My Walk - 1432 miles from Aberdeen to Luxembourg -part3

[Dan Scheer]

Link to part 2: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=34950
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Dundee - Edinburgh (Fife Coastal Path)

On my day off, I received a phone call from my hiking buddy Hallur, he would be coming down to Dundee to join me for a couple of days! I wasn’t feeling lonely yet but really happy to hear this. As agreed, he turned up early the following day and Iris dropped us both of at the spot she had previously picked me up from.

My inflamed tendon seemed to have recovered a bit during the day off. I was back in the hiking boots but I kept the laces very loose on the left foot. It was quite a relief as the extra cushioning was definitely preferable over the five finger shoes. It was a quick walk into Dundee before crossing the Tay bridge. Quite impressive walking over it, really made us realize how big it is!

Crossing the Tay bridge

When we finally reached the other side, we were at the start of the Fife Coastal Path, which I would be following all the way to North Queensferry. Quite a detour, but I was in no rush and was looking forward to the scenery. I really enjoyed the company, it hadn’t been long, but the first week had been pretty tough going.
The weather had picked up and we had a leisurely walk following the coast, stopping at Tayport for some pub lunch before heading into Tentsmuir forest. I didn’t want to push my luck too much with my ankle and Tentsmuir forest seemed like an ideal spot to spend the night. Hallur had come fully prepared with Trangia, a selection of ready meals and bottle of Whisky, with proper glasses too! This made me realise another thing I had forgotten in my plans, how could I possibly hike across Scotland without a bottle of Whisky by my side! A mistake, that would be fixed soon after. I was very careful with my gear, trying to only take items that would have multiple purposes. Duct tape and super glue for example, they were key components of my first aid kit but would also serve in maintaining my gear. I decided that Whisky would be ideal for entertainment as well as a great motivator and painkiller, reasons enough to justify the bit of extra weight. I would refill it into plastic bottles though to cut down on the weight gain!
Finally, my first dry night in my bivvy! I could keep my head outside and watch the stars as I fell asleep. Brilliant!
He had even brought porridge for breakfast!

enjoying our Whisky

breakfast

After breakfast we set off again, past Leuchars RAF base towards St. Andrews. For the first time it looked like the weather was improving.

finally some sunshine on our way to St. Andrews

St. Andrews

In St. Andrews Hallur took a bus back to Dundee. I now had a bit of a problem in that I was in golfer territory! Looking at my map, every bit of countryside was taken over by golf courses and I didn’t think people would take too kindly on me camping on there. More experienced rough campers would have surely found some good spots but it was all still quite new to me to I headed into the Tourist Info in St. Andrews. It may be a nice place, but far too posh for my liking, especially once I saw the prices for accommodation, so I asked them to find me some accommodation further South along the Fife Coastal Path. My feet would just have to man it up for another 10 miles! The Tourist Info staff got a bit disgruntled when they asked me for my address in order to book be a B&B, when I told them I had no more address. Homeless, slightly scruffy looking backpackers don’t seem to welcome in St. Andrews, so after talking my way out of it and just giving them my previous address, I was happy to get out of there. I learned my lesson though and would just make up addresses in the future!
A new set of blisters gave me quite a bit or trouble, but after changing into dry socks, I had a lovely walk towards my B&B in Kingsbarns as the sun was slowly setting.

leaving St. Andrews

coastal path

coastal path

Didn’t look like my lucky day when I came across the sign in the photo below. Of course it was high tide and I wasn’t going to just wait for it to recede… Who has hours to spare waiting on the tide to bugger off? I scrambled up the cliff side and made my way over some golf courses, trying not to get hit by golf balls.

bad timing

As soon as I could I dropped back down towards the coastal path and continued on. It was a very enjoyable walk and I arrived at the B&B just before sunset.

continueing towards Kingsbarns

almost there

Mr first stop at a B&B so far, but unfortunately I would end up using B&Bs for the rest of my time along the Fife Coastal Path, too many golf courts and overall too much civilization to find good spots to hide away. Of course the owners of the B&B enquired about where I was heading and promptly declared me crazy. My evenings were usually spent washing my clothes in the sink so they could dry over night as I only had the two sets. The rest of the night I would just lie on the bed, move as little as possible and read my kindl. Over the duration of my walk, I read 17 books! (I love reading) The morning after, the biggest full Scottish breakfast I had ever seen awaited me, my plate was at least twice as full as the other patrons! Grateful, I wolfed it all down and set off. Scottish breakfasts would remain my main food source until reaching Edinburgh.
My next destination was St. Monans, along a stunningly beautiful path, taking me through many small harbour towns.

heading to St. Monans

heading to St. Monans

heading to St. Monans

When I stopped at a Tourist Info along the way to book a B&B in St. Monans, the lady working there was so impressed by my plan to walk home, she insisted on calling up the various B&Bs directly instead of using their booking system, so she wouldn’t have to charge me their usual 10% booking fee! While I really wouldn’t have been fussed about paying a couple of quid extra, the kind gesture was such a pleasant surprise.
On my way to Leven, I came across the Eli chainwalk. It looked like a lot of fun, but as the tide was coming in, I didn’t want to risk getting caught out, so I backtracked a bit and took the boring route around.

Elie chain walk

unfortunately tide was coming in

As I walked up the hill, two ladies stopped me and asked where I was heading. When I told them the story, they promptly dug out their purses and gave me £10 … for my charity… by then I hadn’t even told them I was doing it for charity! Only in the UK! This really blew my mind that someone would be giving a stranger money, purely on trust that I would actually pass it on to charity instead of keep it for myself. (before anyone asks, of course I passed all the money I was given along the walk on to my charity! )This really made my day. I am happy to say that I didn’t have a single negative experience along my walk in the UK but plenty of times random people would offer me food, accommodation, lifts (the only help I always refused) and money for my charity. Seeing that not everyone is out to mug, assault or murder you as the News often try to make you believe was one of the best aspects of this trip. There is no greater feeling than the kindness of a complete stranger! I just felt happy and loving life as I continued my journey to Leven.

the 'boring' route

en route to Leven

My next desintation was Kirkcaldy, which unfortunately was a pretty dull walk and a particularly nasty blister was giving me a lot of trouble, making me walk awkwardly and in turn messed up my Achilles tendon. I could feel it was bad, 13 years of martial arts training had made me quite good at judging the seriousness of injuries, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep going. I limped towards the first vacant accommodation I came across and booked a room for two nights. The hotel was a complete dive but at only £20 a night, I wasn’t going to complain. I had wardrobes in the past that were bigger than my room, but my Achilles tendon gave me no choice, I had to spend two days there resting up. By chance I got in touch with Euan, an old friend from my time in student halls during my first year of uni. He lived nearby and came by for a visit. We hadn’t seen each other in probably over 10 years and it was fantastic catching up. Yet again, when things started to look sour, something positive came out of it, saving the day

tiny crappy room

My Achilles tendon recovered as quickly as it had played up and I made fantastic progress, covering 22 miles to South Queensferry, up to now the furthest I had ever walked in a day. The sun was out and the scenery improved again as well.

continuieing on towards North Queensferry

getting closer

Reaching North Queensferry, I completed the Fife Coastal Path, my first official long distance walk ticked off. The highlight was walking across the Forth Road Bridge though. Over the years I had crossed it countless times by car, as well as cruised underneath it when taking ferries from Rosyth. Walking across it was very impressive though, the sheer size and the views were breathtaking.

crossing Forth Road Bridge

For the final stretch of this section I followed the coast into Edinburgh where I had arranged to stay with my friend and first Taekwon-Do instructor Calum. This is the person I can thank for my mind over matter attitude, without which I doubt I would have been able to complete this walk! On that last stretch I paid the price though for having walked so far the previous day, my feet were yet again covered in new blisters, the old ones not even healed yet. I was going through compeed plasters at an alarming rate! Damn you useless feet! So yet again, a couple of particularly bad blisters meant I was forced to take another day off, at least this time I was staying with a friend and we had a relaxing day in Edinburgh!
Edinburgh felt like a major milestone and despite my blister problems I could feel how the rest of my body was getting stronger and used to the walking. My legs felt good, I barely noticed the ~14kg backpack anymore and I was confident now I could do this. I was also really looking forward to the next sections of my route over the Pentlands, Cheviot Hills and down the Pennine way!

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Link to part 4: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=35189

[trekker53]

Good report Dan,
A very enjoyable read and a honest account of the trials and tribulations of long distance walking. Only done 200 miles myself. Not a patch on your epic walk.
Keep em coming I say.

[clawinitiate]

Totally agree. Often the best part of any trek are the people you meet out there. I've come across super kind and interesting people.
Shame about the chain walk but 3 hours for half a km? Maybe better off on the boring version on your timescale!
Abz to Edinburgh was always one I wanted to do.

[petz]

Aaaaaawesome.

Reading this, urges me to get out and walk
So nice places, especially along the coasts.
I have to get near an Ocean soon, I admire the atmosphere.

Sometimes, not telling the truth, isn't a lie. (your addresse-issue)

One day in the future, I will join you and we take that time you didnt have
to watch the tide coming in and out near those golf-courses. I promise.

Awwwww: the day-starts-getting-sour-and-in-the-end-something-saves-the-day experience.
Had one of those on my short 4day-trip in april. That can be so intense, i love it.

I really like it, when you take some time off to recover from Blisters an Co., and always take
the chance to meet up and have a good time with a friend nearby.

Let there be a lot more to come. Give us. Feed us.

[Dan Scheer]

Thanks Trekker 200 miles is nothing to sneeze at either though!

I want to go back and do the Elie chainwalk at some point. Let me know if you are up for it Mr D

[basscadet]

Totally enjoying the 'series' - keep 'em coming

[Dan Scheer]

cheers
part 4 should be done tomorrow night

[mrssanta]

eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

[rohan]

Really impressed by your guts to walk through the pain you must have had. We will be camping on the Fife Coastal Path but mainly at designated sites which I think will be a bit noisy. I am also building in days off, not for my granddaughter but for me! and the Elie chain walk is one of the days off. Can't wait for the next instalment.

[Dan Scheer]

Probably depends on what time of the year you are planning your trip, when I walked the Fife Coastal Path, it was very quiet along the majority of it. Planning in some days off is a good idea, there are some very beautiful areas where I would have spent more time if I didn't still have so much distance to cover ahead of me. Good luck with your trip, I am sure it will be a blast