A weekend of peace in Fife
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The Roost at Kintillo — a friendly, uncluttered French atmosphere.
OK, we should come clean, as should Dugg the dog.
We were spending a lovely morning walking around some of the 120 acres of our holiday accommodation at Pitcairlie House, checking the pasture land, woodland walks and the old family graveyard, when Dugg came bounding up behind.
We could smell him before we could see him – he had quietly rolled in something extremely smelly. So smelly in fact we had a guessing game as to what on earth it could be.
Whatever, there was nothing for it but to take him back to the gate lodge, where we had previously packed and tidied for the off, and stick him in the shower to give him a thorough going over. Apologies to Rosemary Jeynes, the general manager of the family run self-catering apartments at Pitcairlie, near Auchtermuchty. We did clean the shower before we departed. If there was any lingering smell, at least you now know it was not us!
The previous day, we had travelled from Inverness and dumped our bags before heading out for a whistle stop tour of the villages of East Neuk, a short drive away. We had toyed with the idea of visiting St Andrews, about 30 minutes by car, but decided to give it a miss.
Later we visited The Roost restaurant at Kintillo, on the outskirts of Perth, for sumptuous dinner.
Every summer as a child I visited another corner of Fife, Kinghorn, spending hours on its beach digging sand, poking rock pools and swimming in the ice-cold sea. But I had never visited the picturesque fishing villages and sandy beaches of Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem or Elie.
It was not the best day to do it — heavy rain smattered with short bursts of sunshine, but you could instantly see the attraction for family holidays. From the impressive golden beach at Elie to Anstruther’s famous harbour fish and chip shop, which still had a long queue outside despite the rain, all that was missing was a kiss-me-quick hat.
There is plenty to do along the coastline, especially if you can skip between the different villages, as each has its own character and attractions.
At Anstruther, the Scottish Fisheries Museum is worth a visit, examining the coast’s once thriving fishing and boat-building industry, while, for some stunning views of the sea, try walking stretches of the 150km Fife Coastal Path, which follows the Forth Estuary in the south, to the Tay Estuary in the north.
Strapped for time, we let Dugg out at Crail for a chuck of a stick, a paddle and a peek at the quaint white-and-blue-painted fishing cottages nestling by the harbour.
Another stopping off point is Scotland’s Secret Bunker, near Crail, where you can investigate a tunnel under a farmhouse leading to the bunker earmarked for use by the government in event of a nuclear war.
Nearer to Pitcairlie, the Royal Palace of Falkland, built around 1502, is open to the public. It was the country residence of eight Stuart monarchs, including Mary, Queen of Scots.
The lodge at Pitcairlie provides a good base for exploring. Its comfortable accommodation, for a family of four, has one double bedroom with en suite, another with two single beds and a separate bathroom. To me it was like staying in your favourite aunty’s cosy country cottage and really has everything you need, from a torch to take the dog out at night, to outside table and chairs, even a hairdryer and logs to light a fire.
At Pitcairlie House’s Victorian wing, a few hundred yards away, are four, two- or three-bedroomed holiday apartments, complete with an indoor heated pool. All accommodation is graded four star by Visit Scotland and awarded the Green Tourism Silver Award.
At the adjoining main house Ms Jeynes lives with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Its tower dates from around 1550 built by George Leslie, 3rd Earl of Rothes. In the mid 18th century, Pitcairlie was acquired by Colonel James Cathcart of Carbiston, whose family remained until the mid 1960s. From a hill on the estate, a family graveyard overlooks the house.
The peace and quiet and extensive grounds seem ideal for children but could the ordinary household afford the peak season rates of around £800 a week? In October that drops to around £300, maybe a better prospect.
The property does take bookings for stag and hen nights and occasions such as small weddings, birthdays and corporate events.
Most self-caterers want to eat out for at least one night but being at Pitcairlie you have to travel. We drove to The Roost, a good 15 minutes away towards Perth.
The small restaurant is run by husband and wife Tim and Anna Dover who live next door with their four-year-old daughter Connie. Thirty-five-year-old Mr Dover is the chef, while his 37-year-old wife is front of house and waits at the tables.
Sited on a tight corner, next to a residential area, it has a friendly, uncluttered French atmosphere and its impressive menu is already attracting fulsome praise on TripAdvisor.
The couple took over in 2008 and can only cope with up to 28 covers. Children get smaller portions of what the adults eat, a nice touch which breaks the fish fingers and burgers choices usually on offer. Dinner would probably set you back more than £50 each for three courses but you do get something to write home about.
The home-made salt-crusted bread, served just before our starter, was so good we both devoured it and had to order another slice.
Neither of us could fault our meal — the Perthshire pigeon breast with wild garlic risotto was superb, while my husband loved the Orkney crab salad with baby artichokes, lemon confit and smoked paprika aioli.
Main courses did not disappoint, with hubby temped by the oven-roasted guinea fowl breast with parsley mash, pancetta and Jerusalem artichoke, braised leeks and Madeira sauce.
My pan-fried sea-bream fillet came with homemade saffron tagliatelle, surf clams, brown shrimp, broad beans, roasted fennel and lemon butter.
However, I still had room for the caramel crème brulee with blood orange sorbet and my husband the warm chocolate fondant, poached rhubarb, candied lime and lavender ice-cream.
Mr Dover started as a commis chef at The Witchery Restaurant in Edinburgh, moving on with Nick Nairn in Glasgow, then to New York to work at the world-renowned Daniel’s restaurant with chef Daniel Boulud. His food has a French influence and the Gallic trait for fresh, local produce is ever present with the couple using their own vegetables when they can and sometimes foraging for ingredients, picking wild garlic, Chanterelles, Seps and St George’s Mushrooms to use in the restaurant.
We had a pleasant weekend and went home with an extremely clean dog and a warm glow from recapturing seaside childhood memories.
I am now awaiting any future arrival of grand-children, an excuse to pack the bucket and spade, to make for the chippie in Anstruther and, to finish, a 99 cone on the beach.
