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.

 

Woodland Garden Lundin Links July/August 2025

The end of an era, Jan and Craig Young have finally sold their Woodlands Garden Caravan and Camping Site. This year marks the our 6th consecutive year visiting this site, which incidentally we started visiting during covid period, its main attractions, but not the only ones, are peace and quiet and adult only, which we appreciate as we always visit during the summer school holidays. The site has been sold to new owners and should be reopening for next season so we decided to put our name down for our normal pitch for next summer hoping that the site will be as well run as it has been under Jan and Craig.

This years visit was accompanied by some good weather, which as visitors to this part of

the world know makes all the difference to your stay. As this area is now very familiar we tend to cover some of the same ground as previously.

We had two walks to Blacketyside Farm Shop whose speciality is strawberrys. To get to the farm shop, we found it more enjoyable to take the long way round via the beach towards Leven and cut across the golf course to Silverburn Park and up passed the old flax mill which they are still renovating. The second visit was to celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary with a great meal rounded off with delicious strawberry sundaes. 

This year we took our new electric bikes, which for me, at least, was there first real test. 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 hopefully without risking life and limb. 

Our first run was the six miles ride to the village of Ceres.

 

Ceres is one of a very few Scottish villages to have a village green. Known locally as the Bow Butts because of the archery practice that took place there in medieval times. 

 

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.

Half a mile from Woodland Gardens entrance is a X58 bus that takes you to St Andrews bus station in 25 minutes. Although the timing of the return bus can not always be relied upon.

St Andrews, always worth a visit for the book shops and to stock up on a years supply Highland Soap, 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.

Along the coast line from Lower Largo runs the Fife Coastal Path would bring you to Shell Bay, although we decided to divert to the beach and walk by the sea, always a great pleasure, the sea certainly has a great attraction for me.      

The bay itself includes the very large Elie Holiday Park where we stopped for some refreshment before our return. 

The nearest 'large' town is Leven which boosts a sports/leisure/swimming pool centre. The town itself has a high street that like most towns these days has a run-down feel about it, in fact far worse than the previous times we visited. Sainsburys however has a large store not far from the local bus station. We took the number 95 bus and walked the 4.5 mile back along the beach to Lower Largo. 

Our second bike trip was the 8.5 mile ride into the historic wee town of Cuper a burgh town in northeast of the Kingdom of Fife that lies on the River Eden and 12 miles to the west of St Andrews. As it was on a Sunday we visited, the town was very quite - but Greggs was open for coffee and hot chocolate to wash down our lunch. 

On Monday the 4th August storm Floris threatened to blow us all away so we battened down the hatch and stayed indoors. But fortunately it turned out not s bad as reported. Mine you the following days continued on the same windy vain. 

Our third and longest bike trip to date was an undulating journey via quite country lanes and some beautiful country side that took us to within four miles of St Andrews to the Craigtoun Country Park. The park is an ideal spot for family outings, spacious green areas for a picnic and lots of room for ball games. There is a miniature railway and the ‘Puffin Billy’ vintage tractor rides both of which seem very popular. Forty-seven acres of the grounds were originally purchased by the Fife Council in 1947 for £25k from the Mount Melville Estate which included the Dutch Village built in 1920, and the Cypress Avenue which was designed by the Architect Paul Waterhouse (1861-1924). Part of the original ground’s houses the Scottish Golf Headquarters - The Dukes.

Lower Largo does not change and is as busy as ever with the only shop thankfully open. 

It was sad to say our fare wells to Jan and Craig , wishing them all the best in their well earned retirement. Lets hope the new owners make us as welcome as they have over the last six years.

 

Woodland Gardens. Lundin Links. Fife.

This is the fifth year running we have visited Jan and Craigs family run 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 very clean and well organised. This years visit was accompanied by some good weather, which as visitors to this part of the world know makes all the difference to your stay. 

As this area is now very familiar we tend to cover some of the same ground that we have trod previously. So our first walk was down to Lower Largo and because of the grand weather we sat an enjoyed ice cream in the lovely warm sunshine. 

The following day our revisit to Blacketyside Farm Shop for lunch  to sample their beef burgers and strawberry flavoured ice cream sundae. To get to the farm shop, whose speciality is strawberry’s,  it is better to take the long way round via the beach towards Leven and cut across the golf course to Silverburn Park and up passed the old flax mill which they are currently renovating.  

You can't possibly visit this area without a visit to St Andrews. A X58 bus, half a mile from the entrance of the campsite, will take you  to the bus garage at St Andrews in 25 minutes. Always worth a visit for the book shops and to stock up on a years supply Highland Soap along. 

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 itself grew around its cathedral built in 1158, which was the headquarters of the Scottish church in Medieval times. In 1559, during the Reformation, it was ransacked by supporters of John Knox and left to ruin. The site itself had been used for Christian worship since the 8^th century.

 

The town is famously home to the University of Scotland and is 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 many of today’s visitors.

The following morning we decided on something a little more adventurous. So, we took the 95 bus into Elie with the intention of walking the 11 miles back to the camp site along the Fife Coastal Path. 

After receiving its royal charter from James VI in 1589 Elie subsequently developed as an important centre of commerce, boat building, fishing and weaving. Its harbour, built in the 16th century, is now a haven for yachts and small craft. Also today  Elie is a centre for golfing, bowling, tennis, sailing and windsurfing.

Our walk was a little harder than anticipated. After Earlsferry, one has to climb the steep path across Grangehill and Kingraig, descending down into Shell Bay and the massive caravan park on its border. After this its at least flat, eventually walking alone the beach round Largo Bay .  A beautiful walk with some great views back to Elie and out across the Firth of Forth.

As just reward, the following day we walked down to Lower Largo for a lunch at the Crusoe and on to the Aurrie for hot chocolate and cake.

A warm and sunny day made our final day a real pleasure, relaxing and reading outside our Motorhome, plucking up the courage to return to Kirkcudbright the following morning, but to be honest would rather stay at Woodlands. Booked up for two weeks next year.