Fife Guide cont ..
Ceres
Ceres is a village in central Fife, a few miles south east of Cupar. It's a lovely village with a stream running through it. The village is very well cared for with flower tubs beside "The Provost", a 19th century carved stone depiction of the last church provost, Thomas Buchanan. Ceres is home to the Fife Folk Museum, which portrays the history of everyday rural life in the area. The museum website appears to be down at present but you can contact them by phone on 01334 828180 to check opening hours.
I was intrigued by the Bannockburn Memorial in Ceres as the Battle of Bannockburn was fought near Stirling, some 50 miles from Ceres. However several men from Ceres did march to take part in the Battle in 1314. The Memorial was erected in 1914 to mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle. The Ceres Highland Games, the oldest free to attend Games in Scotland were established in 1314, to mark victory against the English at Bannockburn, are held on the last Saturday in June. I wonder how those involved in the creation of the Memorial would have felt if they had known of the bloodbath that was to follow in the First World War, starting in the same year?
The Griselda Hill Pottery in the village produces the famous Wemyss Ware, hand painted giftware, best known for its cats. There's a visitor centre where you can watch a DVD about the pottery and observe the potters and painters at work through a glass door. It's a very interesting story as Wemyss ware was originally made in Wemyss on Fife coast between the 1880s and 1930s. One of the painters, Karel Nekola, came from Eastern Europe and his son, Joseph, followed in his Father's footsteps. When the Wemyss pottery closed and the trademark was sold to the Bovey Pottery in Devon, Joseph moved to Devon. where he trained Esther Weeks, who became the Head Decorator when Joseph died in 1952. The production of Wemyss Ware returned to Fife in the 1980s when the trade mark was purchased by Griselda Hill. However Esther Weeks has visited the Ceres pottery and passed on the secret painting techniques.
Display cabinet at the Griselda Hill Pottery
St Andrews and the East Neuk of Fife
St Andrews as an interesting history. Evidently the Greek monk St Rule was visited by an angel, wo advised him to remove the bones of St Andrew from Istanbul to the ends of the earth. St Rule followed this advice but was shipwrecked on his journey to the ends of the earth with the remains of St Andrew, on the east coast of Fife, near the present day St Andrews. St Andews Castle was the main residence of the Bishops of St Andrews since the 12th century. It was the administrative centre of the church in Scotland. You can see the notorious "Bottle Dungeon", a pit dug 6 metres into the rock. accessible only by a trap door.The university was founded in 1411 and is the oldest in Scotland. The heir to the British throne, Prince William, was a student there. He has sometimes been spotted in the local supermarket or playing a round of golf. The 15th century was certainly a very busy time, as it is said that golf was first played in the town. The town now hosts the British golf museum, which is just behind the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse. However there is a lot more to the town than golf. There are two lovely golden sandy beaches, great for an invigorating walk
The area just south of St. Andrews is known as the east neuk of Fife. There are numerous small fishing villages, such as Crail, Anstruther and Elie, popular with artists during the Summer. All the villages are picturesque and as they're close together you can drive from one to the next in a few minutes.
Kellie Castle lies two miles inland from Pitenweem. I haven't managed to see the interior of the castle yet but I love the peaceful walled garden there. The garden was described as " a little pleasance of the soul by whose wicket the World can be shut out" by one of the former owners, Sir Robin Lorimer.
You can read the full guide with photos and accommodation options at http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/Scotland/fife.html Karen Bryan is a UK based independent travel consultant and writer who also blogs about travel in Europe http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog |