Day Two
This day’s walk was to take us from Anstruther to Kingsbarns.
We met at 8:30am for breakfast. Jeth broke the news that he had tested positive for Covid. Some of us thought he might just have overindulged at his and Club’s 70th in Edinburgh at the weekend.
We had the evidence.
He felt fine but gave everyone the chance to express their opinion on whether or not he should continue the walk with us. It was a no-brainer.
We all had a full breakfast. Ashtead had a fuller one than anyone else. He recalls it being seven rashers of bacon, two sausages, black pudding, haggis, beans and coffee. Almost as calorific as a croquembouche. He had to offload most of the bacon. Poached eggs and salmon featured heavily on the other plates. And of course there was coffee.
Coffee was to feature again later today…
The first task of the day was deciding the logistics of how to get two cars to Kingsbarns to bring us all back to Anstruther at the end of the day. As the drivers were organising the transport, Lindsay and Ian took a stroll round the harbour and found a coffee shop. Unlike yesterday, this one was open. They relaxed in the morning sunshine with their cappuccinos.
It was again around 10:30am before we set off from the hotel.
Our route took us through the town and then through Cellardyke, a largely unspoilt former fishing village. The “greeny poles” originally used to dry fishing nets still sit on the harbour walls. Nowadays they are used as normal washing lines.
We left the village and strolled through a caravan park. There was an outdoor lido and a coffee kiosk. The kiosk was being enjoyed by swimmers warming up after their dook.
There were three people still in the outdoor pool.
Our path was predominantly along the hinterland behind the beach.
We paused briefly at the Caiplie Caves for a photo.
The weather was again sunny albeit a bit cloudier than day one. The walking was easy and flat as we approached Crail.
It was nearing 12:30pm as we walked into Crail. Due to the size of breakfast no-one needed lunch, but coffees were in order. (Told you coffee would feature later today).
The local coffee shop owner, clearly excited at having a new group of victims customers, gave us a somewhat less than enthralling history of the different ways of serving coffee. We listened politely during the eight or so minutes it took her to describe concoctions we’d never heard of before.
Club chose a long black.
After a 30 minute break we were off again, walking through the town still heading east. For the second time in the day we exited via a caravan park.
Walking was easier now. No sand, no cliffs.
We meandered along the coast.
The route took us past Crail Golf Links to Fife Ness. It was maintenance day on the course, so no golfers were about – just the sad sight of a flagstick lying on a green.
The path began to ascend again and we could see the Fife Ness lighthouse and coastguard station ahead.
Rounding the Ness we came upon Constantine’s Cave. He was one of the last Kings of the Picts and was said to have been killed in this cave by Danish invaders in 874 or 876.
Penalties for slow play were harsh in those days.
We skirted fairways until we left the Balcomie Links. Crossing a couple of fields we were diverted on more than one occasion because of erosion closing the route.
We returned to the path towards Kingsbarns Golf Course. We passed alongside, sometimes on the beach and sometimes on the path adjoining the fairways.
At the signature 12th hole we had to cross a stile. This proved to be a test of our agility and balance. Remarkably we all passed, although some managed it with more style (geddit?) than others.
Next to the green was a plastic owl to scare the crows and prevent them damaging the surface. Mushroom and Elton paused momentarily to consider the merits of this unconventional tattie-bogle.
Club, on the other hand, decided this good looking bird might be impressed by his best George Clooney lookalike pose.
(The bird’s look says it all – Ed).
We paused to watch some groups play. There was a fourball teeing off on the par 3 fifteenth, across the bay. Three made it safely over but the fourth lost his ball beyond the green. We all helped him look for it but to no avail, although Ashtead did find a golf ball in the woods next to the path.
Possibly the only person to leave Kingsbarns Links in pocket…
Feeling chuffed with himself, Ashtead happily posed for a photo while Club gave us yet another impersonation from his extensive repertoire – Max Wall this time. Is there no limit to his talents?
We followed the course maintenance vehicles’ track to the beach car park and our transport home. It was just after 2:30pm.
On arrival back at the hotel we changed then met in a nearby pub, Morrisons, for a debrief on the day. Elton was showing all the symptoms of also having Covid, but his prescription painkillers appeared to be minimising the effect. (If you’re reading this Donald Trump; no, those painkillers weren’t bleach.) Club, Mushroom and Ashtead restricted themselves to a single pint before retiring to their rooms while the others decided a more in-depth debrief was required.
Dinner was at The Dreel Inn – a five minute walk from the hotel. We met in the hotel bar at seven and had a couple more drinks before leaving for our 8pm reservation.
We were seated in an extension to the bar which had two tables – one for the eight of us and another occupied by a family out for a quiet meal. Oops.
The menu was a bit more adventurous and expensive than the first night. Again we enjoyed two courses and five bottles of wine. And the family seated next to us had an evening’s free “entertainment”. They took it well.
Before leaving the table, Jeth and Radar each had a shot of baby Guinness. Jeth tried to video a speech of the occasion for his family but his earlier extended debrief meant he struggled to get out any coherent sentences.
Not long after ten we retired to bed. These early nights were becoming a habit.