Good day everyone, It is cold and wet here in South Africa this morning. Last year this time I was busy packing the last of my things and weighing our suitcases for our holiday in Scotland.
I can’t believe that the time went by so fast. The worst of it all is, I am not even halfway through editing all my photos. I better get working on that. I will still be posting about our first trip to Scotland for a long time. I am enjoying editing, posting photos, and stories of that day. It’s like I am back in Scotland.
Today I am going to share the rest of my photos of St Andrews.
Molly MalonesCrow on St Leonard’s Church
The blue door of the Lions House caught my attention when I got closer to take a photo I saw the lions and the name of the house it is very appropriate.
The Lions House
The Lions House
The Lions House
The Lions House
My next stop was the Holy Trinity Church. Another beautiful church with lots of detail. It’s a shame I did not have enough time to capture every little detail as I would like too.
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
I love to capture the old buildings with their unique characteristics, for example, this corner bookstore.
Here are just a few more buildings that caught my eye on my way back to the car.
Our next stop the Blackfriars Chapel.
Blackfriars Chapel
Blackfriars Chapel
Blackfriars Chapel
Blackfriars Chapel
Oor Wullie at the Blackfriars Chapel
Madras College
Madras College
Madras College
Madras College
St Andrews Baptist ChurchSt Andrews Baptist Church
Thank you for joining me on my walk through St Andrews. Our next stop was St Andrew’s Cathedral. But that is a post all on its own.
Hope you are all still healthy. This week was very busy with my studies and finishing up editing work for clients.
For the next few days, I can concentrate on editing our Scotland vacation. Let’s continue our Grand Tour of Scotland. Today I am sharing with you the photos I took while exploring St Andrews.
Dad was still not feeling up to walking, and he stayed in the car while I explored and took some photos of the surroundings.
My first stop was St Leonard’s Parish Church. On my next visit to Scotland, I am definitely going to make a point of it to go inside the churches to capture the interiors as well.
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church
St Leonard’s Parish Church Bell
While I was exploring, I noticed the different types of stone and brick walls. It really stood out to me.
Patched wall
Up next are some random photos of the buildings and houses.
My next stop was the Victory Memorial Hall. The blue door and entry of the hall caught my eye immediately. I searched online for more information about the Victory Memorial Hall, but shockingly, I could not find any.
Victory Memorial Hall
Beautiful blue door of the Victory Memorial Hall
Victory Memorial Hall
St Andrews has so many beautiful churches, and I only walked down one street.
The Hope Park and Martyrs Parish Church have a spectacular exterior, I can just imagine how the interior must be. The beautiful flower baskets in front of the windows really caught my eye.
Hope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchHope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchHope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchHope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchHope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchStunning Window of Hope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchBeautiful Hanging flower baskets of the Hope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchHope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchStunning Blue door of the Hope Park and Martyrs Parish ChurchHope Park and Martyrs Parish Church
Thank you for exploring St Andrews with me. In my next post we will continue exploring.
I am feeling much better today. I hope you are all still healthy and enjoying life to the fullest.
WOW day two on the road, but first a little of our stay and warm reception at Knockhill Farm just outside St Andrews.
Linda Wood, the owner of Knockhill Farm B&B, made us feel right at home with her friendly reception. We ran late, and she was worried that something happened to us on the way there. She even went as far and contacted Nordic Visitor, our tour agent, to find out if they had heard something.
Linda showed us to our accommodation for the evening, and we talked a bit about our day. She then told us that breakfast will be served at 8:00 AM and showed us where we must go.
Big Lounge and kitchen area
Our accommodation had a spacious lounge, with 2 comfortable couches, a television, and enough reading material to keep us busy for the night. In the kitchen area, we had a variety of coffee and teas to choose from.
Spacious Shower and bathroomBasket of goodies and towels
The bathroom was also very spacious and had a beautiful big walk-in shower. There were fresh bath sheets, face towels, shampoo, shower gel, and cream.
Two comfortable twin beds
The spacious bedroom had two twin beds, cupboards and, a dressing table.
After a long warm shower, I put on my PJ’s and made myself and dad a nice cup of coffee. We sat down in the lounge, dad grabbed a book and started reading and I started writing a quick blog with photos I took on the road with my phone. When I first anticipated writing a blog every evening, I did not factor in how tired I would be after a long day on the road.
We went to bed around 10:30 PM for a well-deserved rest.
At around 5:00 AM, I woke up refreshed. I got out of bed, got dressed, and gathered all my things. I grabbed my camera and headed outside to take some photos of the farm and its surroundings. I made dad and myself a cup of coffee then I woke him up just after 6:30 AM, giving him ample time to get ready.
Our Room The Stable
Dad finished with time to spare, and we decided to take a walk down the road.
I hope that you are all having a great week. Today’s post is going to be sweet and short. I did not take a lot of photos in Anstruther, because we were running late and I could not phone the guesthouse where we were staying. I only had a data package, and it did not include airtime. On our way to get supper, we stopped at St. Ayle Church. I took a few photos through the gate, and then we were on our way again.
Since I started planning this road trip through Scotland with dad in October 2018, I decided that we are going to visit Anstruther Fish Bar. I have seen so many posts on Instagram about this award-winning restaurant that we just could not pass through without trying out something on their menu for ourselves. When we got there, the queue went out the door and down the sidewalk. It was late, but we were starving and decided to stay.
They did not disappoint. The food was delicious.
Haddock and Chips
Just before we left, I took some photos of the harbor and surrounding buildings.
Arrived safe at Knockhill Farm.
Thank you for joining us on this short visit to Anstruther.
Hope you are all still healthy and staying safe. Today’s post is not going to be long. I would rather let the photos tell the story.
Our next stop on our Grand Tour of Scotland that we booked through Nordic Visitor is St Monans.
St Monans is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife and is named after Saint Monan.
It was raining when we arrived in St Monans but when we got to St Monans Kirk the sun was shining.
St Monans Kirk is situated on the west end of the village on the edge of a rock overlooking the ocean. They say that St Monans Kirk is the closest to the sea in the whole of Scotland.
Dad decided to stay in the car because the wind was just too cold. I grabbed my camera and walked around the Kirk trying to capture it from all angles.
View from the road.St Monans Kirk and graveyardSt Monans Kirk and graveyardSt Monans Kirk and graveyardSt Monans Kirk and graveyardView from the church WallView from the church WallSt Monans Kirk and graveyardSt Monans Kirk and graveyardBeautiful WindowsBeautiful Blue door of St Monans Kirk View from slope of St Monans Kirk and GraveyardSt Monans Kirk and graveyardView from parking lot of St Monans Kirk and graveyard
Our next stop was St Monans harbor and the Wellie boot garden.
Next on my places of interest list was the Wellie Boot Garden. I have seen so many photos of it on Instagram and just had to capture it for myself. I had a bit of a struggle with the sun and the wet ground but I got it done in the end.
I just love the way they utilized the old Welly Boots as planters for the flowers.
The view from the slipway was also very beautiful. I just had to take some photos of the boats on the water.
Thank you for joining us for our visit to St Monans. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Today’s post is not going to be that long. We did not spend a lot of time at our next stop Lower Largo on our Grand Tour of Scotland. I would have liked to explore this little coastal town a bit more but time was not on our side.
While driving along the coastal road we spotted this beautiful sculpture. At first I thought it was the Robinson Crusoe Statue but while I was doing my research for today’s blog post I found out that it is actually The Malagan Sculpture. Well now I know…. I just love the detail on the Sculpture and the entrance gate. I am a law abiding person but it took all my strength not to enter and take up close photos of the statue.
Entry to Malagan Sculpture in Lower LargoMalagan Sculpture in Lower LargoMalagan Sculpture in Lower LargoMalagan Sculpture in Lower LargoMalagan Sculpture in Lower LargoMalagan Sculpture in Lower Largo
The views from here was also beautiful.
Across the road I spotted a house with the most beautiful gate. It looked like a scene out of a storybook.
Once again I just can’t pass the opportunity to capture the house with the blue door and flower baskets on the windowsills.
I had to look twice before I realized that it was a toy skeleton of a prehistoric animal.
Largo Baptist ChurchView of the oceanBeautiful Red door…
Thank you joining us on our short visit to Lower Largo. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Oh my word this morning I am freezing. Hope you are all still healthy and staying safe.
Okay let’s continue our Grand Tour of Scotland.
Our next stop was Letham Glen. It was not even on my places of interest. In 2010 dad had his colon removed due to cancer. So if dad has to go there are not much time you must get him to a bathroom as soon as possible. This was also a reason why all our stops are so close together just in case.
I wondered around and took a few photo’s while waiting for dad.
Letham Glen Sunken Garden
Letham Glen Sunken Garden
Letham Glen Sunken Garden
Letham Glen Sunken Garden
The Sunken Garden at Letham Glen was the towns former swimmingpool in the 1930’s. They have turned it into a beautiful garden. I was impressed.
Our next stop was the standing stones of Lundin. But oh my hat did we struggle to get to it. First of all the GPS says your destination is on your left side, you have reached your destination. When we look around all we see is houses on the left and a golf club on the right hand side.
We drove past our destination at least 4 times when I told my dad that’s it I am not going to search anymore… Then I spotted it through one of the houses gates opening up on the golf course. Okay now we know where it is. Now how to get to it. So we followed a dirt road and there it was. But I had to go through someones backyard to get to the golf course. The groundskeeper told me the man get’s very difficult when he spots tourists in his backyard. But that’s the only way to get there….
I did not come this far just to give up. So dad waited in the car while I invaded the poor man’s privacy. Luckily he was not there so I climbed over the wall onto the golf course, took a few photo’s and climbed back again.
I got to the car and just as I pulled away the owner arrived…. That’s what I call timing…..
Standing Stones of Lundin
Standing Stones of Lundin
Standing Stones of Lundin
“On the second hole of the Lundin Links Ladies Golf Course (which incidentally is the oldest women’s golf course in the world), stands a trio of prehistoric stones, looking wonderfully out of place against the manicured landscape.
The huge megaliths stand between 14 to 17 feet tall. Crookedly shaped and made of sandstone, the pillars are believed to date back to the Bronze age, around the 2nd millennium BCE. Legend holds that the site was used by the Druids for ancient rituals.
Druidic rituals or not, it is likely that the three standing stones are the remains of an ancient stone circle. There used to be at least four pillars, but one stone went missing in the 18th century.”
My fiancee’s daughter is visiting and instead of planning and writing my blog I spend my time playing teacher…. I normally post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I have time so I here I am.
It started raining when we left Aberdour and we skipped a few of our items on our list and when we got to Kirkcaldy it was coming down real hard.
I struggled to get parking and when I finally got a spot and got out of the car it came down extra hard. I jumped back into the car and we sat and wait. Dad still asked me what am I going to do. I told him well if I have to I’ll take some photo’s through the window, but we can’t keep skipping places just because it is raining. At that rate we will have to skip more than 50% of our tour.
I put in many hours planning our vacation and researching the places we would like to visit and the places I would like to photograph.
The rain stopped for a little while and I got out of the car and took some photos of St Bryce Kirk.
St Bryce Kirk from down the road
St Bryce Kirk
St Bryce Kirk
St Bryce Kirk
St Bryce Kirkfrom across the road.
St Bryce Kirk tower from the car.
St Bryce Kirk Tower
St Bryce KirkTower
St Bryce KirkTower
As you can see I just loved the church tower. I also took some photos of the houses in the street we parked in.
We then headed to Ravenscraig Castle, but I only took photo’s from the parking lot. Time was running away with us and due to the rain it was really wet.
Ravenscraig Castle
Ravenscraig Castle
Ravenscraig Castle
Ravenscraig Castle
Beach at Ravenscraig Castle
Beach at Ravenscraig Castle
Crow on the beach at Ravenscraig Castle
Dad’s salt and pepper pots….
Dandelion
Ravenscraig Castle
Well that is all for now. Thank you for stopping by.
Hope you are all still safe and healthy. Here in Capetown we are freezing our buds off. My hands feel like two ice cubes.
Our next stop was Aberdour Castle and Gardens. It was spectacular and this was the first castle we visited on our Grand Tour of Scotland. Nordic Visitor arranged for explorer passes with Historic Scotland. This enables us to visit a wide range of places without standing in queue’s at ticket counters.
After getting our pass activated we could go and explore. The only thing dad wanted to explore was the shop and restaurant…. But I got him to walk with me through the garden and grounds.
Map of Aberdour Castle and Gardens
We had to walk through the Walled Garden to get to St. Fillans Church. It took me a while to get to St Fillans Church there was just too many beautiful flowers to capture…
“St Fillan’s Church is one of the finest examples of simple Norman architecture in Scotland. To the south it overlooks Aberdour Harbour, north and west it is sheltered by the high wall of Aberdour Castle garden and to the east what was the Castle kitchen garden. As early as 1390 St Fillan is mentioned as the patron saint of the church.
Entrance to the church and its old cemetery is from Hawkcraig Road along Kirk Wynd. At the top of the Wynd, on the right is a door to the Castle grounds, above which the monogram of William, Earl of Morton and his wife Lady Anne, dated 1632. Further down the Wynd, on the left, is a collection of badly weathered old gravestones, some dating from the seventeenth century.
Initially St Fillan’s consisted simply of a nave and the chancel, lit by deep splayed windows and remains much as it was in the 12th century. Sockets for the rood screen can still be seen.
The dedication to St Fillan probably came about through the influence of Robert I (the Bruce), who gave Aberdour to his close friend and supporter Thomas Randolph Earl of Moray. St Fillan was the king’s favourite saint and is credited with helping the Scots win the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
In the 15th century, the church was enlarged by the addition of the south aisle. This involved an arcade supported by the three pseudo-Norman pillars and lowering the floor to its present level.
St. Fillan’s Church will celebrate its 900th Anniversary in 2023.”
St Fillans ChurchyardEntry to St Fillans Church and ChurchyardSt Fillans Church and ChurchyardGravestones along the wall …Gravestones along the wall …View of the oceanSt Fillans Church and ChurchyardView of Aberdour Castle fromSt Fillans Church and ChurchyardBeautiful headstone….St Fillans ChurchyardEntry toSt Fillans Churchyard
Next we walked around and came across the Terraced Garden.
View of Aberdour Castle from Terrace GardenView over Terrace garden. Patterns on grass.SundialSundialDovecotDovecotOrchardDovecotView of Aberdour Castle from Terrace GardenView of Terrace GardenView from Terrace Garden
Up next we had a peek into the stables and then went for a nice cup of tea.
StablesNaughts and crosses…. Teatime with a nice cup of English Breakfast tea…
After our tea break I went to explore some more and dad went to the gift shop to look for fridge magnets for his collection.
Thank you for joining us on our walk through Aberdour Castle and the gardens. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Our next stop was a beautiful little town called Aberdour. Just as we entered the town I was taken with all the flowers and beautiful houses and their hanging basket gardens…. The streets are not really wide and the houses are on the street only a narrow sidewalk that separate them from the street. I saw only a few houses with nice front yards and the most beautiful gardens.
We stopped at a parking area near a garden and I took my camera and walked up the road to where we entered Aberdour.
I just love Hydrangea’s and the colors are to die for. I grew up with light pink and blue/purple Hydrangea’s. I just could not get enough of these pretty plants.
Dark Pink Hydrangea
Dark Pink Hydrangea
Pink and Blue Hydrangea
Purple and Blue Hydrangea
Blue/Purple and Cream Hydrangea
Blue/Purple and Cream Hydrangea
As you know by now I loved capturing Churches and Cathedrals even if they are closed. The architecture is just amazing. I love the colorful doors and the beautiful windows. I just wish we had enough time to go into every single one we visited. Also I know I missed a few too.
St. Columba’s Scottish Episcopal ChurchSt. Columba’s Scottish Episcopal ChurchSt. Columba’s Scottish Episcopal Church
Here are some photos taken on my walk back to the car.
Dunsailing…….Feverfew (Daisy Family)
Thank you for joining us on this short visit at Aberdour. Next up Aberdour Castle and Gardens.
