The
family gathering at Loch Leven’s Larder in Kinross was over…and it was a very
happy occasion too! It was early enough
in the day to explore Fife a little before nightfall and even more challenging
driving ‘opportunities’!
No, as they say, we
weren’t in Kansas anymore! Driving on
the left plus architecture unlike the norm in the USA made almost every road in
Scotland interesting to us. The 21-room Tudor
Style Lundin Link Hotel, a family operated facility, is located on Leven Road
(A915) on the north bank of the Firth of Forth in Fife. They advertise the fact that they are only 15
minutes from the “Old Course at St. Andrews”.
It was a
pretty September afternoon in Scotland as we made our way along the coastal
roads in Fife towards our dining destination.
I don’t know what town this is, but I liked the photo. By comparison with many other smaller towns
in Scotland, this main street is a ‘boulevard’ with lots of clearance!
Along the
way, we stopped at the pretty little town of Elie and Earlsferry. The 2 towns were merged in 1930. Earlsferry, the older of the 2 villages, was
first settled in time immemorial. The
story is that MacDuff, the Earle of Fife, crossed the Firth of Forth here in
1054 while fleeing from King Macbeth. By
the middle of the 12th century the Earls of Fife had established a
ferry here for the use of pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Saint Andrew the
Apostle at St. Andrews…hence the name ‘Earlsferry’.
Laurie
took this photo of yours truly…
There was
so much to see with so little time… Just
in the Elie and Earlsferry area alone, there are many sites of interest. The town has an unusual parish church with a
tall octagonal tower, plus ‘Elie Castle’, a number of classic 17th
century homes, a Scottish baronial mansion and, most curious of all, Lady’s
Tower, not far from the lighthouse.
Lady’s
Tower was built in 1760 for Lady Janet Ansruther to use as a changing room prior
to her usual morning bathing routine.
She was the daughter of a Scottish merchant and she was renowned for her
beauty as well as her reputation as a flirt.
Prior to her au natural bathing routine, she would send a servant to
town to advise residents of her imminent skinny dipping so they would stay away
from her private tower…
Bonnie
and Bill really liked this setting… It’s
just a ‘little’ different than what one might find in St. Louis Missouri in the
USA.
This
photo shows part of the Village of Elie and Earlsferry along the shore of the
Firth of Forth.
Laurie
and I took well over 1,000 photos in Scotland… I’m sure that Bonnie and Bill
took at least as many!
Little is
known about the beginnings of the Elie portion of Earlsferry and Elie, but the
village had become important enough by 1639 to build the Elie Parish
Church. In addition, it began pilfering
trade away from Earlsferry since its harbor was more protected.
Note:
· Firth is
a word used in Scots and English languages to describe various coastal waters
in the United Kingdom. In mainland
Scotland, it can be used to refer to a large sea bay or even a strait. The Firth of Forth is fed by the River Forth,
River Avon, Water of Leith, River Almond, River Esk and River Leven.
The handsome
town of Anstruther, along route A917, was our final destination and our dining
objective. With a population of 3,500
this is the largest community on the Firth of Forth’s north-shore coastline. The earliest recorded lord of Anstruther was
mentioned in a charter from 1225.
James
Melville’s diary provides a graphic account of the arrival of a ship from the
Spanish Armada in Anstruther. Local
tradition holds that some the survivors remained and intermarried with the
locals. (This could explain the genetic marker from the Iberian Peninsula that
Ancestry.com detected in Laurie’s genetic makeup!)
After
parking in a lot along the shoreline in downtown Anstruther, I was startled to
spot this old Desoto station wagon parked nearby. I think that it’s a 1953 model and it was in
great condition!
Anstruther’s
pretty harbor was full of sailboats, tourist boats and a few fishing
boats. Although tourism is the big
industry today, I read that fifty years ago, this little port was so busy that
it was possible to walk from one side of the harbor to the other by stepping
from one fishing boat to another…
Anstruther
is home to the Scottish Fisheries Museum where visitors can learn the story of the
Scottish fishing industry from the earliest times to the current era. The museum is housed in the handsome complex
of buildings shown above. This large museum even contains 3 boats, the
Reaper, the Research and the Lively Hope, which are recognized as being of
national significance by the United Kingdom’s National Register of Historic
Vessels.
If only
we had 2 or 3 months to explore Scotland, I would have really enjoyed this
museum, but such is life. To learn more
about his historical attraction, go to http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/index.php.
Laurie
and Bonnie’s cousin Hazel Innes highly recommended the Anstruther Fish Bar for
our dinner, telling us that this is the best place for fish and chips in Scotland.
Fishing has been the lifeblood of owners
Robert and Alison Smith for generations and now they’re preparing and serving quality
Scottish Seafood. Their efforts
culminated in their restaurant being crowned as the United Kingdom’s Fish and
Chip Shop of the Year in 2008/2009. Website: http://www.anstrutherfishbar.co.uk/.
Unfortunately,
it was a Saturday night and the Anstruther Fish Bar was packed…with a long line
inside and beginning to grow outside. As
I really didn’t want to drive after dark on my second day on Scottish roads, we
had to seek another dining option…
As we
wandered down the main street in town, I noted this Turkish takeout
restaurant. During the course of our
trip we spotted several such restaurants as well as a number of places serving
Indian cuisine. We talked to several
Scots who had great vacation experiences in Turkey and that may account for the
demand for Turkish food. Of course, the
United Kingdom has had a long history with India…
Note:
· In the 18th
and 19th centuries, Anstruther was home to The Beggar’s Benison, a ‘gentleman’s’
club devoted to the “convivial celebration of male sexuality”. To learn more about this bawdy group of Scots,
you and go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beggar%27s_Benison.
We checked
out The Waterfront, another likely dining venue as we strolled down the street. It had a great menu but it was totally booked
for the evening.
The next
establishment we tried was a bit more informal… The good news was that The Anstruther
Boathouse had one table available and we jumped at the opportunity! I borrowed this photo from their Facebook
page…
The
interior of The Anstruther Boathouse is very casual as are most of the places
along the town’s waterfront. I was ‘dressed
up’ on this day…wearing cotton slacks for the family reunion…but casual is what
we enjoy the most. For most of our trip
to Scotland and Ireland we wore blue jeans and pullovers… As usual, we
definitely over-packed for the trip!
Our table
was in this room at the Anstruther Boathouse… I know that the other tables are
empty in this photo but they were all reserved.
Ours was too but we told the host that we would be done and gone by the
time their expected guests arrived. As
it turned out, another table cleared for them and we weren’t under any pressure
to finish dinner.
Let me
think of possible superlatives… Excellent!
The Best Ever! Fabulous! Heavenly!
Spectacular! None of them do justice
to this bowl of Seafood Chowder… (5.50 PB/$7.20) It was the very best seafood
or fish chowder that any of us had ever had… Laurie and I would be extremely
happy if we could eat a bowl of this chowder once a week for the rest of our
days!
Laurie loves
mussels. This was an order of Moules
Mariniere…steamed mussels with shallots, a bouquet garni plus garlic, butter, and
double cream. (6.95BP/$9.10) These mussels were very fresh and very good! She shared....
Two types
of fish and chips were ordered at the table…a large order of Haddock and Chips
($12.95 BP/$16.95) and a large order of Smoked Haddock and Chips. ($13.50
BP/$17.70) Both offerings of this traditional Scottish and English staple were
very good indeed.
These
Tempura Prawns from the Starters menu served as another entrée. ($5.95 BP/$7.80)
They too were very nice. We were rapidly
learning that many starters and entrees automatically come with small salads on
the plate… Salads in general aren’t big on many restaurant’s menus as a
separate item, but this nice habit of serving side salads with the other food
may explain that fact.
All in
all, we were very pleased with our service and the food at The Anstruther
Boathouse. We will never forget that Seafood
Chowder! To learn more about this
establishment, just go to their website at http://at-the-shore.co.uk/the-boathouse.html.
Flowers…
Gardens and flowers… Despite the sometimes grey skies and dampish weather in
Scotland, bright and beautiful flowers and gardens were evident everywhere we
went. This example in Anstruther Fife in
front of the Lifesaving Station and next to the main parking lot just brightens
everything up!
To learn
more about Anstruther and its many historic sites and attractions, just visit http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/anstruther/anstruther/.
For a concise historical background, you
can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anstruther.
That’s it
for this edition of our Scottish adventures.
Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by to follow us on our journey!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
