TraceysTrek

See my whole journey and donation link at TraceysTrek.uk

Best bits: walking over the Forth Road bridge

Worst bits: hot day 25°C

Distance: 20.5 miles

The weather forecast was for extreme heat 25°C plus today and so when I woke this morning I dithered about whether or not to walk today or take today as a rest day and walk tomorrow as the temperatures drop slightly. After about 20 minutes of indecision, I decided to just get on with it. It was about an hours drive back to where we had finished yesterday where we enjoyed once more the spectacular views of the bridges over the Forth.

As Janette and I walked up the High Street at Queensferry, there was a huge queue outside Dune bakery shop it’s a shame we didn’t have time to stop and sample the goods.

The village of Queensferry is lovely with lots of little shops and beautiful painted houses.

We were soon up and on the Forth Road bridge which is now only open to public transport and taxis and so it was very quiet. There were very few cyclists and so it was a lovely walk across it with a cool breeze that was very refreshing in the heat. Halfway over I decided to do my dance because why not! We were soon over the other side looking back where we had come from.

Heather was waiting for us in the Deep Sea World where we were kindly allowed in to the café for refreshments. While we were there, it was feeding time for the seals so we managed to get a sneaky look at that too.

Today was my first day on the Fife coastal path, which I will remain on for the rest of next week. It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.

Unfortunately, the Forth bridges were soon out of you so I had to say my goodbyes to them for now. The initial part of the path was lined with trees giving some shade, thankfully.

I saw the top of the new Road Bridge poking out from behind the hill. It was gloriously peaceful with just the sounds of the gulls.

Then amongst the beautiful scenery this appeared. A huge scrap metal terminal. It’s where things go to die to become reincarnated have a new life.

All of a sudden just as I was walking past the Heritage viewpoint, the amazing views disappeared as a sea fret came in. It brought with it a cold chill. Then about an hour later almost as quickly as it arrived it disappeared leaving behind a very hot cloudless sky.

Dalgetty bay has some high-quality new housing developments. With gorgeous communal gardens alongside the coast path.

Further along gone was the sand and hello mudflats where the residents were gulls.

At one point I had a great view of freshly cut hay bales drying in the sun. This is one of my favourite sights as it reminds me of some of the long distance walks Angela and I did with friends before we had children.

After about 9 miles, I started to feel a little twinge on one of my feet and so at the first opportunity I sat down and did a quick repair. I also took the opportunity to cool down and rehydrate as I had another 3 miles before I would be meeting Heather and Janette for lunch.

Janette had managed to reserve a table at the café and I arrived just before the kitchen closed. We ate excellent Panini‘s and Heather spoke to lots of people. She’s really getting the hang of this now and was even showing people the map.

As we came out of the café around 4 pm, the sun was burning down and it was the hottest it had been all day. I walked down to the beach and around the little harbour which looked beautiful in the sunshine with the sun glistening on the sea. There was still a strange bank of mist hanging over the high ground on the opposite side of the Forth.

Silversands Beach was absolutely mobbed. There wasn’t a single space on it anywhere people and were sitting on the grass and in the park next to it.

Burntisland was also jumping with a huge fun fair. So much noise and people. The tide was in but people were still making the most of it. Looking at the red skinned sunburnt people there is going to be to a need for an aftersun slick here tonight.

I was desperate for the loo but the queue was about 30 deep. I carried on towards the leisure centre but it was closed. Fortunately as I carried on and crossed the park I found some that were open. They weren’t very clean but needs must.

The wind had really picked up for the last hour or so. The final section was at the side of a busy road but there was a wide pavement.

The mist was still hanging around on the opposite side of the Forth where I had been walking previously.

At last I arrived in Kinghorn at a pub with a fantastic view and Heather and Janette and a pint of lager shandy waiting for me. Heather liked the look of these giant globe thistles.

Last night and this morning was the closest I’ve been to home since I set off on the 1st of November. It would’ve been very easy to have popped across and seen everyone but I decided not to as I might have wanted to have stayed! But I also remember Antony and Sally saying how hard it was to pass where they lived during their trip round Britain.