Christmas lights, Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

Oh dear. 

Markinch

Dam Cottage & Kettlehills

We couldn’t believe our luck with the weather today after yesterday’s wind and wet, wet, wet. You can tell be this photo what a gorgeous autumn day we spent in the hills above Kettlebridge. It was a difficult drive through mud and potholes to reach our car parking spot, but we eventually met up at Damside Cottage where we met the owners Margaret and Walter SIMPSON who had invited the walkers to spent some social time at their beautiful cottage which has been in Walter’s family since his grandparents time. And the Simpsons have generously shared it with hundreds of people attached to Bennochy Church over the years - it’s a long standing favourite outing for BB boys.

MARGARET led the walk today as she knows the country so well. This photo was taken half way, just as we reached Burnturk and we stopped to soak up the beauty of the landscape. I started humming, ‘All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above.’ Harvest time is beautiful in the Howe of Fife.. Sybil measured the walk - 4.21 miles - just a wee stretch of the legs for Bennochy Walkers. 

When we reached the cottage again, Walter had the magnificent open fire blazing and the heat and smell of woodsmoke beckoned us into the welcoming living space where the kettle was singing and the table spread with cakes of all descriptions which some of the ladies had provided.

Lots of chat and laughs rang out as we toasted by the fire, feasting on the goodies. The cottage garden is always well kept by Margaret and Walter, and today we were invited to pick the remaining apples from the trees as it was a bumper harvest this year. So many crumbles, pies and chutneys are to be made for church from their produce.

L to R.    Lucy the hen(look closely), Janis, Audrey, Hilda. front Mary

 Four ladies met up with Lucy, the resident hen who was out for a wee stroll but didn’t fancy getting her photo taken. Lucy apparently was the only hen to escape the ravages of a fox that got into the hen coop. And she’s lived peacefully with the Simpsons for 8 years. 

On that happy note, we said our Walkers prayer, and thanked our hosts for once again sharing their country home with our group to enjoy. What a lovely Sunday it’s been. 

Lower/Upper Largo

A bit overcast, with some rain to start with but with a good wind behind us 10 walkers started from the beach at Lower Largo following the Largo Burn to Upper Largo. We spoke about the abundance of berries on the trees and bushes and we wondered what this indicated for the weather for the winter months. We spotted Brambles, Roman, Hips, Haws and Sloe. This then led onto a discussion about Sloe Gin, currently maturing in a living room cupboard somewhere in Kirkcaldy.

On reaching Upper Largo we walked along South Fews admiring the lovely properties with amazing views over farm land and the Forth. Crossing a Main Street we walked up North Fews passing the lovely wee Kirkton of Largo Primary School and the beautifully kept cemetery. Taking care on this narrow road we eventually came to a crossroads where there was a brilliant road sign, see picture. It reminded me of the song: 

Agadoo-doo-doo, push pineapple, shake the tree,

Agadoo-doo-doo, push pineapple, grind coffee,

To the left, to the right, jump up and down and to the knees,

Come and dance every night, sing with the hula melody.

Turning off the road we entered and walked through the lovely Kiel’s Den before again approaching the main road. Crossing this we headed down Harbour Wynd and joined the old railway track which took us back to our cars

We had a great coffee stop at the Upper Largo Hotel, where the scones and service were brilliant. Definitely on our list for a return visit. Ending our lovely afternoon out with our walkers prayer we then headed back to our cars

Elie. 19th August

    On Sunday 19th August 11 members of the walking group left the church for our walk at Elie , we have enjoyed this walk before and there was new things to see . Two new houses at the Elie estate, a wedding was taking place at a beautifully decorated house in Earlsferry, and a cricket match on the famous harbour beach .
       We enjoyed great tea and scones at the Pavilion Cafe with excellent service !!! 
 It was a really nice walk and great company , we finished with the walker prayer .

  


Looking forward to our next walk .

Raith Wood - part of Kirkcaldy Walking Festival

Starting off walking down Wester Bogie Road, eleven walkers entered Raith Woods, through Raith housing estate , along Boglily Rd then crossed at Raith Lake into more woodland where the walkers had to search for 12 items - a feather, a right-angled stick,  a photo of a squirrel, a nettle plait among others. The walkers were very intense, ensuring that all their boxes were ticked. 
We exited at Kirkcaldy Golf Club then crossed through Beveridge Park where we met up with other Bennochy Walkers who weren’t able to make it today. A short distance on to Oriel Road, we picked up the cars and headed for Bennochy Church where ladies had made scones, Viennese whirls, chocolate squares and gingerbread. It was such a lovely day we set the table in the church garden. At that point, we marked the scavenger quiz - there were some crazy answers - and the winners won prizes suitable for walkers.
There weren’t as many participants  as we’d hoped for, but given that this was the final of the World Cup as well as the final of Men’s Wimbledon, these were very good reasons to stay home today. For those of us who made it, 5.8 miles on a lovely summers day with good company. Very satisfying. 

Seafield to Kinghorn and return

5.7miles today. 11 walkers and a beautiful day for it. 

11 of the walking group left the church on Sunday 24 th June for our walk form Seafield to kinghorn and back. Audrey was to come as well but she tripped in her garden and hurt her foot and shoulder , hope she is on the mend soon . It was a great day  for the walk , and the coast scenery was at its best .
 Tea scones and carrot cake were enjoyed after a bit of a wait at the Harbour View Bistro . Grace left us to get the bus back home and we carried on down to the harbour it was lovely we could have been in Cornwall . The walk back was hot and we were glad of the cool breeze back at the car park , we finished a perfect afternoon with the walkers prayer . 

Riverside Park

                                                             

What a truly glorious day for a walk. We left the church in 3 cars and headed to Riverside Park in Glenrothes. This walk was led by Carol and Bill and we started from the top car park.

This walk included well maintained parkland, woodland and riverside walking. There was something on this walk to suit all tastes. It was lovely to see families out enjoying the sunshine Children played in the play parks and paddled in the gentle sandy slopes of the river. The trees a beautiful spring green colour let through dappled light to a multitude of wild flowers. It seemed to that the birds were singing a special chorus, so lovely was the sound.

As usual there was lots of chat and laughter but as it was so warm and we were meandering rather than walking we took the decision to slightly shorten the walk to 4 miles.

Gathering back at the cars we said our Walkers prayer and headed off to The Pavillion in Glenrothes, home to the Glenrothes Strollers Football Club. The staff very kindly kept the cafe opened a bit later to allow us to meet there for our refreshments. Absolutely no complaints about the scones, cakes or service from us, first class. We will return

Thanks to Carol and Bill, a lovely walk

Forth Road Bridge

Leslie to Markinch

                           

After some awful weather in Fife recently, we were blessed with the best of days for a brisk 5 miler from Cabbageha in Leslie to Markinch train station almost in straight light through Glenrothes. Boblingen Way is a great , safe pathway for walkers, cyclists and for tots learning to go a scooter, as we saw. Scenery? Well, not much to speak of. Today seemed to be all about the exercise and of course the conversations were travelling at the same speed as we were walking - 6 conversations at the one time. We make a heck of a row. In fact,  from the front looking back at one point, we looked and sounded like we were on some sort of protest march! 

Refreshments today were once again at Banners in Markinch who produced some great scones for us  and a good strong cup of coffee. Good service deserves a return visit, we agreed. Because this had been a linear walk, one driver had to take the other drivers back to the start to collect the cars. Thanks Hilda. The photo was taken at the same place as we took one last time we did this walk a few years ago. Some new faces, and some getting older. Aw. Thirteen, they say, is unlucky for some - not for the 13 who walked today. A good healthy afternoon with likeminded friends. We are lucky. 

Joe’s Bench

Joe's bench -Sunday 25th March

Our walk began at Ravenscraig car park where 14 members took the path to the castle ruins to enjoy the views of Kirkcaldy on a lovely spring day. We returned to the park and the coastal path towards Dysart.

Mary and her family have placed a lovely bench by the path looking out to sea,Joe's favourite  view .We stopped to remember all the happy times we had when he was part for our group. Dianne read out the prayer she composed for Joe when he died it was very moving . Mary being Mary produced ginger wine and A bottle for Prosecco as a toast to her very special husband and the great friend to us Joe was.  

We carried on the path to the harbour and up though Dysart to the Nourish Cafe and lovely tea and scones !!
Back down the main road we dropped into Ravenscraig allotments it wasn't the best time of year to visit as the growing season is just starting. It would be good to go back at the end of summer to see the allotments in full bloom.  We finished the walk at the car park with the walkers prayer ,it was a lovely afternoon with good fellowship .

Limekilns and Charleston

Limekilns and Charleston

18.8.18

The walk began by making our way along to Limekilns Harbour area where we admired the boats and had our first photo stop.  We looped back and walked along the Esplanade. The sea was very calm – unlike the cold, windy conditions on the recce!  We had eleven walkers and the chat was good.

On reaching Charleston harbour, the old Limekilns buildings restoration work was in progress by Historic Scotland.  We read on the plaque about the history of the building and could only imagine how hard and dangerous the work would have been.

Further along we took a path up to a higher level and continued passed the Elgin Hotel. Rows of lovely little cottages along the way and all very peaceful - apart from our group blethering. We headed down towards the Esplanade again and made our way along to our coffee stop at ‘The Ship’ where we were given a very warm welcome and excellent service. As is often the case when we finish a walk it started to drizzle rain.

Fed and satisfied we headed back to the cars and Audrey realised she had lost her hat. Fortunately it was found back at The Ship so all ended well. After saying our usual walker’s prayer at the cars, we headed for home. It was a 4 mile walk today.

Next walk will be on 11th March when Janis and Audrey will lead. Details to follow.

Kirkcaldy

On Sunday, 28th January, 13 members of the Group met at Morrisons and proceeded through Invertiel, under the Railway Bridge, turning into the Jawbanes Road.   As we climbed, we encountered some drizzle and a strong wind.

After a couple of miles we arrived at the crossroads, turning left for the undulating but scenic route to Kinghorn.   Continued through Kinghorn to join the Coastal Path to return to Kirkcaldy.

A bit of water and mud on the path making it tricky under foot in some places added to by the return of more drizzle in the latter stages of the walk.   All quiet on the river, not a whale to be seen.  However an enjoyable outing overall.

Refreshments were taken at Morrisons where we coincidentally met our Minister, Robin, who concluded our outing with an appropriate prayer.

The walk covered 6.3 miles. Well done everybody.

Bonnybank, Kennoway

What a lovely winter's day for a country walk. Very cold but dry, and blue skies above.
We wished each other a Happy New Year and welcomed Stewart, a new walker, to our group.
Ten of us made the journey to Kennoway and parked up at Springbank Terrace before walking up the hill out of the town towards Bonnybank Inn.
Just before the pub we took a left onto a road which led past the cattery and several houses which together make up the hamlet of Baintown.
Surprisingly, although it was a country road we had to be on our mettle as there were a good few cars passed us with not much room to spare. It was a gentle incline, not enough to get puffed,  as we made our way to the half way point and we turned to take in the view - beyond Leven we could see the Forth and in the distance, the Hills above Edinburgh. the low winter sun casting a lovely orangey shade to the landscape.   
We had lots of chat to catch upon: Christmas and New Year reports, good news  - a first time grandmother in the group - and concern for friends who are not quite fit enough to be with us today. We hope Rona gets back to good health very soon. Talk about our families and our hopes for 2018 kept us engaged for the entire 5 miles walk and most said they hadn't noticed the miles passing.
We prayed together before moving on to Wellsgreen Golf Range where a table had been reserved for us right in front of a gorgeous fire. Lovely newly baked scones and very welcome coffees were served by pleasant staff and not overpriced into the bargain. 5 stars Wellsgreen despite being very busy!
We agreed that 28th Jan would be our next walk.  
Lovely walk and good company. 

Aw Naw!! nobody took a photo today!!