Markinch

 Our first outing with the new walking group, only we're using the old blogsite temporarily. Fifteen of us set off from Langtoun Church after the morning service heading for Markinch in cars. We parked at the railway station and took off up the High Street towards the prominent church at the top of the brae. This is now part of a four church union call Heart of Fife Parish Church. We gently progressed uphill via Kirk Wynd till we reached Manse Road, followed by Northall Road. Under the railway bridge, we were now on the country walk. Just there, Markinch Heritage Group had kindly created a map of the Historical Trail and left some leaflets to take with us. 

We knew the start of this walk was a bit steep; a good thing some of us brought our walking poles. There were one or two stops to catch our breath on the way up and we pretended the stops were to take in the beautiful views across the fields, still golden after the recent harvest. We came to a few steps in the wall on our left - we could have taken that route to the top of Cuinin Hill and on to Star but we heard that the pub in Star had closed so we thought it wasn't worthwhile making the detour. Still climbing gently, we remarked how good this exercise was for us, despite our sair knees feeling the strain.  Now at the top of Braes Loan, the land evened out and some of us were relieved. We passed through a farm and then stopped to chat with a lady in one of the farm cottages. She had a lovely garden and I heard some tips being shared about how to get the best out of your dahlias. The lady also told us that her son was in the field opposite driving the combo (farm speak for combine harvester), and he'd just called his mum to bring some food out to him. Sons are always looking for food. As we passed the combo, we thought about the wee field meeces. The wee sleekit cow'rin tim'rous beasties whose nests would be getting churned up no doubt, but we didn't like meeces, so our sympathies were short-lived.

Thank goodness the climbing was over, but before the descent began, we had another photo shoot at the viewpoint below where we absorbed the breathtaking contours of our beautiful county before us.

Most of us seemed to speed up a little on the descent, but the last three were too busy chatting and fell behind so didn't get in this photo.

ah... now on level land we were actually walking part of the Kennoway to Markinch stretch of the Pilgrims' Way. It had been a beautiful afternoon weatherwise, but we noticed the colour of the clouds changing so we picked up the pace a little. Our refreshments were booked for 3.30pm at the Laurelbank Hotel back in the town and we arrived dead on time, desperate for our prebooked scones. Alas, they kept us waiting for a bit too long for comfort. However when they did arrive, they were delicious and well worth waiting for. A wee short walk back to the cars at the railway car park, and the new group's first walk was completed. All that remained was for us to say a wee prayer in an unplanned circle, ending with, 'until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.'    Perfect.

DW

 

Lower Largo

 Well, wasn't that lovely. It's been so long since Bennochy Walkers actually walked, we weren't sure if there would be an appetite for getting together one last time under that moniker. Oh ye of little faith - 17 of us got to the destination in one way or another. 

The intention was to travel from Kirkcaldy on the new trainline  to Leven then walk 3.5 miles to Lower Largo. The first hiccup we encountered was that the 1304 train was cancelled. That was plan A. There was no plan B. 

However, with little persuasion, four walkers offered to drive the rest of us along to Leven Train Station from where we began our walk. A nice, flat, canny start in the stoating rain. That was the second hiccup as this was opposite to the weather forecast. But nae fear - Mary was to hand with a bootful of brollies, so we were all equipped. We happened upon a Scottie dug who asked to have his photo taken with us. 

By the time we reached the other end of the prom, brollies were folded again. There was just enough blue in the sky to mak  a pair o' sailor's breeks as my mother would have said.

We walked alongside the golf course and noted that it hadn't rained there. Never does. We then opted to walk along the beach as it was easier under foot on the wet sand and we made reasonable progress given that we were yapping like there was no tomorrow. So much catching up to do. 

An essential element of our walks is the coffee and scone at the end. So by the time we reached Lower Largo, we pressed on, aware that our coffee stop, The Aurrie, was awaiting our arrival. Having looked up the word Aurrie on Google, it 's a Scots word meaning the space between pews down the centre of a church - the centre aisle then. It was an old Baptist church after all. Well I never. 

         

                                                 

Anyway their scones, coffee and homemade jam were to die for! We agreed there would be repeat visits to the Aurrie.

The third hiccup was that buses serving Lower Largo are few and far between on Sundays. An hour between actually, so folk that were not doing the return walk only had a short time to socialise before catching the bus back to Leven. The rest of us walked the 3.5 miles back. Just a wee stretch of the legs. Honestly, the Forth was so calm, we were almost paddling, and the sound of lapping water reached our souls. So peaceful were we that we just stopped there  and then and said the Gaelic Blessing together. 

On the way back to the cars, we were reminiscing of walks we had done many years ago and fondly recalled the fun and fellowship we had shared. So maybe this was the swansong for Bennochy Walkers, but today might well have rekindled a spark bright enough to propose a new group with a new name in the new Langtoun Church. 

Reunion!

 

At long last, the day has arrived for the Bennochy Walkers postponed Xmas get-together and what a great turn out there was! Nearly 2 whole years since our last walk, the walkers were back out in force!

Today we met, not at the usual church meeting point but at the Beveridge Park car park for the first segment of our fun packed afternoon activities. Our short 2 1/4 mile walk took in the Beveridge Park, Raith Estate and Mill Dam. The weather was kind to us and we were lucky to stay dry with the rain about to start as we approached our cars ready to head back to the church, and for part 2!

On arrival we were able to enjoy a slideshow of photographs taken on past jaunts, reminiscing where and when they had been taken. It was good to see the photos reminding us of happy times spent in each others company whilst reminding us of those now no longer able to enjoy the walking or sadly no longer with us.

There was of course what seemed like an endless supply of food to enjoy. A choice of tasty soups either lentil or apple and parsnip  followed by trifle, dumpling  shortbread and tablet with tea or coffee on offer. Our compliments to the chefs!

Once our bellies were full, it was time to enjoy our craft projects. For the ladies mini kilt making and for the gents, a chance to try their hand at an interesting looking project, turning an old drawer into a handy moveable storage unit on casters.

After a quick photo, the ladies had to model the kilts of course, it was time to move on. After such a long time away from walking you’d think even the short walk would have everyone exhausted but they were still able to muster up the energy for a country dance session followed by a lively rendition of Auld Lang Syne to round off a perfect Sunday afternoon. A good time had by all. Here’s to the next one!

Kerry

St Andrews

 I though I might share a few photos of yesterdays walk, The Lade Braes at St Andrews.

For those of you unfamiliar, It starts in the centre of town skirting past the back of the Botanic Gardens although with the shrubs and trees in full bloom the view is extremely limited. It mixes both wooded walkway and housing with parks and fields and has plenty to see along the way.

The path extends all the way to Craigtoun Park a good 3.5 miles It’s a fairly quiet route, until reaching the Park which was good to see how busy it was since not so long ago it looked rather forlorn and neglected. 

Looking forward to when we can all meet again, as Dame Vera Lynn Said - 
We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when but I know we’ll meet again Some sunny day!

Ps I know you all sung that last part!

Bye for now, stay safe!

Best wishes
Kerry and Stephen

Lochore Meadows 16th March

14 of us left the church at the usual time and headed of to Lochore Meadows where we were having our latest walk. Surprisingly the car park was a bit  full despite the current climate. I guess people were out because it was recommended we stay in. We are a  funny lot.

There was still 14 of us when we set of, led by Carol, who with some encouragement from Bill, was taking the walk. W e left from the new  Willie Clarke Visitor  Centre  opened in 2018 and named after the Mr. Clarke, a local councillor who was instrumental in pushing for the development of the  country park and ultimately the new Centre. He is perhaps less well known for the fact that he was the last Communist councillor in Britain. We started off around the loch in a clockwise direction, heads down as we had the benefit of a gale force wind in our faces. This part of the path also forms a short part of the Pilgrims Way although the park wouldn’t have been there when the Pilgrims came through. We were accompanied on this stretch by a little pug dog who trotted along behind us taking advantage of the shelter the group were providing. It was a bit of relief when we reached the tree line and nature reserve where we stopped for one of Mary’s sweets and a photo or two . It got a bit muddy at this point but most of us didn’t bother  much as we had plenty to talk about as usual.  After the mud came the only raised part of the walk up to Cluna Craig, but nobody needed to use our emergency oxygen. As we crossed the bridge over the river Ore we noticed a strange phenomenon (and that’s a strange word). Two little whirlpools had formed in the water above the bridge and we all stopped to have a look. If the whirlpools were strange, the sight of 14 adults looking over a bridge at whirlpools is very strange. We must be getting old. From there it was back to Communist councillor Willie Clarke’s centre for tea/coffee and various scones, pastries and cakes. It was about then the torrential rain came on. We do time things well. Much thanks to Carol and Bill. On our next walk we need to walk 6 feet apart, like a parade. No talking, just shouting.

Kinghorn

Today saw the first walk of 2020 for our walkers. It was looking promising as there were 18 of us in total, a good start to the year. The gloomy weather obviously hadn’t put anyone off, whether or not the rain would stay away was another matter.

Our cars parked at the Bay, the leisure complex attached to Pettycur Bay Caravan Park, we set off along the main road heading towards Kinghorn High Street, cars whizzing past us at speed to start the urban part of our walk. We turned left zigzagging our way along various streets commenting on the number of new houses that seemed to have sprung up recently on the outskirts of Kinghorn heading towards The Ecology Centre and Craigencalt.

Once reaching the Ecology Centre we were welcomed by a giant troll.

We headed past the Loch and unfortunately bypassed the cafe at Craigencalt since this wasn’t todays coffee stop. We were all cold by this time so a nice cuppa wouldn’t have gone amiss but we pressed on. Moving on uphill we were delighted to see the first flurry of Snowdrops.

Further along the route we crossed the main road into farmland providing gorgeous views of the Loch

Here the Highland Cows roam freely but seemed totally unperturbed that their field had just been invaded by a new herd. It was at this point the rain appeared albeit a short shower so fortunately we didn’t get too wet. Just around the corner the last downhill stretch led us back to the Bay arriving slightly ahead of schedule leaving plenty time for tea, coffee scones and chat.

Kirkcaldy

We had a lot to get through today so as soon as we could, the ‘15 walkers walking’ set off like an added addition to the 12 days of christmas on our local walk leaving Dianne and Ian behind at the church to make the preparations for the crafting we had to look forward to on our return. 

We set off from the church heading towards the old  Forth Park Maternity Hospital briefly pausing to have a look at the demolition work that has been started on it’s transformation into luxury flats.  Heading towards Longbraes we carried on, uphill all the way until we reached the top stopping to look downwards over Kirkcaldy, then downhill and a left turn bringing us onto Oriel Road. Here we began the journey back to the church, weaving through various streets until reaching our destination. Thanks to Hilda for planning our walk.

Crafting time was about to begin

        

Stephen and Ian had been tasked with creating a rustic christmas tree from old pallet wood with a very successful end result. 

Luckily Dianne had already started to prepare our wooden boards with stag templates for our string art session saving us a fair bit of time and showing what we should be doing. 

It certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked and unfortunately most of us ran out of time as our food was due to arrive. However we were able to take our crafts home to finish at our leisure. 

Valente’s delivered directly to the church, a variety of puddings, fish and chips which was enjoyed by everyone. 

We still had our fun quiz arranged by Ian and Sybil to look forward to. Allegedly easy but only easy if you knew the answers (which I didn’t). Once the quiz came to an end, it was time to tidy up the church hall and wish everyone a Merry Christmas before we headed home. 

Yet again, another great day spent with lovely people. A big thank you to everyone who arranged a part of it and to all those who attended making the event as enjoyable as it was. And yes, when I got home I did finish my stag!

See you all next year. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Kerry

And the finished articles - well done Kerry and Isobel