, Scotland

The Wemyss Caves, Fife, Scotland