Apparently, today, Lower Largo is all the go. According to a recent edition of The Sunday Times the Fife fishing village has been named one of the best in the UK. One of just five villages in Scotland to make the list of the 50 Best Villages in the UK, as compiled by Tim Palmer. This was not the case thirty years ago when we spent a week here with our girls towards the end of our backpacking sojourn around the world. It was wonderful. We needed the isolation, the wildness, the cold. It was so cold -Jenna, Sara and I would scour the beach collecting kindling and building our raging coal fire. John played golf at the Eden course next door to St Andrews as the Dunhill Cup was on and he failed to qualify…. (Ha..ha..ha!!!) Wonderful memories.
We ate at the Crusoe Hotel. The tale of Robinson Crusoe was inspired by a local from Lower Largo – Alexander Selkirk- and hence Crusoe Hotel. Anyhow a fellow diner overheard us talking, picked us as Australian travellers and asked if we knew of the Pittenweem Arts Festival which began that day. Of course we didn’t have a clue but decided to take her advice and visit the quaint harbour town just a few minutes further north.
Thousands of visitors in cars, descended on the village but were firstly corralled into lines on the town’s massive sporting fields. It was all so organised! This had been done before! Yes – eight days in August for almost thirty years.
OMG!!! I had no preconceived ideas, but this was beyond anything I could imagine. Over a hundred artists of incredibly high calibre, exhibit their work in the village- in gardens, in halls, in shops, in studios, in friend’s houses, in tents, in rented rooms, in barns – any where they can display their wonderful talents. It was a maze of wonder, colour, imagination…delight!!
It was a challenge, even the Venue map was overwhelming. We settled on a couple of prints from a Glaswegian, Katie Littlefield. So many wonderful works on display. It was the most wonderful gallery we have ever visited.
Our car was a Suzuki Shrew. Yes I know there is no such model but she was nasty- constantly berating me, accusing me…‘YOU …are over the.. speeeed limit’, and you have to imagine this said with a very tight lower jaw and a lip curling grimace. I argued. ‘Everyone else is!’… ‘I am not..I have JUST got to 70…you can’t presume!!!!’ She gave me such grief!!! We both survived. I handed her back without a scratch. She was comfortable and economical. It was good.
It was wonderful to return to our temporary abode. It is so beautiful- homely, welcoming, so comfortable. It had been an absolutely amazing day but we were a wee bit tired. Time to chill.
Personal itineraries (Pi) 