Welcome to Fife

Just back from a short break in Scotland where we visited Glasgow and St Andrews.

En route to the north east of Fife we visited the Royal Burgh of Culross. I’d never been to Culross before but it pops up regularly on my Twitter feed courtesy of the Welcome to Fife account which I follow.

I was well acquainted therefore with pictures of Culross Palace, the grand merchant’s house built in the late 16th and early 17th century by Sir George Bruce, but I knew very little about it, or its location which is described as ‘one of the best preserved examples of a 16th-century town in Scotland’.

Now owned by the National Trust of Scotland, Culross Palace stands out because of its vibrant colour - old gold, you might call it - although according to the NTS guide we spoke to no-one knows for sure if that was its original colour.

What I didn’t know, because I have never watched it, is that Culross, and Culross Palace, feature in the historical drama Outlander.

The town, which overlooks the Firth of Forth, has also been used as a location in other films and TV series including Kidnapped (with Michael Caine) and The 39 Steps (2008 version).

As it happens we weren’t planning to visit St Andrews this week but having cancelled a short break to the town in February after I caught Covid (again), a lettings agency contacted us at the last moment to say a studio apartment was available for a couple of nights and would we like to book it.

It was on the top floor of a large Victorian house in the centre of town. Last year we stayed in a one-bedroom apartment in a converted block at the back of the same property.

Builders were still converting the main house into apartments so it was interesting to see the results of their labours.

Long and narrow, the studio apartment (christened The Retreat) had a large bed at one end, a kitchen area in the middle, and a comfortable seating area at the other end. It felt snug and cosy but there was plenty of light and space too.

The only potential downside was that we were directly opposite the student union which had a covered outdoor area where students were drinking late into the night. Fortunately, on this occasion, their chatter and occasional eruptions of laughter didn’t keep us awake although, to be fair, my wife did have ear plugs.

The weather was forecast to be wet with light winds but, predictably, the forecast was wrong and it was mostly dry and fine.

We toured the local fishing villages including Pittenweem (which I was less familiar with) but the icing on the (chocolate) cake was a visit to Cambo Gardens and tea shop near Kingsbarns.

Aside from a 2.5 acre walled garden, a short walk took us to the nearby beach and a neighbouring golf course that features a particularly hazardous hole bordered, on one side, by the sea, and on the other by a small forest of trees.

It was only 110 yards from tee to green but to reach it requires an extremely straight drive to avoid going out of bounds on either side of the very narrow fairway. I can’t imagine how many balls have been lost to the sea.

We had dinner at Haar (a restaurant I’ve mentioned before because it’s on the site of the first pub I ever got served in, aged 15) but our last meal before we left St Andrews was a quick snack at The Cheesy Toast Shack overlooking the East Sands. Delicious.

Eight hours and 400 miles later we were back home in Cambridgeshire. A short but necessary break ahead of what could be a busy week, but more on that later.

Below: The Retreat, Culross Palace, and Pittenweem harbour