Torryburn 29th May 2011

Mary and Joe proposed this walk as they happened upon it last year. Once at Torryburn there is a nice flat walk along the shore towards Crombie Point, suitable for wheelchair users. Today it was blawin' a gale but we so enjoyed being buffeted and getting the cobwebs blown away. Then came our visit to the Southern Hemisphere Gardens which proved to be fascinating to all of us. First of all we accessed the gardens through wonderful wrought iron gates which were replicated throughout the area. These were worth discussion even before we reached the plants. The lady who has developed these beautiful gardens, Ursula McHardy, is a botanist whose passion for exotic species and longing to create her own botanic garden was realised only seven years ago. With the help and vision of her daughter and dedicated gardeners she has transformed a neglected overgrown space and woodland. It is a private garden and free to walk around and enjoy but donations are welcome to help with upkeep. There were plants, trees and vegetation from the Antipodes , South America and South Africa as well as some we actually recognised. There were little waterfalls and a pond where the lilies looked as if they were just about to burst. Mrs McHardy had planted each area with the same type of plant eg insect eating ones, rock plants and bog-loving plants. We could have listened to this lady for a long time. She believes in the evolution of plants and spoke scathingly about some new varieties. If her flowers and plants do not turn out 'the same or better than Mama then they are best to be thrown on the compost heap.' A lesson learned. We had to move on though after looking in on her vegetable plot and her chickens, but we all felt we would pay a return visit.

A cirular walk in the countryside brought us back to the cars and then the second delight of the day - fabby scones at Culross Palace! And what a variety! Have you ever fancied a corned beef and beetroot scone? Well, go sample one at Bessie 's Tearoom. Spirits raised, we headed for home.

Easter Morning . Falkland Hill

Wait for it................

Kettlehill

Thanks must go to Hamish Brown again for planning the route for today's walk. It has been a glorious day in wonderful Fife countryside and our souls are all the better for soaking up the wholesomeness (is that a word?). You can tell this was a good 'un.
We parked at Kettlehill and walked in a circle through Coaltown of Burnturk, Downfield Farm,actually through ploughed fields and over fences, some of us surprised at our own agility. We encountered many heilan' coos and sheep with their wee lambs today, and a prize bull gave us the evil eye as he heard us estimating how many steaks he could provide. We kind of went astray at farm houses called Brotus, but ended up on Middleton Road, the Main Road leading back into Burnturk. We stopped a couple of times on this road to give way to drivers who were clearly not interested in taking in the views. But we also stopped at the best vantage point to enjoy the spectacular views from the Lomonds across the Howe of Fife which was at its best today. Downhill from here on in, we stopped in Burnturk at a dilapidated old house which had a breadbin in the open window. On investigation it seems that daily newspapers are deposited here for collection by the local folk. How quaint.
The pedometer showed only just over 4 miles but we all think it got it wrong again.
On to Muddy Boots for our refreshments and planning for the next couple of walks. 15 friends shared a lovely, healthy afternoon with a lorra lorra laughs. Yecannawhackit.

Woodside to Markinch

Thirteen members of Bennochy Walkers ventured out on a circular walk starting at Lomond Centre, Woodside and descending to the River Leven, crossing at West Mill Cottage. Over the A911 to join the cycle path to the Railway Station in Markinch, then onward & upward to the East Gate entrance of Balbirnie Park. A short walk in the park ensued, culminating in light refreshments at the Laurel Bank Hotel. The homeward leg was via John Dixon Park, Balbirnie Bridge and Alburne Park. Spotting a Heron, en route, was our wildlife treat. The damp conditions were made light of by cheery chat & good companionship

Snowdrop Trail, Valleyfield woods

We began today's walk at Newmills. A couple of weeks ago when we did the practice walk we noted a grand stone archway halfway through the village with a 'Private. No Entry.' sign boldly displayed. Now that's the route we wanted to take so after making some enquiries at a local newsagent, a very helpful assistant phoned the owner to obtain permission for us to access the land. The owner happens to be Lord Wemyss. He lives in Torry House apparently. We didn't stop to say hello but enjoyed the walk through his grounds emerging at the A985 and crossing over to a wooded area. Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud! Even walking in single file we struggled to avoid squelching through some pretty thick black mud. We then had to walk about a mile on country roads, Clinkum Bank and Ayr Street, again in single file, which led us to Valleyfield Woods. We popped into the Riding Centre for Disabled for a nice cuppa and to use the facilities, then onto the Snowdrop trail through the woods. We could have had a guided tour but as there were 18 of us, we thought it best to do our own thing. Mary's grandchildren were with us today and led us through the enchanted woods admiring the carpets of snowdrops and guessing how many there might be! They were just a delight, the children that is. The woods are part of Valleyfield estate and you can still see the remnants of the landscaping created by Humphry Repton a famous 18th century English landscape gardener. Part of a very high wall which surrounded the ornamental gardens, an archway, remains of the kitchen garden and ruins of the gardener's cottage can still be seen. Despite the muddy parts this was a lovely woodland walk and we filled our lungs with good country smells. My geography failed me again though when asked which river was flowing through the estate. The other entrance to/ exit from the woods is back in Newmills so we wandered through the village back to our cars. As always we said a wee prayer before going our separate ways and felt content and grateful for the fellowship our wee group had shared today.

Glenrothes

It started off a really cold morning, and our non-walking kirk friends were fair sorry for us. But we were raring to go today as we hadn't had a walk together since November, so 17 of us jumped in the minibus at 1.00pm and off we scooted on a jolly to Glenrothes. Accentuating the positive is the secret.
We parked up behind St Columba's church and made for Riverside Park, carefully dodging the traffic on Leslie Road. There was still a fair amount of ice in the park, but we chose our steps and avoided any misadventure. Once among the trees however, it was great to walk on leaves and pine cones and we really felt as if we were right out in the country yet we were only yards from the busy A911. The River Leven which we followed for a short stretch was flowing very fast today. Just as the incline began we had to squeeze through a wee space where a pretty big tree had fallen over. Now the trailblazers among us who had our walking poles with us were off at the toot and left the tortoises to bring up the rear. They caught up again at the Fettykil Fox just before crossing over to Whinneyknowe. As we walk, without really being conscious of it, we move position in the group and so constantly change the people we are talking to. Topics are many and varied.
Yes, we're nearly there. We climbed the stairs from Ballingall Drive, pausing only for a short blaw, and reached today's watering hole, Balgeddie House Hotel. We had given the hotel a bit of advance warning that we'd be wearing walking boots so we were directed to Spencer's bar on arrival. Little did we expect a very pleasant welcome from management and shown to tables all laid out in readiness for us. The hotel had ordered in scones especially for us with strawberry jam and cream. Whatsmore the sun was streaming in through the windows at that time and it all made for a delightful wee breather. Once refreshed, it was all downhill from there, and you could hear some sighs of relief. We did come upon a really lovely part of the walk where we had to walk under the A911 with another fast flowing river on our right. But none of us knew which river that was.

Emerging at the pond, again back in Riverside Park, we noted that the snowdrops were beginning to poke their wee green shoots through the hard ground. The first sign of spring. In a few weeks there will be carpets of snowdrops and crocuses on all of the green spaces in Glenrothes Town Centre. A sight to behold each year. Apologies, I had kept the next and last incline a secret until now. So after a few more groans and pechts we reached the housing scheme and back on the level once more. The light beginning to change now we piled into the minibus for our homeward journey. 4.2 miles in almost three hours! Now that was a dawdle.

Burntisland

Despite the various euphemisms I heard before the walk - dull,dampish, 'not promising'- the weather today was dreich, a fine descriptive word of old Scots origin. Another of old Scots origin, Bob Docherty, led us on a history walk of Burntisland which was very interesting indeed. We parked opposite the Sands Hotel and headed towards the shore, dipping under the wee railway bridge. The first point of interest Bob described was a lovely victorian building which used to be a tearoom, then a shop (we could all remember buying an ice cream here in our childhood) and now is a bed and breakfast. Moving along the shore a few remarked how the tide seemed to be further in than usual, and a wee bit choppy whatsmore. Passing the Beacon Leisure centre, we all reminisced again of days when the swimming pool was al fresco, and Bob told the story of his grandfather, who was provost of Burntisland, having the dubious honour of opening the original outdoor swimming pool by taking the first dive from the top diving board! We walked around the promontory at Lammerlaws where we heard about the geology of Burntisland, and then on to the docks. Here we listened to the history of Briggs Marine Services - Rona's son works here so we were brought up to the present as well - and I found myself looking up the company on the web when I came home it was so interesting. Also nearby is B Fab involved in the manufacture of offshore and renewable energy fabrications where boss John Robertson won Fife's Businessman of the year just last week.
Moving on to Forth Place where we saw the old Burntisland railway station and admired the architecture, imagining what might go on behind all of the windows. Apparently it is to be sold soon, but we were not sure what the purpose would be. It was Mary's turn to identify the spot where the 'greasy pole' used to stand. This was a challenge, centuries old, whereby young men would attempt to climb a pole such as a telegraph pole which had been covered with grease presumably from the ships, to claim a pot of money from the top. The more astute participant would wait until the end of the challenge by which time most of the grease had been absorbed by the keen,naive ones, and he could shin up the pole with ease and claim the prize.The next point of interest was in Somerville Square where Bob referred to a wall plaque indicating where a famous daughter of Burntisland had lived in early 19th century. Mary Fairfax Somerville was a mathematician and astrologer and had such exceptional intelligence she was considered the most remarkable woman of her generation. Whatsmore she was entirely self taught. It was pretty cold now so we were glad to pop into the kirk. What a fascinating church is Burntisland Parish Church. Church Officer Ian Motion was kind enough to open it up for us to walk around at our leisure reading all the plaques and sitting in the old pews with doors at the end. Some of them still have names painted on the doors where a lady and her maids or estate owners would pay to have that seat set aside for themselves. The kirk also has great historic interest as this is where the Authorised Version of the Bible was authorised by King James VI in 1611. And so next year will be it's 400th anniversary. Some of us fondly recalled favourite verses from KJB comparing them with those of the Good News Bible which is in common use these days. Off again towards Rossend Castle this time where the visit was short as we were all so cauld, but long enough to hear Bob's history in a nutshell. We had a wee climb ahead, 56 steps to be exact but it led us to a terrific viewpoint where our tour guide pointed out all of the attractions we had not been able to visit.
Up ahead of course was the Binn, the protector of the town from extremes of weather. The town's shield of arms shows these Latin phrases - "Portus Gratiae" (Safe Harbour) and below "Colles Praesidio Dedit Deus" God gave the hills for protection). With thoughts of coffee at the Sands Hotel we were off at the toot now.It was even more pleasant today because Lorraine had made two cakes for us on account of her 'special' birthday the following day. We can thoroughly recommend her Weetabix cake! Thanks Lorraine . Hope you have a happy day tomorrow. We would also like to mention the warm welcome we had at the Sands Hotel. The staff were very accommodating so will have our custom again. Thanks Bob for imparting your knowledge of Burntisland with us, and I hear you have another history walk of Dunfermline up your sleeve. Well, you're hired!