Whilst all roads lead to Crail for my family, there are other very picturesque places in the area which are also worth visiting. I will only mention here those which we visited this time we were in Fife, but there were others which we would normal go to. It just so happens that on this occasion we just ran out of time, but, as my Dear, Dear Aunt always says, you need to always leave something undone so to have a reason to return….. not that we need any more reasons….
St Monan’s
The village of St Monan’s, just south of Anstruther, has a lovely harbour from which you can walk along the shore, at low tide, to reach the restored windmill.
This has the remains of the saltworks just below it, from where sea water was pumped, by the windmill, into the salt pans where it was boiled to evaporate off the water to leave salt.
My interest is mainly with the tidal swimming pool, sadly no longer maintained by the local council, but still quite impressive. This is one of many along the coast and harks back to the days before health and safety took over from common sense….
Many questions arise from a walk along the coastline, such as what did this wall once lead to?
Again, keep your eyes open and you will fall in love with the quirks of the area which make it so worth a visit….
Pittenweem
My guilty please will always be a wee trip into Pittenweem, as pretty as the name suggests, but it’s lure is not just due to the winding lanes, lined with some beautiful houses, but that does help.
There are places like St Fillan’s cave to explore – once you have collected the key from the a wee cafe called the Cocoa Tree, which unsurprisingly does a fantastic hot chocolate.
Then, if you come at the right time of year, there is the Pittenweem Arts Festival, which is always worth going to. There are such a variety of exhibitors, located in and around the village. In galleries, halls, sheds, people’s home and garages, whatever space people can find they will utilise – so also great fun for those of us who are nosy and like having a look into places which would normally be closed off to the public! There is also a broad range of exhibitors, covering a huge variety of genres and price points, definitely something for everyone…
Despite all of the above it is one particular shop which always draws me there, that would be The Woolly Brew, it’s not a big shop, but it is one I wish I could pick up and move down to where I live – or one I would love to emulate down here! As the name suggests there is wool – but more than the wide variety of yarns, the needles, patterns and bits n’ bobs is the attitude.
Not only can you buy what you need to make a pair of socks, a jumper, a tea cosy or whatever your chosen project may be, but if you are lucky enough to live nearby you can attend the fortnightly knitting group or a workshop to expand on your skills. Sadly I don’t live close enough, but when I made my first attempt at a pair of socks, with wool I had bought there and the free pattern I picked up, I got myself into rather a muddle and could not work out what to do next. After almost giving up I took to Facebook and messaged them asking for help and before long I was back on track and managed to finish a wearable pair of socks. To me that sort of attitude to customers, even those who only rock up once a year, buys my loyalty….. so obviously I came away this year with another couple of balls of wool, I haven’t got a project lined up for them yet, but it’s only a matter of time – or weather – and the needles will come back out and into use!
