Day 8 – Saturday 10th August 2013. Guardbridge to Tayport. Following the forest trail to Tayport.
You simply couldn’t order weather this good. Eight days on Fife Coastal Path and not one single shower, barely even a raindrop worthy of mention.
The perfect conditions continued on the penultimate day of Bob’s Walk as we headed from Guardbridge to Tayport – a 12-mile walk largely through, or rather, around, Tentsmuir Forest.
Once again we were joined by new faces and many family and friends of Bob and Joan at various stages of the day.
It started out overcast and cloudy, but our fleeces were discarded a few hundred yards after leaving the steps of the Guardbridge Hotel to head into the town and across the road to begin the long, and rather laborious, task, of circumnavigating the air base at Leuchars.
It’s a means to an end – the real joy of the coastal path only truly reveals itself once you have walked the perimeter of the chain link fence linked by solid concrete posts and barbed wire wrapped around every aspect of the base, including its family accommodation. It is as enclosed and forbidding as the path is wide open and welcoming …
It was a no-fly day so it stood silent and rather empty – in contrast to the many flights which thundered into the skies throughout Friday – as we turned right and headed up to Earlshall Road and back into the countryside.
Through the first gate and past a field of horses we started to spread out as we headed towards the single file path which leads through fields of tall grass.
A brief stop in the middle of nowhere – literally – during which we were pretty sure we spotted a buzzard in flight, and we made our way at a leisurely pace to Tentsmuir.
Once again we were able to speak to many people about the walk and the work of Maggie’s, and our thanks to all who gave donations. Every penny will go directly to Maggie’s Fife.
We made the picnic area at Tentsmuir in good time and stopped for lunch – the charcoal and aroma of several barbecues was too good to walk past!
Fed, watered and rested, we opted to stay in the forest rather than hit the beach, and enjoyed a long stretch along the main path, pausing to make way for the many cyclists on a day out, and to enjoy the green surroundings.
The midgies and ticks were out in force too – some giant fern leaves were used as makeshift fans, but we seem to escape relatively unbitten (tomorrow will give us a better indication!)
We passed by the Polish camp, and paused at the site of the old ice house – another small part of Fife’s rich past – before kicking on to Lundin Bridge, ahead of which lay our first views of Dundee.
We cut through the caravan park and stopped on Tayport Common which was winding down after a busy gala day, and carried on along the front to the Bell Rock pub where a very welcome cold beer was waiting.
Overall, a fantastic day of walking in near perfect conditions, and as deep in the heart of the Kingdom’s countryside as it’s possible to go.
Tentsmsuir alone is a fabulous place for any family day out and it was wonderful to see so many youngsters out on their bikes and exploring the outdoors in a truly safe setting.
It is also a wonderful part of the coastal path. Something to savour.
Tomorrow (Sunday) we switch terrains once more with road walking on the agenda as we head up to and over the Tay Bridge and on to our destination at Maggie’s Dundee in the grounds of Ninewells Hospital.
The big finale:
Nine days of Bob’s Walk will end tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon with a procession up to Maggie’s Dundee.
The core walkers, who have covered all 108 miles since leaving Edinburgh last Saturday. will be joined by many family and friends as well as supporters as they head to the cancer care centre.
They will also be joined by ultra runners Johnny and Sheena Logan, who are running the path in just 24-hours and are scheduled to arrive in Dundee early on Sunday morning.
They will join the walk for its big arrival, along with up to 80 bikers from the Edinburgh Dunedin Chapter of the Harley Davidson owners’ group which is staging as ride out timed to co-incide with the arrival at Maggie’s Dundee at around 3.00 p.m. on Sunday.
If you are in the area please go along and show your support.
And if you see the walkers heading along the riverside, give them a toot!
To make a donation:
You can donate online at: http://fundraise.maggiescentres.org/bobswalk
Please also share this as widely as possible on your Facebook and Twitter accounts to help us raise as much as possible for Maggie’s Fife.
See pictures from Bob’s Walk
Please visit www.facebook.com/fifefreepress
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Use the hashtag #bobswalk for updates from our daily walks (mobile phone signals permitting!)
Thanks to Allan Crow for his photographs and daily reports on Bob’s Walk
An aerial photo of Tayport’s old harbour, circa 2006. Photo from Tayport Community Website : Marek Malecki