Cambo Magic

Two years ago I didn't know it existed but now I'm a big fan of the Cambo Estate, near Kingsbarns in the East Neuk of Fife. Ever since I first set foot there in 2010 it has utterly charmed me. What is it about this privately-owned estate which is open to the public that makes it so magical?

Maybe it's the herd of deer you sometimes see by the entry road. Or the beautiful and endlessly photogenic Victorian walled garden which is ingeniously designed using modern techniques to be a garden for all seasons. Maybe it's the arty, musical, colourfully lit, snowdrop-filled woodland at their annual Snowdrops by Starlight event (part of an ever-growing and varied annual events calendar)? Or the charming walk down to the Fife Coastal Path and Kingsbarns golf course. Or is it the cute piglets, cats etc which are "interviewed" for the Cambo Courier? Maybe it is how the Estate is helping and working with local artists? Or the remarkable number of quirky snowdrop and pig-themed gifts in the gift shop (who knew that so many of these even existed?!)? I think the magic comes from all of these things.

The Cambo website describes it as "an oasis of calm an tranquility" and "respite from a busy world". They are not wrong.

If you haven't been yet and don't know what I'm talking about, here are some of my photos which attempt to capture that infectious Cambo charm.

Open daily 10-5. Adults £5, children free. Annual season ticket £15 single, £25 double. Tel: 01333 450313. www.camboestate.com/gardens

Copyright Sara Scott 2012

Celeb & golf extravaganza at the Dunhill Links

We hadn't really planned it like this but a week's holiday at Rose Cottage ended up coinciding with the annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and this actually became a real highlight of the week. If you're a golf fan you will absolutely love this opportunity to see some of big pro names' swings and putts in the flesh. If like me you think a bogey is something you would find up your nose it's still a great event for the celeb-spotting! 

This is a 4 day event where professional golfers pair up with amateurs - many of them celebrities from the worlds of sport, music and film. Over three days the competitors play a round on each of three famous Scottish links golf courses - The Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. The best professionals and teams then play a final round on day 4 at the Old Course. The first three days are FREE for spectators to attend (including free parking at Kingsbarns). Tickets for the final day, the Sunday, are £15 for adults (£10 for OAPs and free for students and under 16s - its also possible to get free tickets e.g. by wearing visible tartan or buying something at the Farmers Market on the Saturday). There are gourmet food stalls, toilets etc and, in St Andrews anyway, lots of scope for some post golf drinks should you feel the urge e.g. at the Dunvegan Hotel (at the end of Golf Place) - we saw some of the Day 1 star players here.

We spent our first day at St Andrews where we based ourselves mainly at the 14th and 15th holes. The air was cold but with some welcome sunny spells. First up we saw Ian Botham (pictured) in a fetching neon green jumper and a pair of patterned trousers which had to be seen to be believed, topping the whole ensemble off with a cigar. He stopped to speak to his son Liam who was playing on the 4th. Botham senior was playing in the same group as Shane Warne (and I believe his wife Liz Hurley came to watch him play the next day at Carnoustie). Then came a group with Scottish sporting legends Gavin Hastings and Alan Hansen (commentating on his fellow players' performances). Staying at the same spot we also saw US Vice President Dan Quayle (my partner joked that his swing was "almost presidential"), Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres and two more ex-footballers Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit. We finished the day by following ex-footballer Jamie Redknapp's group's game to the 18th. After a fantastic drive to about 40 yards from the pin at the 18th he rather strangely (I'm told) decided to use his putter from the fairway rather than chip onto the green. After putting to about 8 feet from the hole and receiving a round of applause, he turned to the crowd smiling and admitted he was "a scaredy cat really - I went through the back of the green the last two years I played".     

By day two, this time at Kingsbarns, my partner quipped that it was like being on some sort of celebrity safari, with household names popping up behind every bush. With the sun splitting the sky we had arrived to see Paul Lawrie, fresh from the European team's Ryder Cup success, teeing off on the 1st. The Scot was partnered with his young son Craig. Then we saw actor Bill Murray (making chicken noises) and singer Huey Lewis. Later at the 5th Huey accidentally hit his ball while doing a practice swing at the tee. It went into the rough just to the side of the tee and Bill Murray's pro partner David Howell was winding Huey up that he had to hit it from there. Huey sportingly went to do just that, with Murray saying to the crowd: "Ladies and gentleman - Huey Lewis - what a sportsman". Howell then 'fessed up that he didn't have to.

We also saw Colin Montgomerie and Sir Steve Redgrave (pictured) on the 5th - a team who went on to end the day on an impressive 12 under par - and also the actor Greg Kinnear (pictured).

A highlight for me and a lot of excited kids was seeing the Olympian and Paralympian group - US swimming legend, the giant Michael Phelps and the Bladerunner himself, South African Oscar Pistorius. We were within inches of Pistorius when he had to move the barrier to take a shot in the rough on the 5th. Earlier in the day Phelps' pro partner Paul Casey had apparently had his ball stolen on the green by an over-enthusiastic dog!

We also saw a jovial Ernie Els, a giant of a man, who had won the Open earlier this year. His fellow South African partner Johann Rupert said to him at the start of the 3rd "you birdie this one and I'll get the next!".

My partner enjoyed getting up really close (right behind the tee) to see the incredible speed and accuracy of the pros driving. Often it was impossible to see the ball at all - just a whooshing sound high up in the air. I enjoyed the celeb-spotting and the light-hearted atmosphere - the players seemed to be really enjoying themselves and having a bit of banter with each other and the crowd. Though I imagine things might get more competitive on the final day!

We finished off by quaffing some Rob Roy burgers and getting the programme signed by two pros: Dustin Johnson (from the American Ryder Cup team) and Northern Irish golfer (and possible future Ryder Cup captain - though he wasn't giving anything away to the press on that) Darren Clarke.

The 2012 event was won by a South African pro, Branden Grace, who had led right from Day One - click here for the full results. Looking forward to next year's event already!

Eating out in St Andrews - award-winning Thai food

Xav and I had apparently arrived in St Andrews at a bad time to get a table in a restaurant. We had arrived in a happy-go-lucky style on a very merry bus from Crail (thanks to a singing stag party), with nothing booked. We're notoriously last minute types so this wasn't unusual. It was however turning out to be a problem, in fact more like a complete disaster. It was the busiest time of the busiest day of the week (8pm on a Saturday night) in late September when the students were back, filling up the town once more. We had trekked all round the centre twice, trying for a table at about 10 different restaurants including all of our old favourites and some others too. One by one they had unceremoniously rejected us. I was starting to feel forlorn, unwanted, ostracised and quite frankly sore of foot. Starvation seemed to be a very real possibility. Panic was setting in.

Just when I was on the verge of giving up all hope, in the light of the Harvest Moon, at the end of Market Street we spied Nahm-Jim and the L'Orient Lounge (62 Market Street, tel: 01334 470000). Is it any good though?, I whispered. We hadn't heard of it before but Xav mentioned that a friend had said something about a really good Thai restaurant in St Andrews. This was music to my ears as I've been fond of Thai food ever since a great girlie back-packing holiday in Thailand in my early twenties. It turns out the Nahm-Jim won a Gordon Ramsay award for best independent Thai restaurant in the UK in 2010.

So we tried our luck. They were full too but could fit us in a little later. Xav's eye had been caught earlier by a nearby pub - The Criterion on South Street- showing The Ryder Cup on TV so we went there to lend our support to the European team who were struggling at that point. The pub was busy with a mix of people from both sides of the Atlantic but we managed to score a table with a TV view and have a couple of pints while we were waiting for our table. Result!

It was soon time to go back to the Nahm-Jim. After some negotiation I managed to drag Xav away from the Guinness and golf charms of The Criterion. Our table was in the downstairs section of the restaurant, which seemed to be a sort of overflow for the bustling, bigger and more traditional space upstairs. Never one to like being short-changed I worried that these were the cheap seats - was upstairs better? I cast my eye over the modern Oriental decor and rested my gaze on some photos on canvas of deserted palm-fringed beaches that made me forget about upstairs and long to be a twenty-something and back-packing around Thai beaches again. The clientele may well have spent the summer doing just that, being mainly couples of fresh-faced students on what seemed to be date-night.

Nahm-Jim is not just about Thailand though. It actually has separate Thai and Japanese menus. Although a quick peek at the Japanese one showed promise, we both opted for the Thai menu. I suspect the majority of people do the same. From a choice of lots of appetising starters one fusion dish from the specials board stood out from the crowd: the Nahm-Jim Famous Thai Style Haggis. It turned out to be balls of haggis wrapped in crispy pastry with a sweet chilli sauce. Tasty and a nice twist on the more common Thai starters.

Fusion dish - where Scotland meets Thailand!

2 menus

Our mains - Panang and Yellow Curry

For mains I went for the Chicken Yellow Curry (tender chicken breast cooked in coconut milk with a delicate mix if herbs, onions, cherry tomatoes and pineapple) and coconut rice. My spice-loving partner had the Beef Panang Curry (tender pieces of beef sautéed in mixed chilli pastes, cooked in coconut milk and served with shredded kafir lime leaves) and sticky rice. Both were tasty, with mine having a nice sweetness and his having a bit of spice. However I did have the feeling that we should perhaps have been more adventurous with our choice of mains to get to taste the best of this place.

Our mains

Yellow Curry

We washed it all down with a lovely bottle of 2009 Selvapiana Chianti.

The service was prompt and friendly. Overall we enjoyed it and were impressed by the place. On an autumn night when everywhere else was too busy, a table in the only Thai restaurant in St Andrews could so easily have been forgettable. Not so. The award-winning food, commitment to authenticity (ingredients are shipped in weekly from the markets of Bangkok) and energy of Nahm-Jim put it on the foodie map. It's great to discover another St Andrews delight for the taste buds and a restaurant that's a bit different. I would recommend it to visitors to St Andrews and will definitely be going back to try out the upstairs section and sample some more tasty things from the menus. Maybe I'll even book this time!

Best coastal walk in the East Neuk

Here's my favourite walk along the Fife Coastal Path. In a remarkably short amount of time it shows you 3 picturesque East Neuk villages, constant beautiful views across the Firth of Forth, several gorgeous beaches, 2 castles, 1 windmill, 1 tower, 1 lighthouse and lots of rabbits and birds! 2013 Update: And don't just take my word for it either - the Independent has included the Lower Largo to St Monans part of the Fife Coastal Path in its 10 best coastal walks in the UK. This walk is part of that (longer) walk.

The walk starts in the village of Pittenweem and ends up in the village of Elie, passing through the tiny village of St Monans along the way. It takes about an hour and a half, depending on your pace and it ends where all the best Scottish walks do - in a pub! It is not a difficult walk and is relatively flat. I think it's best done late in the lovely evening light.

Practicalities:
You can drive to Pittenweem and then get the bus back from Elie or take the bus to Pittenweem and then bus back from Elie, depending on where you're based etc. If you're like me you will not be able to resist taking lots of photos along the way so bring your camera. Bring a raincoat too - just in case as the only thing that is predictable about the Scottish weather is that it is unpredictable!

The walk: 
When you arrive in Pittenweem make your way down to the harbour and simply follow this round to get to the Coastal Path at West Shore. Pittenweem is a lovely village and has Fife's only working fishing harbour.

St Monans Salt Pan Windmill, Fife Coastal Path

There is only a short distance between Pittenweem and St Monans as the two villages are practically joined together. Before you get to St Monans you will probably see some rabbits before passing by my favourite landmark on this walk, the St Monans Salt Pan Windmill (pictured).

  

The windmill has been restored. It was once used to pump seawater into the adjacent salt pans and fossil rich limestone beds.

The walk then passes through the tiny village of St Monans. I really like St Monans - it has a lovely off-the-beaten-track feel to it and is really chilled-out. If you feel like spending more time here you could eat in a nice fine dining restaurant at the west end of the harbour - Craig Millar @ 16 West End: http://www.16westend.com/craig-millar. The walk passes by this restaurant. At the historic St Monans Church (14th century) there is a diversion to the path if it is high tide. If it's not high tide you go to the left of the church. Look back and you will see this wonderful view of St Monans with Pittenweem and Anstruther beyond...

St Monans Church and East Neuk village view

The section of the walk between St Monans and Elie is great. You pass by the ruins of two castles - Ardross Castle (1370) and Newark Castle (15th century) - and a 16th century doocot. As well as history there is natural beauty too, in the form of sublime beaches...

What's more they are remarkably deserted - we got the whole beach to ourselves.

Approaching Lady's Tower, outside Elie on the Fife Coastal Path

You'll then start to see the next landmark from a distance. This is Ladies Tower (pictured).

I think it is quite romantic! It was built in 1760 for Lady Janet Anstruther as a summer house. She liked to swim in the sea here (maybe it was warmer then!). The views from here over the Forth Estuary are particularly stunning. Look out for Bass Rock in the distance, near North Berwick.

Elie Lighthouse, Fife Coastal Path

Just past the Tower there there is one final historic landmark, Elie Lighthouse (1908) (pictured).

 

The path crosses Shepherd's Knowe next and then Ruby Bay, which is famous for the red garnet once found here. There are lovely views across Elie and over to the adjoining village of Earlsferry. When we were there it was made even more picturesque by some kitesurfers...

Follow the curve of the bay and you will then arrive at your destination, The Ship Inn.

The Ship Inn - a beach-side pub in Elie

This is a traditional pub with good food and is very popular with the people of Elie (many of who are holiday-home owners from Edinburgh) and visitors too. It's right opposite the beach and you can sit outside in their beer garden if the weather is nice. They even hold cricket matches on the beach some days during the Summer.

You have completed the walk - now time for a refreshing drink!

Art in the East Neuk: Pittenweem Arts Festival 2012

This was my second year visiting the Pittenweem Arts Festival (www.pittenweemartsfestival.co.uk) and I love it - it makes a great day out and is a great showcase for Scottish artists. Pittenweem is one of the prettiest of the fishing villages in the East Neuk of Fife area and for a week each summer it becomes THE place to be. This is the festival's 30th year. It takes place from 28 July to 5th August 2012 with a whopping 120 artists in 90 venues. These venues range from proper year-round galleries to churches, schools and halls to people's living rooms, sheds and garages. Some famous artists are invited to exhibit such as John Byrne of Tutti Frutti fame and ex-husband of actress Tilda Swinton this year. The majority of artists simply turn up. Here's a picture of the festival brochure, featuring a John Byrne picture:

The venues are actually as much of a draw as the art itself as you get to see inside places you wouldn't normally be able to - such as venue 39, Rock Villa which literally sits on some rocks in the harbour. Some of the venues are the artist's own residence, such as venue 44 which is on the picturesque West Shore, by a beach. A really chilled out place and home of artist Heather Cunningham (www.west-shore-art.co.uk), who creates some lovely local paintings, inspired by her East Neuk surroundings. Her pet cat Lily made us feel right at home! Couldn't resist buying this painting called "High Tide at the Gyles" - the Gyles is at the east end of the Pittenweem harbour - which will be proudly hanging on the walls of Rose Cottage very soon:

I'm also a huge fan of another East Neuk artist - Susie Lacombe of Crail, who does eye-catching limited edition linocut prints and original collages of local scenes and animals (Crail Gallery, 23 High Street, Crail; www.crailgallery.com). She was at the bustling venue 26 on Mid Shore with talented black and white cermaics-maker Susan McGill and local painter of boats, fish etc Malcolm Cheape (the venue was Malcolm's home). Here's one of Susie Lacombe's prints that I bought recently:

And at venue 23 also on Mid Shore I was as impressed and inspired as I was last year by Fife scientist turned artist Paul Bartlett's collages of birds and animals. Very life-like and beautiful! Here's one of them in  the festival brochure but they are much better in real life when you can see all the impressive detail:

To keep our energy levels up we bought some delicious chocolate from The Cocoa Tree (www.thecocoatreeshop.com), a chocolate shop and cafe on High Street (Pittenweem's main shoping street). Check out their Pittenweem Chocolate Company Ginger Crunch - just yum!

The only thing I was slightly disappointed about was that there was no exhibition on the pier at this year's festival - the life-sized metal animal sculptures on the pier last year were a real crowd-pleaser (when else would you see a camel looking out to the Isle of May?!). Here's a photo I took of one of them:

Can't wait to go again next year!

p.s. There is lots of space for parking in the festival car park (donation of £1), a shuttle bus service (we just walked - it's not far) and festival programmes cost £3.50 from a stall outside the car park. There is no cash machine in the village but you can get cash over the counter at the Post Office on High Street or get a cash machine in the neighbouring East Neuk village of Anstruther. Bus number 95 connects the East Neuk villages and runs approximately hourly.

5 great things to do in St Andrews

Here are 5 great things to do in St Andrews right now and where to do them - walking, shopping, spa, eating and drinking. If you need a map try this one.


St Andrews Castle and view to West Sands beach



My top 5:



Cupcakes in the window of Bibi's, South Street, St Andrews



1. WALKING from beach to beach - a winning combination of nature and history - East Sands to West Sands via the Cathedral, castle and University Buildings on The Scores.

2. Making like a student and hanging out in a BEER GARDEN - piri piri fries plus Magners Cider in the beer garden at West Port on South Street is a Summer treat! (NB. You can park yourself under the umbrella if there's a rain shower!).

3. SHOPPING, especially in La Boutique on Bell Street - chic and unique women's clothes and accessories from a company with boutiques in Glasgow's trendy West End; Farmore Interiors and Bibi's Bakery the cupcake shop - see the picture below (both on South Street).

4. 5 STAR RELAXING at The Old Course hotel - firstly in the Kohler spa with its lovely indoor pools, rooftop jacuzzi and wonderful treatments; secondly in the Road Hole bar, looking out over the Old Course. Whether you are a golf fan or not it's synonymous with St Andrews.

5. DINING OUT, especially in The Doll's House restaurant on Church Square (off Church Street) - tasty, good value French-Scottish food in a smart place that's been doing St Andrews proud for years (and its sister restaurant The Grill House on St Mary's Place is good too - even better value!) or pushing the boat out at the more expensive but superb The Seafood Restaurant near the Aquarium (booking required - don't be put off if they are a little snooty - it's worth it). If you're in a hurry though it's got to be Dr Noodles on Market Street.

Welcome to this blog! It will cover what's worth seeing in the East Neuk of Fife and St Andrews (Scotland, UK) from visitors' eyes including events and restaurants.

Rose Cottage is a lovely, relaxing little holiday cottage in the East Neuk.