Birthday day out to Anstruther

This week has been full of treats and trips out as part of my birthday celebrations. As I have gotten older I have come to realise that experiences and time spent with loved ones is far superior to gifts and things I probably don’t actually need (sorry if that sounds ungrateful of me). Saying that I have been bought a new pair of softshell trousers which I shall tell you about soon. Last week the Dude asked me what I fancied doing for my birthday and I had no clue and told him to decide. He chose well. “How about a birthday day out to Anstruther? Its on the coast.” The answer was of course, yes.

In years gone by Anstruther was a fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife and although the village’s heritage and history has not been forgotten the harbour now mainly serves recreational vessels. The Scottish Fisheries Museum is on the harbour front and is open all year round. Tourism now plays the main role in the village and even on a rather bracing February day there were still more people out and about than I imaged there would be. 

We parked in a free car park at the top of the village (near the Co-Op) and took the short walk onto the harbour front in about five minutes. Greeted by the small beach and a view of the sea – this brought a smile to my face. I love the seaside. Deciding to make the short walk across to Cellardyke we wandered through the narrow streets and both agreed it had a very Cornish village feel about it, which we love. A fantastic array of cottages and town houses, some dated in the 1800’s.

Cellardyke is probably less than half a mile walk from Anstruther harbour and you get some quite unique views of the sea through vennels and the odd driveway or two. The much smaller harbour wall here shows some quite obvious history and the oldest part is dated in the 1400’s with the most recent being built around 2002.

Just to the far side of Cellardyke on the coast we came across some rocks which we initially thought were just covered in gulls but the Dude spotted a number of eider ducks. Fantastic to see. I have only ever seen them at WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire before so to see them in the wild was amazing. This photo doesn’t do them justice as I only had my 35mm lens with me.

Back in Anstruther we stopped for a hot chocolate and to thaw out a bit and then ventured to the other side of the village, beach and along the coastal path. There were some great views from the tower up by the golf course looking back into the harbour. Walking along the beach never fails to make me smile or stop me in my tracks. Lots of beautiful shells on the course sand caught my eye. Sadly so did the car tyre, rope and juice bottle. I picked the bottle up and threw it in the bin – one good deed for the day. By now there are more and more people on the beach with children or dogs, the air filled with excited barks and laughter.

Apparently no trip to Anstruther is complete unless you have been to the multi award winning and “UK’s Best Fish & Chip Shop”  – Anstruther Fish Bar. So it was rude not to pop in. Easy choice for me prawns in batter and for the Dude haddock and chips. Included in the price of our meal was a piece of bread and butter and a hot drink.

Amazingly fresh seafood in crispy batter and non greasy chips, washed down with Irn Bru this was the perfect birthday fish supper.

I think this goes without saying but this birthday day out to Anstruther is highly recommended and maybe shouldn’t be just a once a year treat. We had a great day and the weather was kind to us. Happy birthday me!