With a delicious breakfast to start our day, we headed out on our way to Rosyth, next stop on the FCP (Fife Coastal Path). Since today was supposed to be a relatively short day, we decided we would start out by walking around Preston Island, just outside of Culross. Once the site of saltpans and coal shafts, it now is has been reclaimed and is the location of several lagoons, home to a variety of wildlife. The remains of the stately home of Sir Robert Preston are also visible from the footpath.
Continuing on, we stopped to see the Witches Rock, a large slab of rock under which was supposedly the body of one Lilias Adie, one of the unfortunate women who were convicted of witchcraft. The Witch’s Rock was used to determine whether a woman was a witch or not. If she drowned, she was innocent, if she survived it must prove the Devil’s hand was in it and she was, indeed, a witch. A lose-lose proposition!! This part of Fife was known for its persecution of women for witchcraft, with some 1500 dying this way between 1563 and 1769.
On to Charlestown with a stop at the war memorial, then on to Limekilns, a pretty little coastal town with a once-famous pier that is now being restored by the locals. A stop for a yummy lunch in Charlestown then on to see what is left of the Rosyth Auld Kirk. Another interesting walk through the graveyard there with headstones dating back as far as the 1600’s.
Arrived at our B&B for the night, the Three Bridges Inn in Rosyth, another lovely place to rest our weary bodies. Once we had ditched our gear we set out to find the Rosyth Doocot (dovecote) once home to some 1500 pigeons used for both meat and eggs back in the day. Following that, a walk over to explore the ruins of Rosyth Palace, which is oddly located in the midst of a big industrial area. From there on to see if we could find a place for dinner. On the recommendation of a local, we sussed out a takeaway place near to the docks, where we ended up with some very tasty Chinese food which we took back to the B&B and ate our dinner there.