EK News Article by Eric Kent
This week's Duncanrig Ramblers walk was a seacoast walk in the Kingdom of Fife starting from Lower Largo and finishing at St Monans covering a distance of 9.25 miles. All the club walkers participated in this walk until we reached Elie where the low walkers left the main walk after about 6.5 miles to enjoy ice creams in the beautiful sunny late spring weather and probably more important a ride in the bus to meet the main walk at St Monans.
     
Our walking started off in lovely blue sky but cool weather and as usual passing though the East Neuk of Fife village of Lower Largo we were all entranced with the lovely old world street and alleys and the quaint houses with their pan tiled roofs many of which were brought as ballast from the Low Countries, Holland and Belgium in the old sailing ships that traded between the East Neuk ports and the  ontinent.  Lower Largo Main Street has a statue of its most famous son Alexander Selkirk (alias Robinson Crusoe). Selkirk was ship-wrecked for 4 years and 4 months on the islands of Juan Fernandez off the South American Pacific coast and was interviewed by Daniel Defoe on his return and this inspired Defoe to write the book Robinson Crusoe which became a best seller.  Our walk continued round along the sand of Largo bay and on over some fairly rugged ground up to Kincraig point and on by Chapel Ness where you can still see the remains of the massive gun emplacements from the Second World War which guarded the Forth estuary.  The views from the top of Chapel Ness were terrific in the sun looking down on the sandy beach which runs on to Elie. A number of people on the walk were making comparison about the clear and colourful water quality against the Mediterranean (with the exception of the water temperature!). Passing through Elie we again enjoyed that special ambience of the quaintness of the old buildings and the atmosphere which pervades these East Coast sea villages. The harbour at Elie was busy with boats and many people all enjoying the good weather. At Ruby Bay an ice cream van we passed did very good business from the grateful main walkers. Ruby bay is a lovely little sandy cove which gets its name from the Garnets found in the volcanic rocks at the side of the bay. The walk between Elie and St Monans has a very rugged shore line but the path at the shore edge is good we passed the ruins of two castles the first was Ardross Castle which is in a very ruinous condition this was built in 1370 by the then Sheriff of Fife Sir William Dishington.  The second one is Newark Castle which is more substantial and spectacular ruin which was owned by the Lord of Newark and who is probably better known as Sir David Leslie the Covenanter General who defeated the Marquis of Montrose at Philiphaugh near Selkirk in 1645.At the side of the castle is the remains of a doocot that supplied the lairds with fresh meat in the winter months. Sir David Leslie was an elder until his death at the Auld Kirk of St Monans which was originally built on the site very close to the sea at the edge of the village. The Church was burnt by the English in 1544 but was restored by the people of St Monans in 1646 to become the parish church and the interior of the church was restored as recently as 1955 and as common in many of the east coast fishing ports it has a model of an (eighteenth century) ship hanging in the church. There are also many mariners gravestones sited in the church graveyard. The bird watchers on the walk today had a feast as we were fortunate to see the following bird life - heron, oyster catcher, shell and eider ducks, cormorants, swifts and swallows. Wild flowers spotted during the walk included red campion, primrose, bluebells, cowslip, speedwell, yellow broom, celandine and marsh marigold. The walk finished at St Monans Harbour with the sun still shining.

The social hour was enjoyed by all at the Village of Falkland at the foot of the Lomond Hills.