Rain, rigs, blisters and bridges – another day in Fife
The weather’s not looking so good today and gales are forecast. Never mind. I’m a wellie. Still, you can see that Gillian and Laura (two of the Shaw team), plus Laura’s mum
and dad (Joan and Michael), are nice people and don’t deserve a soaking. We are on the last stage of the Fife walk and heading for the big bridges that I’ve seen over the past few walks. I like these bridges. Anyway, I digress. After spotting an inquisitive seal in the water, it’s the turn of the new bearers to have a look round the Kinghorn RNLI station, then it’s off for another day in the saddle. Along the well-worn Fife coastal path we go, my companions managing to get lost in the massive urban sprawl of Burntisland (for goodness sake!). Not only is Burntisland home to the eleventh oldest golf club in the world (I bet you didn’t know that) but there’s a blooming great oil rig parked outside. Are there people in yellow wellies on it? I suspect so. Heading on, we reach a waterfall.
Nice enough, I suppose, and we gather round for a team photo.On to Aberdour, home of a castle but more importantly a public house where the team has lunch and watches some football on television. As none of the players seems to be wearing yellow boots, I’m profoundly uninterested but it seems to grip the attention of Michael who has to be forcibly removed from the place to resume the walk.
The weather is not cheering anybody up. We pass through Dalgety Bay, which is full of houses but totally bereft of people. Strange! It’s not far from here to Inverkeithing and then there’s North Queensferry, the last stop in Fife. We’re right next to the two bridges now and they’re stunning. I think, though, that my companions’ main sentiment, other than pain from the emerging blisters, is relief that the walk is over. It’s a windy old day here in Fife. Next week, it’s over the water. I predict sunshine on Leith.
