10th July 2015
We left Beecraigs Country Park with our van empty of waste and full of water with the intention of finding a wild camping spot for tonight, however, we also needed to restock our food cupboards so we stopped off at good old Aldi in Linlithgow. I think at this stage I must have thought I was stocking up for a siege because I brought loads! and then struggled to get everything in the fridge. Anyway, once everything was safely stowed we set off following the Fife Scenic Route which took us over the Forth via the Kincardine Bridge, and continued on through the small pretty village of Culross. It was a bit unfortunate that it's ambience was spoilt by the view over the water of the chimneys belching flames and smoke from the Grangemouth Oil Refinery.
Loads of pollution! |
After lunch we dropped down into Kirkcaldy and decided we needed to stretch our legs, so we had a walk along the unremarkable promenade, but as we could find nothing much of interest we were soon back in the van. By this time it was getting on for 5 o'clock so we felt we needed to keep our eyes open for a suitable spot to spend the night, however, all the car parks said 'no overnight camping' and we didn't come across any other suitable spots. So as we're only novices at this wild camping lark we were starting to get a bit worried and thought maybe we would have to book onto a proper site after all. The first one we tried at Leven golf course seemed to only cater for static vans, but on enquiry they did take tourers - but with the price tag of £29 which we thought was a bit excessive for a 1 night stop.
We continued on our way but didn't see anything else until we got to Shell Bay where we had seen another camp site marked on the map. This turned out to be a huge commercial site that was absolutely packed - but they did have 3 spaces available, and as it was now 6pm we opted to take one of them. The site had everything - a shop, a take away, a club house, loads of noise - just the sort of sight John and I prefer to avoid, and it also had a price tag of £28, but beggars can't be choosers, so we coughed up and just made the most of it. However, we were gone quite early the next morning!!
11th July 2015
This morning we headed for St Andrews, and to our dismay and as sod's law usually has it, we saw several other small roadside camp sites that would have suited us much better. We comforted ourselves by saying 'maybe they were fully booked', because we now new why it was so busy - The Open Golf Championships start on Monday!
The Grounds were very Impressive. |
Part of the Gruffalo Trail - mouse with a tasty nut |
The Botanic Gardens |
The Cathedral as it was |
and as it is now |
Not sure who these belonged to! |
The Karsy!! Good job we've got our own! |
We have two other caravans for company but they are one end of the field and we are at the other! and after an initial trauma of trying to get the van level we are very comfortably set up and plan to stay for the next two nights. And at a £5 a night in an honesty box we think we've found a bargain!!
12th July 2015
Today we've cycled around Tentsmuir Nature Reserve, a distance of about 22 miles. www.tentsmuir.org.
We were mainly on quite country roads and cycle tracks within the forest so it was a very relaxing and peaceful ride. We found miles of beautiful golden beaches and sand dunes but alas, although the sands are supposed to provide a haven for grey and common seals, we didn't see any. However, we did thoroughly enjoy ourselves and we are now back in the van in the sanctuary of The Beaches CL.
Tomorrow we will move on again, but not too far. The weather forecast looks fairly good so we've got another couple of rides planned, and hopefully we will find another little gem to pitch our van on.
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