Would it rain or would it not? That was the
question as fourteen Strollers met at Inverkeithing to walk the Fife Coastal
Path to Aberdour. Though it was the second question after there was confusion
as to why the queue at Greggs was so big. In fact it was for the reopening of
the Scotmid store next door which had been badly affected by the heavy rain in
August and some people had started queuing around 6.00 a.m. Good news for the
Strollers as this meant they could boost their energy levels with the coffee
and bacon roll deal from Greggs without waiting in the queue. Our thanks to
Joan for coming along, even though she wasn’t fit enough to go on the walk, but
to open up the church to allow use of the facilities and to admire the stain
glass windows.
The rain started just after the Strollers set
off but only lasted for 5 minutes and after that it was a lovely day for the
walk. There were a few puddles and muddy patches along the way after the heavy
rain of the previous days but the path on the whole was in good shape.
The Strollers passed through St David’s Bay
and its harbour which was once a thriving coal port connected to coal mines of
the long-vanished Fordell village. During WW2 this little harbour was also used
by mine-sweepers. We took the opportunity here and later in Dalgety Bay to
admire some of the big houses which have wonderful views over the Forth.
We came down to Donibristle Bay and the site of
Donibristle House. It was largely destroyed by fire in 1858 but a new
building which bears some resemblance to the architecture and dimensions of the
original house has been built there. Along with the servants’ wings they have
now been converted into modern residences. Donibristle was used as an airfield
from 1917 as a base for the Royal Naval Air Service. It was then used between
WW1 and WW2 as an aircraft repair depot and a shore base for disembarked
aircraft carrier squadrons. During WW2 it was known officially as HMS Merlin and
the aerodrome was used as a Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Yard, a shore base for
torpedo aircraft and as a deck-landing training unit. After the war it was
renamed HMS Cochrane, and remained a busy flying airfield. Propeller driven
aircraft like the Firefly, Barracuda, Seafire, Sea Fury, Anson and Oxford flew
from it until the Navy decided its runways were too short to handle the Fleet
Air Arm’s new jet aircraft and in 1959 ‘Doni-bee’ was closed. Ronnie remembered
his father working here during the decommissioning process. There were also all
the signs advising not to use the beach due to the radioactive material dumped
there when the planes were being broken up.
At the ancient St Bridget’s Kirk, the
Strollers took time to explore the preserved building with its small cemetery
and good views back to Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills. The first record of a
Kirk being here is in 1178 but there was probably one here earlier. The Kirk
was granted to the Abbey of Inchcolm by William the Lion. Each year a service
is held even though the church is in ruins with the roof collapsed.
From here the Strollers made their way up to
the Beech Avenue and along past Braefoot Bay which is now used as the docking
place for the tankers bringing the products for the gas production plant at
Mossmorran.
We then passed St Colme House, named after
Inchcolm Island, and Aberdour golf course which was founded in 1896 finishing
up at the lovely entrance gates in the middle of Aberdour. Having just missed
the bus back to Inverkeithing, though the more fleet of foot managed to catch
it, it was time for scones and tea while waiting on the next one.
Our thanks to Drew for arranging the walk and the weather.
