ABERNETHY ACTIVE, AUTUMN 2019

All these mini adventures are ones we’ve done, with our kids (5 and 7 how did that happen?) all very do-able from Abernethy in a day trip. Google will help you find them.

Head to the wee beach in St. Andrews. Aka the East Sands. Most folks know about the big beach in St. Andrews, it’s fab and worth a visit, but it can be a tad exposed and windy at times. So, only a short walk away, through some fairly interesting sites is a hidden gem, the East Sands, with it’s sandy beach, stony bits, car park (free), play park, toilets, fitness equipment, occasional beach lifeguard (RNLI) and a TOASTY SHACK!!!!! They serve macaroni cheese toasties. Ya dancer! And lots of other yummy things. No wonder the seagulls keep a close eye for scraps. We’ve always found the beach clean and had a great time.  

Head to The Tyndall Bruce Monument, near Pillars of Hercules café, by Falkland. Still the source of my favourite coffee.  The nearby Maspie Den (mentioned in my last article) is having works done currently so possibly best to go elsewhere. You’ll be on paths and tracks but in the trees a lot, so some navigation savvy is required. It gets pretty steep in places depending on your route, slippy too. One section we (5yr. old and I) encountered even had a fixed rope, similar in some ways to some pitches in the High Himilaya! A slimy mudfest of knee manking, nail digging and heather grabbing brought us out to the monument and an incredible view, well worth the Persil bill (Ecover actually!)  With the sunsets we’ve had recently this would be a cracking spot to gaze at the sky as it changes. As it turned out we had taken the hard route up, there is a perfectly good path all the way, which we took down. We had a lot of fun tho!

Head to the old railway tunnels in GlenFarg. I’m writing this in the run up to Halloween! It can be a bit spooky in these tunnels, cold too and very dark. Our kids loved it. We parked in the big layby on the left after you go under the ached railway bridge headed up the road towards Glenfarg (B996) then followed the former trainline route towards the obvious first tunnel, then keep going, eventually you’ll find daylight again, honest! If one is enough you can opt out and head towards the Inn, or go through the second, Aberargie is a wee walk away on the right as you come out of the second tunnel, you can walk towards Ayton and then on to some of the lower tracks on Castlelaw which will bring you out at Glenfoot. Once home, someone can grab their bike and head up to get the car!

Head to Lochore Meadows country park, by Lochgelly, Fife. It’s ace, on bike or foot. I do a lot of bike coaching there, something for all levels from absolute beginner to advanced mountain biker. Lots of good walks, lots of bird watching. Good pretty much flat path all the way round the loch, our kids can ride round it in under an hour, pending mud soup stops. Great playpark, swimming, boating, café, parking, marked walking and bike trails. 25min drive from Abernethy. Lots of disabled access and pram friendly areas. A huge park where they host festivals and events. Well worth a visit.

Below you’ll find the usual “Obviously” bit, but with the cold and the dark it’s getting a bit more serious. Some navigation skill is extremely useful. Your phone can help a great deal, but you need to know how to use it and it’s limitations, worth playing around with at times you don’t actually need it, so you can learn. And, have a wee plan in your head for what to do if  things go off plan, a wee bit of extra food, drink and an extra jumper go down well when you’re  actually  not  in  the  slightest  “nearly  there  yet”  Kids  love  being  out  in  the  dark, headtorches make great presents (as do bikes!!!). Adults need to up their game a bit to keep it fun/safe.

Obviously we always tell someone where were going and our time of return, we plan ahead for the weather, daylight and conditions underfoot. We take fully charged mobile phones, some money, snacks, extra clothes and around 47 tonnes of lego!!!! We often plan to be out all day take a picnic or a stove to make a really basic hot meal such as baked beans on oatcakes or pasta and sauce, eaten out of the pot to reduce washing up! A new approach to eating out, one we like!

Cheers,  

KYLE