For a journey through robotics past and future don’t miss the excellent “Hello Robot” exhibition in the modern architectural masterpiece that is the V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum. It’s on until Sunday 9 February 2020 (tickets £6-£12, save £1 by buying in advance online or by phone).
The first room in the Hello Robot exhibition showcases retro robots and if you’re a Star Wars fans like me you’ll be wowed by seeing the original R2-D2 (from 1977, on loan from George Lucas)! For me it was a real highlight of the exhibition.
Moving into the other rooms things get much more high tech and there’s plenty here to enthral and educate visitors young and old. The exhibits cleverly explore the fascinating, complex and evolving relationship between human and machine present and future. Our little one was particularly captivated by the use of video throughout the exhibition and the chance to create your own “robots” in the separate kids workshop room afterwards.
To re-charge your batteries post exhibition you can choose from the V&A Dundee’s The Living Room cafe (ground floor) or Tatha Bar and Kitchen restaurant (1st floor). Both provide the perfect opportunity to marvel at the magnificence of the museum‘s architecture (created by renowned architect Kengo Kuma as a “living room for the city”) and its riverside location. We were lucky enough to nab a window seat in the cafe for a spectacular River Tay view!
Despite the high quality of the museum’s exhibits for most visitors it’s the V&A Dundee building itself that impresses the most. Perched right by the river, does the museum’s remarkable design remind you of waves, the hull of a ship, Scottish sea-cliffs or, as my daughter says, a pile of pancakes?! One thing’s for sure, it’s a spectacular sight, inside and outside, which is definitely worth a day trip from the East Neuk!
The museum shop (ground floor) also delights with its unique range of cool and unusual products celebrating national and international design.
Other V&A Dundee exhibitions I’m really looking forward to this year are “Mary Quant” from 4 April to 6 September 2020 for some 1960s fashion nostalgia and then “Night Fever: Designing Club Culture” from 31 October 2020 to 14 February 2021.
Or if the exhibitions don’t push your buttons you can visit the V&A Dundee’s permanent Scottish Design Galleries any time for free. There are around 300 exhibits drawn from the V&A’s world-famous collection of art, design and performance as well as museums, private collections and designers across Scotland and the world. Highlights for us were building your own virtual Hunter wellies, being dazzled by a gorgeous 1935 Cartier tiara with diamond wings and stepping inside the Oak Room, a restored and reconstructed Charles Rennie Mackintosh tea-room interior from 1940s Glasgow.
For more information about V&A Dundee see: https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/. Tel: +44 (0)1382 411611.
You can also extend your sight-seeing trip to Dundee by popping next door to explore the RRS Discovery, the ship which Scott and Shackleton sailed to Antarctica. Another great option is to check out the nearby Dundee Science Centre, a family favourite in our house.
Copyright Sara @ Rose Cottage East Neuk, 2020
Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, in partnership with Fife Council, has today unveiled its new interactive website dedicated to the Fife Coastal Path, making it easier for visitors to plan trips and discover more of one of Scotland’s most beautiful coastlines.
The new website has been designed to provide the ultimate user-friendly experience, with improved navigation and functionality throughout. Visitors to the site can now quickly access detailed information about different attraction points and map their routes.
Created with the online user firmly in mind, the mapping section has been cleverly designed so that people can easily take interactive steps along the stunning coastal stretch, zooming in and out at any point they wish.
The map also now shows visitors the vast points of interest and activities available along the 117 mile long Fife Coastal Path, which include: archaeology, geology, architecture, beautiful beaches, culture, history and fascinating wildlife. From a visit to the East Neuk’s quaint historic fishing villages to the wildly beautiful and ever changing landscape of Tentsmuir, there are endless points of interest for everyone to discover and explore. I particularly love the Pittenweem to Elie and Crail to Anstruther sections of the Path, with a pub or fish ‘n’ chips stop at the end and hopping on the no. 95 bus back.
Handy information about transport and the location of public toilets along the route is also included, making it easier to plan your walk.
Earlier this year the Fife Coastal Path twinned with Skaneleden Coastal Trail in Sweden.
To view the new interactive map and make the most out of visiting the East Neuk of Fife and St Andrews, please visit: www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk and in particular the Elie to Cambo Sands and Cambo Sands to Leuchars sections. Enjoy!
With just 3 weeks left of the Summer holidays many parents are on the lookout for exciting new activities to keep the kids occupied. If that is you then you’re in luck because the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust has scoured the region to compile a handy checklist of fun, free outdoors activities to keep everyone entertained all holiday and help you discover more of Fife’s stunning outdoor spaces from award-winning beaches to great cycle routes.
Activities 
on the list include hunting for fossils (e.g. at Crail), searching rock pools, geocaching, photography and wildlife spotting from red squirrels to dolphins. See who in your family can tick off the most sights on their list!
As Valerie Telfer, Business Support Manager for Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, said Fife is “One of the most visited outdoor regions in Scotland” and “we’re lucky to have fantastic facilities for people of all ages to enjoy”.
Download the full Summer holiday checklist here and find lots more useful info about exploring Fife’s great outdoors on the Trust’s website.
Family holiday magic awaits in the East Neuk & St Andrews! With just a little forward planning family holidays in the East Neuk of Fife and St Andrews have always been truly magical. Now you don’t even need to do that planning yourself – just look at my brand new “best bits” list of the top 10 activities for kids in the area. Happy days!
With this easy list you can make the most of your precious family holiday time, maximise the fun and minimise complaints from the wee ones. It’s all in there from the best beaches, adventure playgrounds, tried and tested family-friendly restaurants, to favourite day trip destinations and much more – there’s something for even the fussiest little cherub.
I’ll be keeping it up to date as new things come along and all suggestions about things to add are most welcome.
Enjoy!
Family holiday magic: the East Neuk & St Andrews
Copyright Sara Scott 2016
We recently spent a wonderful two week Summer holiday at Rose Cottage – our first family Summer holiday with mini ENB (or the East Neuk Nipper as one of our friends calls her!). Sun, sea, sand, swimming, silliness, stuffing our faces – good times were had. So I thought I’d share 7 highlights from our family holiday of splendid sandy Summer days in the East Neuk and St Andrews.
Chilled-out country walks through the idyllic East Neuk countryside, with abundant wildflowers, pretty fields, sparkling seas and big dreamy skies brought back happy memories of my own summer family holidays as a child.
Evening light on a hedgerow on the road to Rose Cottage
Wildflowers in Kingsbarns, including my favourites – poppies
So no.1 on my Summer highlights list is to have a leisurely East Neuk country walk and bring home a posy of wild flowers.
Posy of wildflowers brought back to Rose Cottage
With wildflowers but also great views over the East Neuk villages of Earlsferry and Elie and beyond across the Firth of Forth, plus a delightful encounter with some local seals, another highlight of our holiday was no. 2: walk the Fife Coastal Path from Earlsferry to Shell Bay. On this walk you can also enjoy seeing Elie Golf Course where long socks are mandatory (due to the long grass in the rough), the starter looks through a submarine periscope before giving you the all clear and blind shots are common – in fact at the 9th you have to ring a bell to tell the players behind you that you’ve left the green (read a review of this quirky course here)! By the golf course you walk along a nice quiet beach, which is where we spotted the seals. Then a steep climb up the cliff rewards you with the fabulous views, plus some interesting World War 2 structures and then the view over the other side of the cliff down to Shell Bay. Either continue on down to Shell Bay or head back to Earlsferry, perhaps doing as we did and grabbing a drink and tasty bite to eat in the 19th Hole, Earlsferry as a post-walk reward.
Elie golf course and Earlsferry with wild thistles, from the Fife Coastal Path
A little bit further along the East Neuk coast was highlight no.3 – lunch at the East Pier Smokehouse, St Monans. Sample fishy delights smoked on the premises such as my favourite hot smoked salmon in a lovely relaxed, light and airy place right on the pier in the quaint and quiet East Neuk village of St Monans. It’s so close to the sea that you feel like you’re on a boat. There’s a nice family atmosphere and children are welcome. Don’t miss the excellent cakes and coffee as well. At the weekends it is also open for more formal 3 course dinners, though you must book in advance.
Inside the East Pier Smokehouse, St Monans with outside deck area beyond
Beautiful St Monans harbour, viewed from East Pier
Of course it wouldn’t be a Summer holiday in the East Neuk if you didn’t go to the beach so no. 4 on my list is beaches, particularly Kingsbarns and Elie beaches.
Elie beach – very popular for watersports
Another Summer highlight in Scotland is strawberries, which brings me to no.5 on my list – Strawberry hill, otherwise known as Allanhill Farm. Children are guaranteed to love all the outdoor Summer holiday fun on offer here, including giant straw bale to climb, fort, farm animals, tractors to sit in, swings and sandpit – all free. The strawberries themselves are incredibly delicious and there are lots of strawberry-themed foodie delights in the cute country farm shop and tearoom – don’t miss the strawberry tarts if you have a sweet tooth. The views down the hill to St Andrews are also very special.
Is it a straw bale or a climbing frame? It’s both!
On the family holiday highlights for some of our recent guests and no.6 on my list is Sunday sundaes, slurped while strolling around sunny streets. Jannetta’s ice cream emporium in St Andrews is all pretty and shiny after its recent refurb and open until 10pm, making it ideal for a takeaway-and-walk dessert after dining in one of St Andrews’ many excellent restaurants. The hard part is deciding which flavour you want as there are so many to choose from – I personally couldn’t resist the charms of the Nutella which was a chocolately, nutty, continental scoop of awesomeness. Quite different to Jannetta’s is the Ice Cream Shop in Pittenweem – it’s a proper traditional sweet shop, a piece of nostalgia for times gone by – and I highly recommend buying a cone of their Peaches ‘n’ Cream ice cream and walking around pretty Pittenweem with it. Yum! (Also when combined with a walk ice cream is calorie neutral surely?!)
Peaches ‘n’ cream ice cream, The Ice Cream Shop, Pittenweem
Finally no.7 on my list is all about Summer adventures for the little ones at Craigtoun Country Park, St Andrews. Just outside St Andrews you’ll find Craigtoun Country Park which has been much loved by families for over 50 years. Mini ENB loved having a picnic on the grass by the boating lake and taking a ride on the “Rio Grande Railway”. Lots of families were enjoying taking a pedalo or rowing boat out round the lake, past elegant swans and a fairytale castle-like structure. For older children the adventure play park looked pretty cool and other attractions are the tractor ride, bouncy castle, putting green, crazy golf, glasshouses and even geocaching. Well worth a visit with the wee ones.
Boating lake, Craigtoun Country Park
The Rio Grande, Craigtoun Country Park
So there are my 7 highlights from a magical Summer family holiday in the East Neuk and St Andrews – already looking forward to doing it all again in Summer 2016!
Visitors to the East Neuk of Fife have long benefited from a pretty fabulous day trip by boat to the Isle of May, in the middle of the Firth of Forth (read all about it in my blog). However it wasn’t possible, unless you chartered your own boat, to get all the way across to the other side of the Forth by boat. Well now you can! Summer boat trips are now running from Anstruther in the East Neuk of Fife to North Berwick in East Lothian, linking two great coastal towns on either side of the Forth. The maiden voyage sailed on Friday 7 August 2015 and seems to have been a great success.
As Seafari Adventures Forth, who run the service, say, the route follows the centuries old Pilgrims route for worshippers heading to and from St Andrews. It also links together two of Scotland’s greatest golfing locations, the home of golf in St Andrews and the ‘Golf Coast’ in East Lothian.
Here are the details:
- Website: www.seafari-edinburgh.co.uk
- Journey time: approximately 45 minutes
- Boat: the catamaran ‘Seafari Explorer’ which is licensed to carry 55 passengers. More about the boat
- Luggage: Bike racks are being fitted on board so the boat can carry bicycles for those wishing to complete a great ’round forth’ day trip, or for those heading on longer routes North or South. Bikes and golf clubs are carried free of charge.
- Sailing times: these differ slightly each day due to the tides but generally the outbound trip from North Berwick departs at 09:30 and then departs Anstruther at 10:30. The return trips are at 18:00 (North Berwick) and 19:00 (Anstruther) This means that passengers have the whole day to explore ‘the other side of the river’ before returning home again. Timetable
- Cost: £25 return for adults, £20 concession, £15 child (free for under 3s) Book online
On the voyage you may see all manner of wildlife from puffins, diving gannets, eider ducks and seals to more elusive whales and dolphins. Keep your eyes peeled, with the help of the crew! Landmarks to enjoy on the way include the Isle of May and its numerous lighthouses, Bass Rock, Berwick Law and lots to see further afield if visibility is good such as Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat.
When you get to North Berwick you can enjoy the lovely beach, golf courses, harbour, Scottish Seabird Centre (with cameras to view the wildlife on Bass Rock, the Isle of May etc.), Museum of Flight and excellent boutique shops, bars, cafes and restaurants. More tourist information
Beach and view to Bass Rock, North Berwick
Anstruther harbour
Visitors coming the other way to Anstruther will be able to enjoy the harbour, beach and quaint village, Scottish Fisheries Museum, award-winning fish and chips, gift shops, cafes and restaurants, golf courses and walking the Fife Coastal Path e.g. to Pittenweem or Crail.
All aboard me hearties!
As Crail Food Festival-goers know, the East Neuk of Fife punches well above its weight for production of wonderful food. In terms of drink, until recently you had to go further afield. Thankfully that has all changed with the opening in December last year of the Kingsbarns Distillery. The East Neuk is now well and truly on the food AND drink map with what will be its first whisky now in production!…
Read the rest of my article for the Crail Food Festival 2015 and find out what to expect on a visit to what is now Rose Cottage’s closest tourist attraction. Also don’t forget to check out the Festival on 12-14 June 2015 for lots of foodie fun!
Whisky tasting with Douglas Clement, tour at Kingsbarns Distillery
