We transit today from St. Andrews to the historic village of Culross. Joyce is feeling a little under the weather so we hang in the Yorkston’s guest lounge the until our driver arrives in the early afternoon.
Dick and I take a walk around St. Andrews and poke our heads into some of the small shops. It’s well past time for a haircut so Dick does a walk-in at a Turkish barber on the main drag. Nice, friendly people who invite myself inside as Dick is getting his cut. There’s a really friendly (to say the least) pup belonging to the owners who wants nothing more than to get in a lap. Anybody’s lap. It’s Dick’s until the chair opens, then mine. The cut is great – Dick had what is likely the wife and she’s very skilled. Won’t need a another cut for a while though! Really short
It’s getting close to lunch and we manage to score an inside table at the very crowded ‘Criterion’. The Criterion is the home of the famous ‘Cri Pie’, a steak and ale pie. They are enormous. Out of caution, we decide to split one, wise choice. Excellent, probably the best one ever eaten, and I consider myself a small authority on steak and ale pies. We head back to the Yorkston, tidy up and wait for our driver who is spot on time. We were worried about the vehicle size, but he brings a van, and we transit to Culross.
We are staying at ‘The Stay’ B&B (also known as the ‘Old Schoolhouse’) – Elaine and Charlie are our hosts. It is a beautiful home that has just 2 guest rooms so we have the place to ourselves. It was previously the private home of Dougie Vipond, the drummer for the 1985 Scottish pop band ‘Deacon Blue’ until they bought it 3 years ago. Dick has been working with Elaine since 2019 arranging and rearranging bookings so our meeting is fun.
Culross is a very small village situated on the Firth of Forth and is known as one of the most perfectly preserved villages in the UK. It has become extremely popular as it was the base for filming the first several seasons of Outlander. Apparently, they will be returning in several months to film another season here.
An abbey was built here in 1217 and the town has been inhabited since. We walked up a very uneven, steep cobblestone street to the abbey and castle ruins. Almost abandoned in the late1800’s, during the 20th century, it became recognized that Culross contained many unique historical buildings and the National Trust for Scotland has been working on their preservation and restoration since the 1930s.
Elaine managed to secure us a reservation at the Red Lion Inn, the only restaurant in town. Sadly, Joyce is still under the weather and stays back at the B&B.
After dinner Dick and I share a wee dram and work on our very tardy blog.
