Pillars of Hercules
Last weekend I took Jack on his first cycle camping adventure. I used our new Tern cargo bike and headed across to the Pillars of Hercules campsite in Fife. We started at the Meadows and cycled out via Crammond to Queensferry. We stopped at the bridges viewing platform for photos.
We headed straight up into Fife. We stopped at the Scottish Water-Ski center for lunch, at Townhill just north of Dunfermline We continued through Kinross and around Loch Leven following the Eurovelo 12 route. We paused at Loch Leven Larder for a drink and a play at their playpark.
We arrived a little later than I expected. I had range-anxiety with the ebike battery, so hadn’t used all the power. I was unsure if charging was available at the campsite (it was), so had hoped to end with ~50% battery as insurance. We pitched up the tent, then headed to the Railway Tavern in Strathmiglo for some dinner. It was standard pub fare, but we were both pretty hungry. Back at the campsite as a wee treat before bed we made some hot chocolate on our stove.
We slept well, and woke up to a bit of rain. The campsite had tables and chairs inside a poly-tunnel, so we ate breakfast there, and I made some coffee. Birds were fluttering around, and a Robin came down and pinched some of Jack’s weetabix.
We set off, heading up over the Lomond Hills (using a fair amount of battery!), and then down towards Glenrothes and the coast. We had a full day, so stopped at a lot of playgrounds on the way. It’s so nice to be able to spend a day wandering with Jack with no time pressure.
We called in at Merchants House Cafe in Kirkcaldy for lunch, some simple sandwiches in Polish bread.
The rest of the ride was on roads through cornfields, then along the coast until we rejoined the route out in Inverkeithing. In retrospect I wouldn’t ride some of the coastal route on a cargo bike (or with a buggy) again, as there were rocks and tree roots, plus unsuitable slopes. There were several points that I decided to hike-a-bike rather than riding. It’s a shame for a route on the National Cycle Network.
As we got back to the bridges ominious clouds appeared, so we hurried home down the Roseburn Path. What a great wee trip! I’ve posted a (slightly adjusted, due to hike-a-bike sections) route to Komoot:
