December 27th, 2005

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Travel
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Fife Coastal Path or St. Cuthbert’s Way?

Just a quick LazyWeb request for an opinion from anybody who is Scottish or has spent time in Scotland. We’re attending a wedding outside of Edinburgh in March, 2006. After the wedding, we plan to go walking for five or six days. The model is simple: you walk self-guided for 15 to 25 km each day, sleep in hotels or B & B’s each evening, and get your luggage shuttled to your next port of call. This means you can walk at your own pace, and without being burdened by wedding garb in your backpack.

I’ve done the research on weather (average temperature, 6 degrees Celsius, precipitation similar to Vancouver in June), and narrowed down our possible routes to two: Fife Coastal Path (official site) or St. Cuthbert’s Way (officialish site). Both look excellent. My worry about the Fife route is that, it being entirely coastal, we’ll rarely be out of sight of other humans or habitation. It’s important to me to have time alone. What, ye informed Scots, do you think?

Incidentally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t reference this hilarious page on the Fife site about the launch of their mascot, Coastie. I was immediately reminded of Homer’s failed Olympic mascot. If you scroll down on Coastie’s page, you’ll find some kids’ suggestions that didn’t make the cut. The fifth one appears to be a hiphop seagull, complete with bling. This inevitably reminded me of Itchy and Scratchy’s short-lived pal, Poochie.

Comments: 5 Responses so far

richgold
December 27th, 2005
6:43 am

Might want to ask http://shauny.org/pussycat/ an Aussie who’s replanted herself to Scotland.

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Nick
December 27th, 2005
11:35 pm

I visited Leven, which is just North-East of Buckhaven, for a week to attend my Grandma’a funeral.
This is your fife coastal path.

It was semi-rural along the coast there, with beach front houses lining the public (rock)beach.
I would definitely recommend St. Andrews, the place was beautiful.

Not sure how isolated this but if you plan on not seeing any humans during the day, than Scotland really isn’t place.

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Anonymous
December 28th, 2005
6:32 am

Is this a rain or shine event? I’ve visited Scotland in March and found it bonechilling. Granted, I’m a bit of a wimp when in comes to wet weather. You are brave, my friend!

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melanie watts
December 30th, 2005
8:35 am

Sounds like a lovely walk. I haven’t been to Scotland in years but I do agree with a previous commenter that it will be bone chilling cold and damp. Lucky you to have your baggage shuttled from place to place. For me it wouldn’t seem like a real trek unless I was carrying my backpack on my back.

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Jodi
January 1st, 2006
8:53 am

I lived a couple years in Scotland and walked portions of both trails. March is a very cold time to walk the coast. Wind will be the thing that makes you coldest. St. Cuthbert’s will be somewhat warmer, perhaps drier and, I’m guessing, quieter. But the previous post was correct. Southern Scotland is not the place for a Canadian who wants to feel isolated to be. That said, the Borders were my favourite part of Scotland because of their fabulous combination of scenery and local character… the people are very worth chatting to, though sometimes a bit difficult to understand at first. Have fun!

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