Wormit to Balmerino - 19/02/2019

My brother was to accompany me on today's walk, which was revolving round another Fife trigpoint, these still being my main destination on any Fife wanders. I look at the map (scour would be a more appropriate word) and see which ones look the most accessible.

I decided the one west of Wormit looked pretty accessible whilst providing a scenic walk along part of the Fife Coastal Path. We parked in the village of Wormit and quickly realised we could have parked nearer the proper start of our walk. Never mind, this way we got to walk right underneath the Tay Rail Bridge, which I may have done on the north side before, but definitely not on the south side.

Tay Rail Bridge at Wormit with the pier remains of Bouch's bridge. NO3926

I had also never seen the Tay Rail Bridge memorial before. The Tay Rail Bridge had been designed by Victorian Railway Engineer, Thomas Bouch. At the time (1878) it was the longest bridge in the world (nearly 2 miles long). Queen Victoria travelled across the bridge and awarded Bouch a knighthood for his accomplishment.

Disaster struck on the night of 28th December 1879, just 18 months after its construction. In a violent storm of Gale Force 11 to 12 on the Beaufort Scale, the bridge collapsed and all 59 passengers and crew were drowned. Interestingly from the memorial, the oldest  victim was aged only 62 with the majority being under the age of 40 and several children being amongst those lost.

The Tay Bridge Disaster (source unknown but picture in public domain)

A Court of Inquiry decided that "the fall of the bridge was occasioned by the insufficiency of the cross bracing and its fastenings to sustain the force of the gale." Bouch was held chiefly to blame for the disaster and, as a result was removed from his current responsibility in designing the Forth Rail Bridge. He very sadly died within a year of the disaster and is buried in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.

To this day it is a sad legacy that Bouch is immortalised in the derogatory phrase 'to make a botch job' of something.

Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial, Wormit - NO3925

We continued westwards along the Fife Coast Path to Peacehill Point, which was the point at which we needed to head inland and uphill to get to the trigpoint. This was quickly found, although it was the first of its kind that I had ever seen. The trigpoint has been incorporated into a memorial bench here. I can't remember to what or to whom the memorial had been erected,but it looked as though the work had recently been completed, or had even not yet quite been completed as the trigpoint was covered in sackcloth.

Peacehill trigpoint. NO3825

Beyond Jack's Hole (another interesting name), at Kilburns, we crossed a burn.

Burn and bridge at Kilburns. NO3725

Although the path runs right next to the coastline here, you only occasionally get glimpses of the sea through the woodland and I imagine it would be more difficult in summer when the trees are in leaf. We passed at least one shipwreck here, but could not get close enough for a good photo. On we wandered through naked woodland.

Fife Coast Path at Kirkton. NO3625

We went onto the beach for the next gridsquare to find Samson's Stone. We had already seen one Samson's stone near Crieff a couple of weeks before, so the thought occurred to me I had go round the country collecting Samson's Stones. I already had two! One thing at a time, Becky!

Samson's Stone and kayaker with Dundee in the distance. NO3525

Cottage near Balmerino. NO3525

At Balmerino, we passed the Old Mill.

The Old Mill, Balmerino. NO3524

There is an abbey at Balmerino, but it would not have been open in February and we still had a long way to go, so we did not take a diversion into the village, but continued on into 'Oak' wood.

Oak Wood? Near Balmerino. NO3424

Despite its name, the woodland was mostly pine and larch. I assume there used to be a plethora of Oak trees here. At some point  close to Birkhill House, the wood becomes Low Wood.

Low Wood near Birkhill, NO3423

Low Wood was more interesting than Oak Wood with some lovely old trees and lots of Snowdrops. I think we ate our lunch somewhere in these woods.

Huge Oak Tree, Low Wood. NO3323

Snowdrops in Low Wood. NO3323

Beech Tree in Low Wood. NO3323.

I would have liked to explore these woods more, but 1) we felt a little bit like we were on private land and 2) we were short of time. As usual, I found myself saying we'd have to return in another season to see the woods differently and explore a bit more.

For now, we had reached our westernmost point and were turning back. The walk back was along farm tracks and not as interesting. I took a photograph of a disused tip for NO3523, without  doubt the most boring photograph of the day.

Tip near Balmerino. NO3523

For some reason I had it in my head that there was a cafe at Balmerino and that we should therefore take a diversion into the village, but Tim had been to the village and knew better. He assured me there wasn't."We'll just have to finish our flasks in this attractive bus stop then," I reasoned. It certainly was an attractive bus stop between Bottomcraig and Balmerino, and a much more interesting subject for my gridsquare photo than the last one!

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." Mahatma Gandhi
Bus Stop near Balmerino. NO3624

The quote from Gandhi kind of sums up this blog really! I love finding these hidden gems, insignificant in themselves,but what a difference they make to a day. There is so much beauty to discover in the world, often in the little things that are so often overlooked. Mum was a big fan of little things and we owe our curiosity and appreciation of such to her. A bus stop in rural Fife - a little thing but it cheered us up and added some colour to our day.

There is more to be discovered at Naughton - for another day. I have done some research and discovered a coffin road near here, as well as an interesting murder story! But I think I will leave both to another day. I had a quick (very quick) look for St John's Well, marked on the map around here, but it was unfruitful, so I satisfied myself with a photo of an attractive cottage.

Cottage at Naughton. NO3724

We were nearing the walk's end, turning off now back to Peacehill Farm.

Approaching Peacehill. NO3824

Peacehill Farm. NO3825

From here, we descended back into Wormit and our starting point at the Tay Rail Bridge.

Tay Rail Bridge from Wormit Den. NO3925

Number of miles walked: 10.5

Number of new gridsquares: 10

Number of trigpoints: 1

Number of interesting bus stops: 1
Walk worth repeating: Yes