First post lockdown walk - Anstruther and Kilrenny - 1st November 2020

 I have finally got round to/been allowed to/felt like walking again after several months spent walking much more locally, mostly due to lockdown, but then also through a combination of a kind of lethargy of not feeling like it and having taken on other projects. Those projects are still ongoing and added to my never ending list of ongoing projects, but today I felt like a blustery walk, especially when I considered this might be both my first post lockdown walk and my last pre lockdown walk if things continue as predicted.

Not wanting to set myself too high a target I drew a 5 mile route around Anstruther and Kilrenny, which would take in a new churchyard (or two) and so give me the opportunity to study lichens as well (one of my lockdown projects).

Harbour, Anstruther Wester, NO5603

My first square was not a new one, but it was definitely more stormy than my last visit here. Though you can't see from the picture, the waves were coming over the sea wall and I was glad I hadn't parked any closer to the sea lest  my 'new' car get a salty wash.

Since last writing I have not only acquired a different car, but also a laptop and for some bizarre reason I cannot  seem to download tracks from my GPS onto Memory Map on my laptop, so have to rely on memory for tagging my photos - and that's not very reliable!

A larger than life Puffin welcomed me to Cellardyke. Apparently he went missing in 2017  for a few days but returned to his nest after only a few days. 

Puffin sculpture on James St, Cellardyke, NO5703

I have driven through Cellardyke's narrow streets a few times and not enjoyed it. It is much easier and more pleasant on foot. There is so much to see; lots of quaint cottages with delightful names which I've now forgotten. I thoroughly enjoyed ambling along, resisting the temptation to stare at every cottage I passed lest anyone thought I was peering through their window.

Cellardyke Town Hall is situated on the erstwhile site of the tollbooth and the Mercat Cross. A portion of a 'new' cross is bracketed to the wall of the Town Hall and is dated 1642. 

Cellardyke Town Hall - NO5703

Part of the replaced Mercat Cross, Cellardyke, dated 1642. NO5703

Today the streets were virtually empty, compared to this wonderful image of the declaration of the accession of George V to the throne in 1910. The same mercat cross can be clearly seen on the right 110 years later. Picture from Cellardyke Interpretation Boards

The Fun Box on the opposite side of the road, next to the interpretation board, is an example of the many uses to which redundant phone kiosks have been put.

Fun Box, Cellardykes, NO5703

George Street is one of the most attractive streets in the village and, at the end of it, there is a benchmark.

George Street, Cellardyke. NO5703

Benchmark on George Street, Cellardyke. NO5703

As I left Cellardyke behind, I looked for the Cardinal Steps marked on the map, but could not find any, only what is left of an outdoor swimming pool.

Outdoor swimming pool, Cellardyke. NO5704

Looking again at the map now, I wish I had carried on a bit into the next gridsquare as there seems to be a footpath up to Kilrenny further along the coastal path. As it was, I turned to go up towards the war monument, past a deserted caravan park and along a cycle route to Kilrenny. Two wind blown cyclists cycled down the hill as I struggled uphill against the wind.

I decided to have my first break at Kilrenny church and this proved to be the sunniest part of the walk.

Kilrenny Parish Church. NO5704

Flaxdresser's gravestone, Kilrenny. NO5704

Kilrenny graveyard. NO5704

Modest grave, Kilrenny. NO5704

Moss on wall at Kilrenny. NO5704

I sat on a bench in the graveyard enjoying the sunshine, a cup of tea and a bakewell tart and watching tiny spiders through my hand lens, crawling through the moss on the wall. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't manage to photograph them. They were just too small.

From here I headed north to a picnic spot by a burn and a pair of historic doocots. 

East Doocot, Kilrenny NO5704

West Doocot, Kilrenny. NO5704

I nipped quickly into the next square north and took a photo of Innergellie House.

Innergellie House. NO5705

As I headed west, the full brunt of the westerly wind hit hard. It was a very flat and uninteresting part of the walk and I picked up speed to get to the main road quicker. I still had to photograph the gridsquare though!

Path towards Cauldcots. NO5605

Before reaching the B9131, I saw a jogger approaching from the south. Perhaps I could take that turn? I checked the phone map and discovered that I could, and it would make my already short walk a lot shorter. I was tempted, but decided against it. "Stick with your original plan, Becky," I told myself. It's often the best course of action." I'm glad I did as I found a lovely woodland, even if I did have to 'trespass' a tiny wee bit to access it.

Before that, however, I photographed yet another of Fife's many doocots, a two storey octagonal tower at Pitkierie. I'd like to take a closer look at this one sometime as, though it was in the same gridsquare I was in when I photographed it, it was some distance away.

Pitkierie Doocot. NO5505

I now had to walk down the busier than usual B9131. I didn't realise it at the time, but this was now a diversion due to a road closure in Anstruther - hence more traffic than usual. Later I would drive down the same road and look at the places I had walked along only an hour or so before. Fortunately I didn't have to walk down the road for long and there was a raised verge so I felt quite safe, but I did miss the opportunity to photograph a different gridsquare as I didn't realise I was in a new one.

Never mind - another reason to come back. I always come up with them - reasons to return, I mean. I crossed now to the wide entrance to Cauldcots and walked a little apprehensively towards some modern buildings. Which way did I go now? My 2004 map showed the path running in front of the houses, so I trod bravely onwards along a solar lit path which looked worryingly like a communal garden - and that's because it WAS  a communal garden. Expecting someone to come out at any minute and accost me, I stared down at my phone map to show that I was intently following a map - at least that's the impression I hoped I was giving and then sneaked through a tiny door in the wall (marked PRIVATE) on the other side and back into non-trespassing land.

Relaxed now, I wandered into what I shall call Cauldcots Den which welcomed me with its warm fiery colours and an instant drop in the wind. This was only temporary however, as gusts of nearly storm force winds howled intermittently through the mature woodland. I hoped there were no fickle trees just waiting to be blown over!

Cauldcots Den. NO5504

I then had to brave a wobbly looking footbridge over Cauldcots Burn (I'm giving it that name as I can't find a name for it on the map).

Bridge over Cauldcots Burn. NO5504

I scared a Grey Wagtail and it flew downstream - the best bird of my walk today.

Autumn by Cauldcots Burn. NO5504

Autumn by Cauldcots Burn. NO5504

I enjoyed listening to the wind and feeling it on my face. I could feel rain threatening though and hoped I would make it back to the car before it fell heavily.

Another wobbly bridge crosses the burn at the south end of the Den and then I was no longer in new territory. I had walked this way before, funnily enough almost exactly a year ago.

South bridge over Cauldcots Burn. NO5504

Milton Mill. NO5503

Back in Anstruther I sat on a bench at the churchyard at Dreel Halls and admired a myriad things - the sea crashing over the wall, the plethora of lichen on the bench and the gulls defying the elements at the Dreel Mouth (perhapS the burn I've called Cauldcots is just a tributary of the Dreel?)

My lichen covered bench at Dreel Halls - NO5603

I was cold and could do with another cup of tea, but, boy was I glad I'd gone out that day instead of sitting inside looking out; better to be out by far. After all, who knows what the next few weeks will bring? 

Number of new gridsquares: 5

Number of potential new gridsquares: 7

Number of miles walked: 5

Number of doocots visited/seen: 3

Walk worth repeating: yes, with amendments

Highlights: Kilrenny doocots, Cellardykes, Cauldcots Burn, lichen bench at Dreel Hall