30^th Jun 2014

The sound of diesel engines revving up on the industrial machinery was enough to wake the dead. To early to really comprehend what was going on I packed up and headed for the town centre to get some wet wipes as mine were severely depleted. There is nothing worse than running out of wet wipes when you really need them. At the local store they had a deal going, buy one get two free! They were practically giving them away. The problem was though that I was now carrying about a kilo of wet tissues. I wouldn't have minded so much if I could have used the water in some way but these had additives making the water undrinkable. Still at least I wouldn't need to replenish them any time soon.

On my way back to the coast I decided to grab a coffee and get a sneaky charge on the phone, which it really needed. I headed down to the promenade and followed it along till the end. At low tide I would normally be able to continue on my way but it was only just coming up to high tide which meant I would either have to wait or I'd have to follow the high tide alternative route. I wasn't going to wait that long for the tide to recede so opted for the high tide route. I passed under the railway and followed the road along up the hill above the railway and high above the tide. About half way up the hill I spotted a monument so decided to stop and take a closer look.

The monument was a tall obelisk with a cross on top. On the front was a depiction of a king and above that an inscription explaining that it was a memorial to the last king of Scotland who was accidentally killed nearby. I later discovered that it was king alexander 3rd and apparently he accidentally rode his horse of a cliff in the mist. A definite contender for the darwin awards.

It was quite a hike before I was able to return to the coast, leaving the road and heading down a narrow track overlooking the sea below. As I carried on I kept an eye out for whatever wild foods I could snack on as I went and after the previous days cherry pickings was hopeful for more summer fruits. There was plenty of sorrel about and the usual suspects such as nettles and dandelion. I'd quite developed a taste for sorrel as it does taste very similar to apple peel. I'd walked a fair few miles by now and the grass pollen was really playing havoc with my hay fever so it was a really pleasant surprise when I stumbled on wild strawberries growing along the path. Much smaller than the ones you get in stores or at pick your own farms they taste exactly the same and best off all are free and organically grown. I feasted as I walked, content with my gatherer skills. There wasn't much else to see until I came across the ruins of Seafield tower. Of course I had to stop and explore. That didn't take long as there wasn't much left of it. A sign nearby said it was a good place to see seals but I didn't see any. It was hot so I figured the seals were probably bathing in the cool sea so set off to Kirkcaldy along the beach I'd now found myself at. When I got closer to the town it became apparent that due to promenade repairs / rejuvenation I would have to walk round next to the road. A truck stop not far away provided me with a good excuse for a small break. I ordered a coffee and sat outside staring at the sea and watching the dark clouds on the horizon approaching. I was about half way through my coffee when it started spitting. I quickly finished off my drink and put my jacket on. Then it started hammering it down. An old 18 wheeler artic trailer parked up on the far side of the truck stop presented itself as a perfect temporary shelter. I dived underneath and took out my wet weather trousers. I sat for a moment hoping the rain would subside before carrying on. There was no point in getting drenched and risking illness. I waited for about 10 mins as the rain lifted off and set off again.

By the time I got to the other side of the town the skies were once again clear and the sun was back out. Just around the corner was Ravenscraig castle, a well kept ruin open to the public. I used this opportunity to take off my wet weather gear and wander round the castle. I must admit I have always imagined castles to be massive, but so far the castles I've found have been considerably smaller than expected.

Slinging my pack back on I set off down from the castle back to the beach below. An old set of steps at the far end providing false hope of an easy journey. Overgrown and abandoned the steps led nowhere, I had no other choice than to go back and follow the coastal path. The path followed old walls and provided an interestingly unique view through the trees of the small wood I was passing through.

The woods eventually ended and were replaced by red and yellow rocky cliffs of sandstone. Ahead a tunnel was chiselled into a cliff face blocking passage. I love tunnels and couldn't wait to see what I would find on the other side.

30^th Jun 2014

The tunnel was perfectly cut into the cliff, at the far end I could see light and with no other way to go head off towards it. When I emerged on the other side I found myself in a harbour. Now normally I would compare it to one of the many harbours I had previously visited, this harbour was very different though. Oddly shaped and split into three smaller harbours this one was very different and I found myself intrigued by the unusual shape. After pausing for a moment to take it all in I moved on through Dysart and around to the viewpoint. A huge arty piece, several upright square wooden poles brightly painted towering above the water. I sat myself down and munched on an energy bar, the crumbs falling to my feet attracting pigeons which had been perched on the roofs of nearby buildings. One pigeon ventured extremely closely, its bravery being its potential downfall. I sat very still, recipes running wild in my head. It wandered in between my legs after a tasty chocolate chip that had fallen. With one distinct rapid movement I reached down and grabbed at the neck of the pigeon, my mouth moist with the anticipation of a succulent pigeon breast reward. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough, the birds wings flapping and head ducking I missed my opportunity.

I'd decided early that day that a small wooded area just beyond Dysart would be my home for the night and after my opportunistic failure to aquire a tasty evening meal I set off to locate it.

I followed the path along the sea wall away from the village and head up a track to the clifftop. At the top there was a fence stopping the public from venturing into an unsafe place. A gate bearing the sign, enter at own risk. Perfect, I felt that as long as I didn't go too close to the edge I probably wouldn't be disturbed. I went through and followed the old path into the forest. It lead me down thirty feet before levelling out. This was a wild place and perfect for a camp. It didn't take long before I found somewhere suitable to set up the tent. Feeling quite alone but content I bed down hoping for a pleasant day the following day.

At around 3am I was woken by the sound of rain hitting the flysheet. I rolled over and went back to sleep. I'd gotten used to rain during the night and didn't let it worry me, still hoping for a reasonably decent morning.

Thankfully the rain had passed and the sun was out once more. I had breakfast and packed up camp before heading back up the cliffs following the old trail. I rejoined the path at the top which in turn led me back down passed another harbour. A little further on and I saw a quaint copse with a glorious red stained sandstone cliff for a backdrop. The cliff face was truly awesome looking and the sun hitting it through the leaves of the trees took me back to my time rock climbing in Railey, Thailand. I wondered through the copse, a perfect path winding its way through, and emerged on the other side. It would appear that a home had been chiselled into the cliff but had since been blocked off. A gorgeous mosiac had been Where the window and door once stood. After a short break of curiosity and appreciation I carried on, the path taking me through an old boat yard and back in to wild country.

The grasses were long and the path narrowed once more. To my right the sea and to my left, well a huge cave with a sign saying"dangerous cave". Awesome  I had to go in. Brick pillars had been erected to support the roof and one tunnel led to another and finally to a dead end. I carried on, content that my days exploration was satisfied.

It wasn't long before I found another cave, the day was becoming something quite unexpected. I went in of course. I had to look around. This cave was smaller than the first but was far more interesting. Chiseled square holes were all around the cave, loads of them. They certainly weren't natural phenomena and had to have served a purpose. What exactly I couldn't say for sure, but I did imagine the skulls of old pirates being stored there as a sacred pirate tomb.

It was still early in the day and I still had several miles to cover before I needed to look for a camp. I followed the path along the clifftop, ahead of me another great opportunity for exploration, the ruins of a tower or maybe better still an old castle.

I approached the ruins, surrounded by nettles and shrubs. The sun was still shining hard. I placed my bag on the floor, grabbed my head torch and went over to explore. I started by looking around the perimeter finding a small subterranean room around the back concealed by the brambles and nettles. I went in to see if it lead anywhere interesting. It was self contained with an arched roof, rubble laying on the floor. I turned to exit and climbed back through the hole I'd squeezed through to get in. I then went back to the main tower part of the ruins. The main entrance had been blocked off by an iron gate. The slats perfect for climbing to the second level which although had been bricked up, was very much accessible. Using my climbing skills I climbed the gate and used the decaying stonework to facilitate the rest of the climb.

Once inside the ruins I headed up the spiral staircase to the panoramic view at the top. It was like I was on top of the world. I then headed down to the lower level. The spiral staircase leading down below the surface passed the gate to another subterranean room. Much like the first only much bigger. Feeling extremely content with the days findings I head back up to the second floor and exited the ruins in a similar way to my entrance. This time I had to climb down though.

I left the ruins wondering what history there was behind the ancient walls and followed the path, this time I had to deviate from the clifftop and ended up walking between some fields, the undulating curves of corn looking like a scene from the children's programme teletubbies. I've had to now simply accept that you can't always get as close as you would like to the sea and attempting to quite often proves fruitless. The path eventually came out at Buckhaven. The only route I could follow was the road. Houses and a wind turbine construction site backing up to the shore line. I walked through the town and on into Leven.

30^th Jun 2014

From Leven I followed the beach which to be honest was very much like half a dozen or so beaches I'd passed along the way. A few miles hiking and I entered into the village of lower Largo. To most of you this won't mean a thing, it is however reasonably ironic to my current situation although not so dramatic. Lower largo is where an unassuming sailor was born. Alexander Selkirk was left stranded on then island of juan fernandez for four years and four months. he survived living off the land and was the inspiration for the novel by Daniel defoe, "robinson crusoe". In the village was a statue of the character, and I wanted to find it. I walked through the sleepy village passing yet another harbour as I did so. I turned a corner and BAM the most grotesque and yet strangely interesting statue hit my visual senses like a baseball bat going for a home run. I had to take a picture and post it. I must admit it wasn't what I was expecting by any stretch of the imagination. I uploaded the photo to Facebook with an appropriate explanation using the last of my phones power. I then set off up the street pondering about the unusual statue that for some reason others had been proud to talk about. Then I saw it, the actual statue, Robinson crusoe standing hard and fast looking out to sea, seeking for any sign of rescue above the front door of the cottage Selkirk was born in. Ah! Damn I'd photographed the wrong statue, oops. I looked at my phone, it had a critically low power indicator showing which meant I could make a quick call but all other operations were suspended. To say I was a little upset is a bit of an understatement, there was nothing I could do about it now I just had to keep going.

I headed out of the village and onto a long sweeping bay with a wide sandy beach. The tide was way out and I walked along next to the sea, towards a small forest that would soon be home for the night. The sand was soft in places and even softer in others, fully aware of the dangers of quick sand and fast rising tides, I made sure each step count and quickly at that.

As I approached the far end of the bay I noticed a small river running out to the sea, thankfully at low tide I was simply able to wade through ankle deep and clamber up the bank to the small pine forest that awaited me at ruddons point. I found a nice little clearing amongst the trees and cleared the peat away to level the ground out as best I could.

Once camp was made I used the last of my phones power to call jo to organise what I thought would be my final resupply. I'd massively underestimated the cost of the trek and was now down to my last weeks worth of rations and still had at least another 8 months trekking. I wasn't too concerned about that as I felt confident that my bushcraft skills and ability to survive on wild edible plants and animals would help me get through. It wasn't like when I'd started and there was nothing in season, it was now summer and the fruits should be plentiful and snaring a rabbit or squirrel was simply a case of being patient and not giving up. I was going to finish what I had started no matter what.

30^th Jun 2014

Supplies are pretty much always delivered to a post office and always arranged two or three days ahead of time. Now I checked my pack to take stock of what I had left, 1 freeze dried breakfast, a few energy bars and a packet of rice. These would have to support me for at least two full days and I'd decided to eat the breakfast that evening. After we decided where I would pick up my final rations of the trip I finished the conversation leaving jo instructions about what I wanted engraved on my headstone "here lies Adam short, Rotting In Pieces. He dared walk where angels feared to tread" I figured that about summed it up.

Well I slept really well, the peat making an extremely comfortable matress. The birds were chirping away and the sun was out. It was going to be a lovely day. I took my time packing up and set off round the point and then down onto the small sandy bay on the other side. When I reached the far side of the bay I had to follow a track that took me up onto a well worn track over the cliffs. The first corner I came round providing me with a stunning view of some unusual rock formations jutting out from the cliffs and into the sea below. Flattened hollows amongst black rugged outcrops. I followed a set of old steps chiselled out of boulders up to the top of the cliff. At the top I saw an old concrete building that looked from a distance to be an old world war two command centre. I approached the building wishing I'd still had power to take photos, negotiated a tree that had taken root in the main entrance and began to explore. There were three rooms, one small and the other two of equal size. Through a door at the far end was, well a balcony for want of a more descriptive term. Once again the views were amazing, and especially on such a bright and clear day. I sat down on my bag and decided to sketch a floor plan to best illustrate the dimensions and remind me later the layout of this find.

It wasn't the finest ex military building I'd seen, certainly not compared to the nato bunker at raf Bawdsey, but it was worthy of a quick peek. I didn't have to go far before I came across a large gun battery, now completely in ruins. The thick concrete walls laying over each other and the pit that would have housed the canon still in tact over looking a lovely and peaceful sandy bay and small town. Looking ahead I could see yet another concrete building, this one much smaller than the first and obviously a relic from the war. I guess this location was of military significance during the war.

I set off towards the building, literally inches from falling to certain death. The path cut into the cliff face well above the rocks and sea below.