Chamfrons this week

Rebecca and Chamfron by Dand got their 2nd silver thistle qualifier under their belts after completing another 60km at Balgone.  Chamfron Colorado has been out and about showing off his natty Flexi boots and Chamfron Toledo is now very grey!

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.

Keep Moving - Week 18

Sunday started off at the Robert Burns monument on the Haddington to Bolton Road, a short walk along the woodland path to the Agnes Broun well and then down in to Haddington.  Looping back through Lennoxlove I met a lovely gentleman and his Border terrier who showed me some walks for future outings and gave me some other local suggestions.  He said it is worth visiting Lennoxlove early in the year to see the snowdrops planted in a Star of David across the lawn.  Monday was the bank holiday so I decided to take his recommendation, starting at Bara Loch between Gifford and Garvald which is a lovely peaceful spot, the banks are covered in bluebells and primroses at the moment.  That is quite a short walk so I then headed to his second suggestion which is the loop around the woods at Santa Maria Abbey.  It is working Trappist monastery and the monks do work the farm in their black and white robes but I didn't see another soul.  My third, and last stop was  White Castle which is an unexcavated, early Iron Age hill fort  on the northern edge of the Lammermuir Hills.  

Wednesday was a good five mile walk around Bowden with workmates.  On Friday Craig and I headed off to Bracken tree house, part of Airdit Hill, with a small stop en route at the Buffalo Farm to pick up supplies and pat the teeniest of pygmy goats (nano goats!).  On Saturday we did nine miles around St Andrews, we could have recreated the famous Chariots of Fire scene but it would have been more like Gorillas in the Mist.  We walked through the famous old course and along the West Sands where we met a seal pup, although it looked well and plump it seemed to be absolutely exhausted.  We called the SSPCA and they were already aware.  A stroll around the sights of St Andrews included the harbour, cathedral, castle and university.