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The night was calm and dry, except for
the noise of the trains around midnight and the first just after
5am. It was nice to pack a dry tent away. I set off east along the
cycle track which is cinders at first. It emerges by houses then
under the railway by a muddy underpass and by a dirty pond. |
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Through a housing estate I approached
Burntisland through an ancient stone arch. A very impressive entry.
I followed the A921 coast road into Kinghorn where I took the coast
road again. |
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Grand
entry into Kinghorn |
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I had to endure the busy A921 again on
the run in to Kirkcaldy. Riding along the promenade was a stone
memorial saying the works were carried out 1922-23 during the Great
Depression. Staying with the coast I reached Methil with many
boarded up buildings and a depressing look. Through Leven I joined
the A915 to Lower Largo where I turned left onto a minor road and
thankfully left the busy traffic behind. The downside was a long
steep climb to a cross roads. Here was a fascinating marker stone
showing various place names and which way to turn. |
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Marker
post with a difference |
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St Andrews cathedral. When consecrated
in 1318 it was the largest building in Scotland. |
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GW marked in the tarmac on The Scores,
St Andrews, Scotland marks the spot where the Protestant Preacher
George Wishart (1513-1546) was burnt at the Stake. He was betrayed
to Cardinal Beaton, brought here, put in the Sea Tower & condemned
for heresy. He was burnt at the stake on 1 March 1546. His friends
got their revenge on the Cardinal on 26 May by gaining entry to the
castle and killing him. They then hung his body from the
battlements.
Then together in the castle they created the first congregation of
the Protestant Church in Scotland. |
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I was below the distinctive Largo Law
Mountains of two peaks. The uphill wasn’t over as I had a long steep
climb which crossed the line of an abandoned railway. The bridge
abutments were impressive. Eventually I stared a descent to Peat
Inn, which is an Inn and also a place name. I descended through
narrow lanes to the outskirt of St Andrews. I came to Morrisons but
decided to continue to Aldi to buy water. |
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'The
Open' golf crowds have gone |
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It was a mistake as they didn’t sell 2
lt water bottles as singles. I’d have to buy 6 bottles. I continued
into the town to Sainsbury’s to get what I needed then continued
cycling through the town. There were many visitors, mainly foreign.
I passed huge constructions of spectator seating for the Golf Open
which finished on Monday. I left the town on the A91 which was very
unpleasant. |
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There was no cycle track and it was
very busy with huge expensive 4 wheel drives which are mostly the
monied privileged who don’t recognise cyclists. I was so glad to
reach Leuchars and the adjacent RAF base. The road had much less
traffic. I was heading for the coast at Tentsmuir Sands and reached
a large car park which was almost full. |
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WW2
bogey used for towing targets
for gunnery practive |
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The coastal trail continued through a
dense wooded area and there was no way you could sense the coast. I
left it check out an observation post shown on the map but there was
little to see except a pill pox. |
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Very distant view of Bell Rock
Lighthouse about 28km away |
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Continuing along the trail I reached
the Ice House then headed east to an observation point which was a
cabin on top of a concrete frame. Above the dunes I could just see
the Bell Rock lighthouse. I camped here. |
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Return to
Whittle Wanderer
