Wednesday
Tucked between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, the Kingdom of Fife is Scotland’s charming coastal crown jewel—steeped in royal history, peppered with quaint fishing villages, and boasting more golf courses than you can swing a stick at.
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Plan, plan, plan
After an ok breakfast, it was the first time gathering around the table in the van to review and check travel directions and itinerary before setting off and also to decide on any changes to make, this will be what we do every travel day. Nikki did a lot of research before the trip and one of the things that stuck with her was the advice to ‘plan the route, drive the route’ that way avoiding any unexpected surprises. Particularly important when your ‘van’ has more in common with a small truck than a VW campervan i.e. it don’t go everywhere !!!
Berwick Upon Tweed
Our destination was Glenrothes, but Steve wanted to stop off in Berwick Upon Tweed before we crossed the border into Scotland. Only a small detour, and we found a long stay car park which would hopefully accommodate the motorhome so we set off.
Weather still not great, very windy again, which is apparently not normal for the area. Hey ho, I’m sure we won’t blow away!
We arrived in Berwick upon tweed at 1.30, parked for free in the long stay car park with loadsa space for the van, and had a wander. It really is nice to stretch the legs a bit when you are on the road for a fair bit.
Berwick upon Tweed is as delightful as you can imagine with a name that includes Tweed. 2.5 miles from the Scottish border, it seemed apt that its ramparts were built to repel northern raiders, Steve hoping that they would also keep
Southern interlopers where they belong, but alas they have lost their resolve.
The bridges and the estuary create beautiful photo opportunities; we wandered around cobbled streets with both high street and independent shops, but couldn’t find a decent pub in our short time there to quaff a last English pint.
Into Scotland
Our journey from Berwick swung us around the Edinburgh by-pass which, to be honest, was a bit of an M25 experience with lots of stop/starts. Eventually we hit the Forth Road Bridge, which was being painted, but was a bit of a disappointment.
Onwards into the Kingdom of Fife!
Balbirnie Park
About half hour north of the bridge we arrived at Balbirnie Camp site, where we would spend our first night together (ever) on wheels.
The village of Markinch is steps away from the site and Jamie’s Bar was our first Scottish drawn drinks. A small pub, with about 4 locals and a freshly engaged couple (the folly of youth), and lots of banter, none of which we understood.
Jamie’s doesn’t do food so we headed to the only other hostelry, Laurel Bank hotel, which was deceptively large and very contemporary in design. A couple of Steak Pies, which were excellent, and listened in on their Quiz Night, which featured 2 teams! I think we could have won if we had taken part.
Back to the beast and our first night under the stars. Well nearly.
