Weekend Wrap - East Neuk Edition

Greetings from the East Neuk of the Kingdom of Fife.  We are comfortably ensconced in our beloved Eider House, with the Firth of Forth a mere few steps out our front door.

That said, the trip if off to a bit of a strange start, though still glorious to be here.  Unlike prior years, we did not come via the Highlands.  Elsie and John are en route to Pittenweem as I type, as they're off to a family wedding shortly after their visit.  After landing Saturday morning, we made the drive from Edinburgh to Pittenweem and got ourselves sorted once allowed entry to the house.

We were actually lucky to get out of JFK, as for the second straight year violent thunderstorms hit on the evening of our departure.  Last year we spent three hours taxiing, barely getting aloft before a dreaded return to the terminal.  This year it delayed us an hour, the key being that the storms hit just as we arrived at JFK, leaving time for Delta to recover.  The only after-the-fact tell was that our golf bags arrived soaking wet, undoubtedly left on the tarmac when the storm hit.....  

All week from home I was watching the weather forecast on the Met Office, and Sunday always looked dicey.... It was wall-to-wall 40% chances of rain (with 25 mph winds thrown in for good measure), little did I know I should have accepted their opening offer.  Sunday in actuality presented even worse, raining when I awoke and 80-90% chances through at least the first two hours of our round, a mere 60% thereafter.  With temps topping out at 15 degrees and those winds mentioned above, the value of the Crail membership and those "free" tee times is apparent.

With golf planned for Tuesday and Wednesday with our dear friends, Monday was always going to be an off-day, leaving us golf-free for our first two days in country.  Odd and slightly frustrating for sure, especially with the sun currently out, but we find ourselves in beloved Pittenweem, so we shall soldier on.

We actually arrived the last day of the Pittenweem Arts Festival, long time readers might recall that our first stay in Eider House was one of my worst moments of tradecraft, as we endured the festival's rampaging hordes for a full week.  Some Saturday shots of the harbor:

They had some local seafood on the grill and live music for their farewell:

A lovely dinner at the Dory Bistro:

We love the place and it's a 5-minute walk from our house along the harbor, and we've also gotten to know the wait staff at times (although no familiar faces last night).  The only frustration is that, behind each of those windows is a lovely table, but I haven't unlocked the secret to getting reliably seated there (when it's just the two of us, there's almost no chance).  We'll be there Wednesday with Elsie and John, and the stakes are higher than usual, as per this AI response:

Yes, a deep partial solar eclipse will be visible from Pittenweem this Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Over 90% of the Sun will be obscured by the moon, making it the most significant solar eclipse visible in the UK since 1999.

Hmmmm...and at what time?

Eclipse Timings for Wednesday, August 12

Starts: Around 6:17 PM BST

Maximum Peak: Around 7:13 PM BST (when peak coverage occurs)

Ends: Around 8:06 PM BST

Our res is at 6:15.

We were beat, but I pushed to take a walk over to the tidal pool, which I did on my own.  Upon returning, I found that the French Lieutenant's Woman was in residence:

Quiet at the tidal pool, only a couple of kids walking at the far end:

Yesterday, having dispensed with that pesky tee time, we were completely at liberty, though admittedly without energy.  

No expectation that anyone might remember, but there's a facility nearby called the Bowhouse Market, which one weekend a month hosts a Farmers' Market.  Last year (or maybe 2024) we went over there expecting said Framers' Market and instead found an art installation, but I checked online and saw that this was the week, so we headed over (but a bit late and had to battle the crowds).  Some shots from there:

They've added some food trucks and live music:

Once the rain cleared out, we did some exploring, catching this pretty view of Eider House and its blue front door::

A fishing boat headed out to see, with the Isle of May off to the right:

And, potentially scandalous, I caught a change in a certain sign:

Notice the top line on the chalk board.  In past years they have proclaimed their goods to be from Janetta's, the favored ice cream vendor in St. Andrews.  Luvian's is a competing ice cream shop in St. Andrews.  There's a post from prior years in which I express skepticism about the provenance of the Janetta's claim, and I remain similarly skeptical about this new citation.   Not to say I didn't sample it last evening, though the goods seemed surprisingly similar to prior years.

You can see how pretty the light was last evening:

On the way back we had one of those wonderful encounters, but let me first show you this:

This is a walkway I've shown in prior years, it leads from one of the wynds the run down from the Hight Street to the harbor.  We take it to get up to the village center, and you see the brambles that have encroached.  I told Theresa that the path needed to be "gladed out:, a skiing term for when they clear the scrub out of tree runs.

A bit later we're on the Fife Coastal Path returning home from the tidal pool and Theresa notices a woman taking cutting, and asks what she's doing:

Meet our newest friend Vanessa, who was using those shears to do exactly that which is needed, to cut the brambles back and allow passage along the path .  We had a lovely visit with Vanessa, who spends summers here and winters in Edinburgh, but my favorite moment was when she showed us her craft.  As she was cutting back a bramble, she looked up with a borderline malevolent glee and said, "It had to go!".  Yes, Vanessa, it did and thank you for doing God's work.

Of course, Theresa was inspired and, on our walk home, started tying back the brambles shown above:

I'll leave you with the view from our bedroom window at day's end:

We are delighted to be here, especially with our dear friends inbound.  The next few days will be delightful, if somewhat cooler than that to which we've become accustomed.  After that, however, it's a bit more, how shall I put it characteristically Scottish.  And that has to be a good thing, right?

Have a great week and I'll post as I can, though the next few days will be somewhat busy.  Cheers.