Keep Moving - Week 19 (the early addition!)

Sunday we headed to Dundee and did some touristing, taking in the V&A Museum and sauntering past the Tay bridge hiding in the mist, the RRS Discovery, the HMS Unicorn and some great sculptures in the town.  I do rather like the polar bear one, the statue commemorates the 1878 escape and subsequent safe recapture of a polar bear [named Bruin], one of two brought from Davis’ Straits by a local whaling ship and bought for exhibition in Commercial Street by a Mr Woods. According to contemporary reports the escapee was one of two housed in a wooden box with an iron grating which slipped off the barrow transporting them and broke open. After scaring off on lookers and barging into a High Street clothes shop the bear was tempted out by a piece of beef and safely recaptured. The iceberg element refers to the precarious future faced by polar bears now.

Dundee football club were showing off their Scottish Championship trophy from the balcony behind the Desperate Dan statue to the accompaniment of much cheering and clapping.  After a stop at Clark's bakery we headed to the Botanic gardens which are rather lovely, even met a stick insect in the green houses.  To finish the day we did a loop of Kinclaven Woods but it looks to be a good couple of weeks too early for the bluebells there.  

Monday we headed home along the Fife coastal route, stopping in Crail for a coffee and a walk around the harbour then Anstruther for another harbour walk and fish and chips.  Elie was a rather lovely stop with a small loop taking in the Lighhouse and Lady's Tower. Lady’s Tower was built in 1770 for Lady Janet Anstruther, she used the Tower as a viewpoint where she could sit to watch the world go by and recover from bathing. She changed in the man-made cave on the beach below the Tower.  She was the daughter of a Scottish merchant and renowned for her beauty and reputation as a flirt. Prior to her skinny dip she sent out one of her servants into the town of Elie to ring a bell to let residents know to stay away!  There was someone swimming today, wet suit on though!  Our last stop was at East Wemyss for a look at the caves and MacDuff castle.