Ballinbreich North Fife April 2012

Ballinbreich Castle as viewed from Black-Earnside lay-bye for Lois.

Ballinbreich Castle

River Tay April 11th 2012

River Tay April 11th. Sunshine and showers all day long, hail too.

Low water exposing the ever changing sand banks.

North Indian Painting

I recently purchased this painting, it's painted on fine fabric on an opaque white ground which has flaked off in places, it is both very fine and primitive. Not square, trapezoid. I'm intrigued to know the country of origin if any viewer might know. I thought the Punjab or Pakistan, anyway it tells a story. Actual size is 470x315mm.

April Showers North Fife

April Showers North Fife, Typical weather and in accord with the season, makes me want to burst into song, "When April Showers come your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May......" Warmth and water with the occasional hail spatter and suddenly a burst of growth, a greening and blossoming. What a wonderful World.

West Lomond North Fife April 9th

Cloud capped West Lomond. We had amazing summer temperatures last week, now it's a different story.

Julie Goring at The Steeple North Fife

 Light & Dark

Julie Goring. An Exhibition at The Steeple Newburgh North Fife by Julie Goring. Myth and story telling- Often the imaginary is sparked around birds-everything from pigeons, geese, swans to finches, goldcrests and sparrows. Mixed media.

Fables of Newburgh.

Girl at Dusk.

Crow Ikons.

St Hugo Shrine.

The Dark Artemis shrine. The story of how Acteon, out hunting with his dogs, chances upon Artemis, the virgin goddess of the moon. Furious that a mortal should see her naked, she turns Acteon into a stag who is then hunted down by his own dogs.

The Doull Tree.

Goldfinch Triptych.

Bird Ikons

Fire and Rescue Service North Fife

Arriving in Newburgh North Fife this afternoon, the scene presented itself, naturally I stopped to have a look.

Fire and Rescue in attendance.

Fire fighters and Rescue team attempting to hoist a non too well horse to a standing position. A mission of mercy and compassion.

Gill Fife coaxing her steed to get up.

I called by three hours later to see, alas it seems the horse has been on its last legs.

Hill of Tarvit Mansion House North Fife

The Hill of Tarvit is a 20th-century mansion house and gardens in North Fife, Scotland. They were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and are today owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Entrance to Hill of Tarvit. To the left is the entrance to Hatters & Co tearoom and eatery.

Hatters & Co tearoom and Eatery @ the Hill of Tarvit Mansion House. Make a day of it and enjoy the locally sourced wild and home grown produce from the kitchen garden. Andrew McKeen a rising young creative and passionate Chef together with Stella Collelouri offer an exciting menu which includes locally baked breads, a delicious array of hand made sweet treats, light lunches and their most exciting "wild at heart" daily specials. These can be anything from potted pigeon to wood sorrel salad depending upon the season. The Eatery is predominately influenced by Hill of Tarvit's Edwardian heyday also drawing on Victorian 20s, 30, and 40s as the house history spans these decades.

Enlarge to read the days menu.

Andrew McKeen (chef) plating up his culinary art.

Stella and first day customers.

Before and after use this wonderful period wash-room.

Outside space too.

Opening times.

11am-5pm Thursday to Monday.
Sunday Musical teas, lavish afternoon tea accompanied by live and period music.

Wall Garden Perth

A week of unusually high temperatures and suddenly growth springs from everywhere like these flowering plants on a wall in a Perth car park. Enjoyable to see had they been growing at ground level a council worker would have finished them off with a tidy spray of herbicide.

Wall Garden.

St Andrews Botanic Gardens North Fife

Last weekend I spent some time enjoying the glasshouses in St Andrews Botanical Gardens, as the year develops the displays will become more and more abundant. Well worth a visit for an exotic and relaxed time.

St Andrews Botanic Garden.

Peace Garden

There wasn't much to see outside, trees, shrubs and plants yet to come into leaf and flower. Inside the glass houses is another story.

Cyphomandra betacea, Tree Tomato from the Andes, widely cultivated eaten as is or used in preserves chutneys and curries.

Amaryllis lily or March lily.

Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm, Windmill Palm or Chinese Windmill Palm) is a palm native to central China, A mass of male flowers.

Zantedeschia aethiopica (common names Lily of the Nile, Calla lily, Easter lily, Arum lily, Varkoor, an Afrikaans name meaning pig's ear.

Fife Coastal Path North Fife

At last it's complete. Fife Coastal Path reaches destination. I live along this last part of the pathway and over the coming years I intend to walk it all.

                                          FIFE TODAY

Completion of Fife coastal path.

Published on Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:30

THE Fife Coastal Path is now the longest continuous coastal path in Scotland, stretching from Kincardine Bridge at the Kingdom’s western boundary to Newburgh in the north.

The path, which previously terminated at the Tay Bridge, has been extended by 16.5 miles along the River Tay estuary to Newburgh.

Now, at 117 miles, not only is the path Scotland’s longest, it is the country’s oldest and most popular coastal walk.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust has led the negotiations with local landowners to bring about the extended route.

The recent inclusion of the Tay Bridge to Newburgh stretch has seen Fife Coastal Path waymarkers put in place to help guide walkers through the sparsely populated north coast of Fife.

The extension follows the River Tay as well as taking to higher ground at some points allowing some amazing views over Scotland’s longest and the largest volume river in the UK.

The path makes its way through a landscape steeped in historic landmarks such as Iron Age hill forts and ruined abbeys.

BIRTHPLACE

Walkers are guided past Wormit and Balmerino through a backdrop of forestry and farmland before reaching Newburgh, home to Lindores Abbey, argued to be the birthplace of whisky – it documents the earliest record of the drinks production.

Amanda McFarlane, FCCT chief executive, said: “The addition of the northern extension to the path is a great achievement for the trust – it is the completion of a long-held ambition to deliver a coastal walk that starts and finishes at the Kingdom’s borders.

ENTHUSIASM

“We would also like to thank all the landowners for their help and support, without them, the extension would not be possible.

“It has taken several years of work to achieve the northern extension and we would like to thank partners and businesses for their support and enthusiasm.

“The Fife Coastal Path has been voted one of Scotland’s Great Trails and Fife has been recorded as the top destination for outdoor tourism for the past four years – the extended route will add to the region’s attractions and will have a positive impact on the local economy.”

Peter Rawcliffe, who works for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and chairs the national project it has established to help develop and promote Scotland’s Great Trails, said: “The development of a path which runs the length of Fife’s coast is a significant achievement and one which will deliver fantastic opportunities for local people and visitors to enjoy the unique countryside and wildlife of the area.

“The Fife Coastal Path is an outstanding example of one of the many great trails Scotland has to offer, and the development and promotion of these trails is crucial for the wider ambitions of developing a network of trails for the benefit of Scotland’s people and its visitors.”

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