The manager of the hotel gave me a lovely donation as I left this morning. A lovely sunny day and by lunchtime I was walking in my shorts. I followed the John Muir Way through East Linton and had lunch there in a quaint cafe. The owner gave me a donation. Great! Then on up to Dunbar via West Barns and past the lovely River Tyne estuary/marsh flats which are part of the John Muir Country Park. I walked over to 'Lammermuir House Care Home' for a brief visit and we took our picture. Then the manager, Lesley Renshaw, kindly gave me a lift to the station so I could catch a train back up to Edinburgh. It took only 20 minutes of high speed train to travel three days worth of walking!
Today I followed much of the John Muir Way through Gosford Bay and Gullane. I visited the Scottish Ornithologists' Club centre in Aberlady and interviewed Dave Allan. They do great work. Stayed the night at the 'Nether Abbey Hotel' in North Berwick. After breakfast I waved Carole off before continuing through the centre of Edinburgh and out along a cycle route. A few donations and conversations along the way. I walked through Musselburgh, Preston Pans and into Cockenzie and Port Seton. I stayed at the 'Anchorage B&B' and enjoyed an excellent Chinese meal for dinner. I interviewed Neil MacPhail who makes bagpipes! That night we went to see him play them and other instruments in a lovely pub. First thing I went to visit the team at Alzheimer's Scotland's head office just round the corner from where I was staying. It was great to meet them all and I emptied out the latest collections from the collection box. From there I got a lift back to where I left off last night and walked back in the centre of Edinburgh. Then onto to visit 'St Margaret's' care home. It's brand new, huge, and slowly filling up with residents. I was going to spend most of the week-end in Edinburgh with a visiting friend and so returned to the hotel for a rest. Had a lovely night at the hotel. I slept with my window open and was woken briefly in the wee hours by owls. Today's weather was dry, cloudy but with occasional sunshine. From Burntisland I followed the Fife Coastal Path (last day) through Aberdour, Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing, and then onto the Forth Bridge and over the Firth of Forth. The bridge wobbles a fair bit! It took me about 40 minutes to cross. At the end of the bridge, maintenance engineers stopped me and made a donation. They had stopped work early because the wind was getting too strong. Then I followed a cycle route from Queensferry into the outskirts of Edinburgh through some very smart private roads. Finally, I took a taxi for the remainder of the way to the hotel where I was staying. I set off from Largo Bay in misty but calm conditions - a big change from yesterday. Then I continued along the Fife Coastal Path through Leven, Methil, Buckhaven and East Wemyss. When I arrived in Dysart I had a late sandwich in a lovely harbourside cafe. Then on through Kirkcaldy, Kinghorn and ended up at the 'Kingswood Hotel' between Kinghorn and Burntisland. They gave me a special discounted rate and I enjoyed my dinner overlooking a sunny Firth of Forth. Very tired this morning and found it hard to get out of bed! After breakfast I got a lift to Elie to visit 'Earlsferry House' care home. As usual, the staff and residents were lovely and welcoming. We took photos and I ate tea and cake. Not bad! Then on into a howling wind along a sand dune path back up Largo. By this time it was mid-afternoon. So I decided to call it a day and went straight to bed at the hotel for a couple of hours sleep before dinner. I needed the rest. After breakfast I visited the staff and residents of 'Craigmount Care Home' before getting yet another lift off Kevin back down to Fife Ness where I bid him farewell. What a lovely guy and I am grateful to him for his support. Then I followed the Fife Coastal Path through Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, St Monans and to Elie where I found a pub with a beer, friendly locals buying it for me and a round of donations! I got a lift to Lower Largo overlooking Largo Bay and found a room at the 'Crusoe Hotel'. The town has connections with Alexander Selkirk who is reputed to be the person on whom the character of Robinson Crusoe is based. My room was absolutely on the sea front with the waves breaking below me. Fantastic! In a recent storm, one of the downstairs windows was broken by a wave! Kevin gave me a lift to Leuchars where he collected me the previous night. Then I walked along the Fife Coastal Path back into St Andrews were I admired the famous 18th green next to the hotel where I was staying. There was an army of greenkeepers tending to the hallowed turf and I tried to arrange an interview with the head green keeper who wasn't around. Maybe at a later stage? Then I walked admiringly through the main town of St Andrews and out the other side. Proper coastal walking again. Then by amazing coincidence, I bumped into 'Dave Higgins' who is walking round the coastline of Britain in the opposite direction to me, for Parkinson's. What a lovely coincidence. We chatted for a while and a passing walker took our photograph together. Then onwards along beautiful shore-side golf courses to Fife Ness where Kevin came and collected me. VIP service... and I don't mind one little bit!
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Archives 2013
September 2013
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