Woodland Gardens Lundin Links August 2026.

This being our first visit to Woodlands Gardens since the original owners sold the site we were looking forward to meeting Iain and Tara Clark, and of course their young baby Cameron. They turned out to be a lovely friendly young couple who like the previous owners made us feel very welcome. 

This is the seventh year running we have visited Woodland Gardens Caravan and Camping Site on the slopes of Largo Law in the East Neuk of Fife. The reason for our regular visits to this one acre site, which caters for Pods, Caravans, Motorhomes and Campervans, is that its quiet, peaceful and clean and well organised. All caravan/motorhome pitches are hard standing with electric hook up as standard plus two of the pitches are fully serviced. The site was busy as usual but without feeling over crowded thanks to decent size pitches.

Obviously this area is now very familiar and we tend to cover some of the same ground that we have trod previously. So our first walk was down to Lower Largo and a first visit to the shore for a short walk along he beach. 

The following day we had our first visit to Blacketyside Farm Shop and Restaurant for lunch to celebrate 58 years married. Excellent lunch followed by strawberry sundaes. This was followed by a lovely walk back to Lower Largo via the beach, the sea air air being very invigorating.

This coast line of the Firth of Forth has an abundance of small picturesque villages and this year we decided to catch the X60 bus to Pittnweem to sample the local Arts Festival. Situated between St Monans and Anstruther its one of the only villages still an active fishing village. Its highly regarded for its beautifully preserved 17th and 18th century white washed cottages featuring traditional red pantiled roofs made possible by by the National Trust for Scotland under its Little Houses Improvement Scheme. The arts festival transforms the the entire village into an open air gallery and as witnessed it makes it very busy. 

St Andrews is a beautiful town named after Saint Andrew the Apostle, whose relics are said to have been taken there in 732. St Andrew has been celebrated in Scotland for over a thousand years, However, it wasn't until 1320, when Scotland's independence was declared with the signing of The Declaration of Arbroath, that he officially became Scotland's patron saint. 

The town is famously home to the University of Scotland, Scotland’s oldest university, founded by Bishop Kennedy in 1411, as well as being the seat of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club which was founded in 1754 and  attracts a great many of today’s visitors. This years visit was spoilt some-what by the fact that the main shopping area had its yearly show which spoilt the ambiance of the town and was very noisy. So we walked to the shore and sat and enjoyed our piece overlooking the sea. 

Along the coast line from Lower Largo runs the Fife Coastal Path witch brings you to Shell Bay, part way along  we decided to diverted to the beach and walked the rest of the way  along the shore line, always a great pleasure on a nice day.      

 

The bay itself includes the very large Elie Holiday Park where we stopped for some refreshment before we continued to Earlsferry and Elie via a cross country path and down into the village to catch the X61 back to Lundin Links. 

Cycling locally is certainly not recommended on the main 'A' Roads that criss-cross this area of Fife as they are narrow, bendy and are extremely busy, but there are some decent B Roads that you can cycle without risking life and limb. 

A seven mile bike ride from the camp site is Ceres, once described as ‘the most attractive village in Scotland’ so always worth a visit. It is also one of the only villages in Scotland to have a village green. Known locally as the Bow Butts because of the archery practice that took place there in medieval times. It also holds the title for hosting the oldest continuously held Highland Games in Scotland dating back to a charter given by Robert the Bruce in 1314.

Overlooking the Bow Butts is a monument commemorating the men of Ceres who fought in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 when Robert the Bruce gave an English King, Edward the Second, a sound thrashing on the battle field.

The following day we had our second visit to Blacketyside for lunch walking both ways along the beach. 

Very pleased with our visit this year we have already made a booking for 2027, on our regular serviced pitch, for 10 nights. The site itself has not changed and we are interested to see if in another year anything does change.

 

Stonehaven Aberdeenshire 2026.

This year it was decided to return to Stonehaven and take two of our youngest grandsons away for a weeks holiday ‘by the shore’. Stonehaven, as we discovered previously, has a lot to offer to keep two lively boys occupied.

The Queen Elizabeth Caravan Park belongs to the Caravan and Motorhome Club 

and is highly recommended. Its a well set out and organised site. It has large fully serviced pitches, ample space for a Motorhome and the site facilities are exceptional clean and warm with plenty of hot water. The staffs were friendly and very helpful. 

To reach Dunnnottar Castle takes a wee walk along the coastal path which we weren’t sure the boys would be happy to complete? But all went well and our visit was worth while’s as they seemed to enjoy the delights of this ruined castle.

Described as one of Scotland’s most impressive ruined castle, its location on a rocky headland jutting into the North Sea also makes it one of the most dramatic. Originally linked to the mainland by a narrow strip of land which was removed to increase its defences there is however quite a climb to gain access but well worth the effort. 

 

A missionary station associated with St Ninian first occupied the rock in the 5th century. It was not until 1390 that the first stone castle was a built by Sir William Keith and remained in the Keith family, later the Earls Marischal, until 1716 when the 10th Earl, George Keith, lost his Earldom and forfeited his estates which included the castle because of his loyal support for James Frances Edward Stuart and the Jacobite cause.

 

The Castle has many other links to Scottish history. In 1297 legend has it that William Wallace, during the Wars of Independence and following Edward 1st of England’s invasion of Scotland, trapped 4000 English troops in the castles Chapel where they were seeking sanctuary and set a fire condemning all inside to a terrible death, any who did escape were driven over the cliff edges - it was said that no one survived. 

 

Mary Queen of Scots stayed at the Castle on two occasions. The first a few days after the beheading of Sir John son of 4th Earl of Huntley in 1562 and again in September 1564 when she spent two nights there. It also has links to Charles 1^st and The Honours of Scotland, currently housed in Edinburgh Castle. When Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentary Army invaded Scotland he came after the Scottish Crown Jewels. Crown, sword and sceptre were smuggled from Edinburgh to Scone Abbey were Charles 2nd was crowned and then onto Dunnottar Castle. From there they ended up at nearby Kinneff Church where they remained until 1660.

A deep fried mars bar was a just reward on the way back. 

The following day the boys were happy to spend the morning on their bikes as it was safe to cycle around the site and also, with care, into the town.

One of the nearby coastal attractions is the celebrated Stonehaven Heated Open Air Swimming Pool. Its famed for being the UKs only Art Deco Olympic sized heated seawater lido and is one of only two remaining functional open air pools in Scotland. A grand afternoon was spent at this very popular facility.

Another walk  along the coastal path lead us to  the Chapel of St Mary and St Nathalan. The historic ruined chapel and the Cowie Kirkyard is situated atop the high sandstone cliffs just north of Stonehaven Bay. The site itself dates back to the 7th century when a Christian place of worship was established by St Nathalan. 

Interestingly several Scottish monarchs, in particularly James IV are said to have worshiped here. 

The surviving whinstone ruins date back to the 13th century but fell into disuse in the early 1560’s following the Scottish Reformation. The boys spent a good while discussing how long the buried corpses would take to completely decompose and we agreed it would depend on many factors!

 In the graveyard are many fine memorials including one in memory of to the crew of the Stonehaven lifeboat who drowned on the 27^th February 1874 whilst going to the rescue of the Grace Darling.

From Stonehaven there are good bus links to Aberdeen the third largest city in Scotland known as The Granite City because of the its handsome grey granite architecture. It was a very prosperous town that was originally dependent on fishing and trade until the discovery of oil in the 1970’s. Its grand mix of shops and history make it a town worth visiting.

Generally the weather was good and the boys were quite happy but never more happy eating giant ice cream cones from Aunt Betty’s. So overall a successful holiday. 

National Mining Museum Scotland.

The wonderfully restored Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, Midlothian, opened in 1885 by the Lothian Coal Company and closed in 1981. Now protected as a Category A listed site it houses the National Mining Museum Scotland telling the story of coal for Scotland through two floors of exhibitions, interactive and tours, retracing the footsteps of thousands of miners and their families who relied on the colliery to make a living.

The Tour begins.

We booked the tour lead by a very friendly and knowledgable former miner who gave us an insight into the workings of the pit.

There were also two floors of permanent exhibitions, The Story of Coal and A Race Apart, which details the daily lives and struggles of mining families. 

The cage.

The Road Way leading to the coal face.

Supporing the working coal face.

Cutting Machine.

Moving coal.

Steam Winding Gear.

Union meeting.

Miners transcending the road way.

Washing after his shift in front of the hearth. 

Washing the dust down.