An East Neuk Easter

My family has always loved Easter - all cute bunnies and chicks, the start of better weather and lighter days, family meals and days out and more chocolate than is really good for you.  When we were little my sisters and I even had our own special Easter roles - I was an Easter Chick, J was an Easter Bunny and C was an Easter Lamb. Easter is a festival of rebirth, new life, whether you're religious or not. It's also a great time to visit the East Neuk. Borrowing J's role for a moment and using my official Easter Bunny name of "Snuggly Socks" (what's yours? http://easterbunnyname.com/) I thought I'd bring you a sweet selection of what to do this Easter in the East Neuk to keep everyone in your family entertained:

Anstruther duck race

1. Race a duck - For great fun with the competitive thrill of a chance of winning a prize check out the annual Anstruther Duck Race on Easter Saturday. The Dreel Burn in Anstruther is the venue and no they are not real ducks but cute rubber ones! Entry is £1 - sponsor your duck in a local shop or on the day, if there are any left. It's organised by the Anstruther Improvements Association (AIA) and the money goes towards improving the village. 

2. Picnic with the King - As well as the Duck Race itself there is a whole music festival in Anstruther over the Easter weekend called "Yellae Deuks". Concerts are on at the Dreel Halls in Anstruther on the Friday and Saturday nights and during the day on Sunday when there will be an indoor picnic. Don't miss King Creosote himself playing at the Sunday event. Family friendly until 9pm. 

Kellie Castle and Gardens

3. Hunt eggs at a castle - National Trust properties around the country are playing host to Cadbury's Egg Trails this Easter. Where better for the little ones to run about in search of eggs than Kellie Castle, near Anstruther, with its gorgeous gardens and estate. Easter egg trails open 12-4pm on Easter Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

Bunny, Isle of May

4. Spot the bunnies - April marks the beginning of the season for boat trips on the May Princess or RIB Osprey to the Isle of May. You're sure to see lots of cute bunnies on the island (though they're a little shy) and lots of seabirds and seals too - I hear that the puffins are there already so it's a great time to visit! Book ahead if you want a seat on the daily boat trips as it's bound to be popular.

5. See some art & crafts - Pittenweem Artists & Galleries weekend 2015 is taking place on 3-6 April in various venues around the village. It's organised by the same people as the village's famous annual arts festival, though the weekend is on a more compact scale with six exhibiting artists. 

There's also a local art and crafts event called "Spring in the Loft" upstairs at the Ardross Farm Shop, near Elie on Easter Saturday (9am-5.30pm) and Sunday (9am-4pm).

6. Find the Gruffalo - I reckon a lot of little ones are going to be very excited about the new Gruffalo Trail which opens on Easter Sunday at St Andrews' Botanic Gardens. 11am-4pm. £5 adults, free for kids. 

7. Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate - Get your Easter chocolate fix at The Cocoa Tree cafe and Pittenweem Chocolate Company shop, Pittenweem, Iain Burnett The Highland Chocolatier, South Street, St Andrews or Fisher and Donaldson, Church Street, St Andrews. Yum!

Leave a comment if you know about something fun that I've missed.

Happy Easter all!

Copyright Snuggly Socks (normally known as Sara Scott) 2015

50 scarecrows equals eccentric fun in gentile Elie

Elie and adjoining Earlsferry make up the most gentile and affluent village on Fife's East Neuk coast. They are blessed with a wonderful, sweeping beach, where cricket matches and watersports are a regular fixture. Many houses have their own private access directly onto the beach via little gates and staircases fixed to the sea wall. Those which don't have instead lavishly adapted their balconies, terraces and gardens to maximise that beautiful beach view. This is where Edinburgh Old Money has its spacious seaside holiday homes and everyone else wishes they did. The whole place exudes the confidence of knowing it's good-looking and expensive.

But for one weekend a year things get a bit eccentric, a bit quirky with the annual Elie Scarecrow Festival.

The 2013 event
In 2013 this happened on 3-6 May over a Bank Holiday weekend. This was only the second time the festival has been held. I heard via #ScotlandHour (which is a monthly hour on Twitter where people share what to do and where to go in Scotland) that other places in Scotland also do Scarecrow Festivals but this was the first one I'd been to.

Elie and Earlsferry Residents and business owners compete for the best scarecrow and this seems to encourage lots of creativity and effort. Visitors can purchase a scarecrow map from one of the shops and then tour round the villages to spot them all (around 50 this year), then identify their favourite. The villages are small enough to do this on foot, though if you're short on time / energy you could go for a drive-by approach. The carefully stuffed creations can be found in front gardens, in the street outside houses, shops and pubs, in parks and even hanging from windows and chimneys. This year they included Nixon, Bill Gates, the Statue of Liberty, Prince Charles, Old Tom Morris, a workman, a family on holiday, a pirate, a horse, a nurse and patient, a burglar, Paddington Bear (my favourite) and many more besides. They were very cleverly done with some wonderful details, like Bill Gates holding a paper iPad and iPod and the daddy of the holiday family lying on a lounger, reading "The Scarecrow Times". Many were funny, some cute and others slightly creepy, especially as the daylight faded and they started appearing menacingly out of the shadows.

The winner this year was a scarecrow version of The Flintstones - as announced in the Fife Today newspaper.

I enjoyed walking around spotting them all - it added an extra bit of quirky fun, something a bit different to what was already a great place for a Sunday afternoon stroll. Did you enjoy the festival this year?

Post-event refreshments
Mouth as dry and legs as limp as, well, a scarecrow after all that walking? There are plenty of options in Elie / Earlsferry for a drink and a bite to eat. We had a delicious dinner from the Specials menu at the lively Golf Tavern in Earlsferry. Then we went for a drink in its more famous sister pub, The Ship Inn, back in Elie right by the beach. Elie is also blessed with a Michelin-starred, but reportedly un-stuffy, restaurant called Sangster's.

What's on next?
The next events to look out for in Elie's up-market calendar of local events are The Ship Inn's cricket fixtures (throughout the summer) and the Elie Fayre (13 July 2013, 1pm at the Harbour).

And finally...

If you're desperate to recreate the Scarecrow Festival at home, how about this cute scarecrow kit!

Copyright © Sara Scott 2013

Meercats, sharks and ice cream - a fun family day out in St Andrews, whatever the weather

You can read my first ever guest blog on the Visit St Andrews site (the official website for visitors to St Andrews, Scotland). It's about two family-friendly things to do whether it's rain or shine, snowy or fine: (1) the delights of the Aquarium (meerkats, sharks, Nemo and much more) and (2) St Andrews' famous ice cream emporium, B. Jannettas. You'll find it right here: Visit St Andrews Blog 

May 2013 update: The St Andrews Aquarium now has some news - it will be getting Humboldt Penguins on 23 May 2013. Lets hope the penguins like their new home in St Andrews and you enjoy seeing them!

Copyright Sara Scott 2013

Easter in the East Neuk



Easter chick



Are you lucky enough to be in or around the East Neuk of Fife this Easter holiday? If so, here's a selection of six local events to keep you and your family busy:

1. AN ENTIRE FESTIVAL DEVOTED TO CHOCOLATE - The Cocoa Tree cafe and shop in Pittenweem is running a Grand Festival of Chocolate, which is inspired by the best selling book Chocolat. This is my kind of festival! It includes a Grand Chocolate Treasure Hunt (throughout the festival - to enter the prize draw the deadline is 6pm on Easter Sunday), a Full Moon "Chocolat" Film Party (Wednesday 27 March 7pm), The Grand Chocolate Fayre and Weem Witch Tours (Thursday 28 March), The Grand Good Friday Dinner (Friday 29 March), Grand Finale of the Treasure Hunt and Raffle (Sunday 31 March 6pm) and finally Chocolate Workshops (Monday 1 April 10-12 children and 1-4 adults). (To reserve a space for any of these events contact sophie@thecocoatreeshop.com.)

2. FIND THE EASTER EGGS - Classic Easter weekend fun for the kids - join the Easter Egg Trail at National Trust Scotland's Kellie Castle (Saturday 30 March and Sunday 31 March 12-4, £2 per child).

3. PACK THE KIDS OFF FOR SOME FUN IN THE WOODS - Cambo Estate, Kingsbarns is running a one week Easter Woodland Club for children aged 6-13 (1-5 April or 8-12 April, 10am-4pm each day, £125 per week). The Club is all about having fun in the woods. It includes activities like building a den, cooking on the fire, making wooden things, playing games and watching wildlife (to book contact Chris Childe 01337 830621, chris.childe_education@yahoo.co.uk).

4. RACE A DUCK - On Easter Saturday (30 March, 10.30am) you can watch or even take part in the A.I.A. (Anstruther Improvements Association) annual duck race at the Dreel Burn in Anstruther. Everyone floats rubber ducks down the stream and the owner of the lucky winning duck wins a prize. Ducks cost £1 and can be bought in advance or on the day. Should be lots of fun!

5. SEE SOME ART - Pittenweem's famous arts festival doesn't kick off until August but Easter marks the annual Pittenweem Artists and Galleries weekend, when many of this very arty village's residents open their studies to show new work. Venues are open Friday 29 - Sunday 31 March (10am-5pm or 11am-4pm for the new ART@47 gallery space). Look out for the poster on the door.


Arty Pittenweem

6. RENACT THE COLD WAR (?) - For a slightly unusual Easter experience, Scotland's Secret Bunker will be having a re-enactment over Easter (Friday 29 - Sunday 31 March) with real Army soldiers at the gate to greet you, vehicle displays around the grounds and patrolling underground in the bunker in their full attire, complete with weapons for authenticity. The Bunker was the secret underground hideaway where Scotland's elite would have gone in the event of a nuclear attack in the Cold War era. It was kept secret, hiding below a farmhouse for 40 years. Today it's a unique tourist attraction.



Whatever you're doing this Easter I hope you have a great time! If you know of any other great East Neuk Easter events please share them by leaving a comment. Right, I'm off to get stuck into some Easter eggs now...



First signs of Spring at Rose Cottage!



Text and Photos Copyright Sara Scott 2013