“I’m by no means happier than once I’m writing.”
~ Ed Hood, as spoken to Martin Williamson from the passenger seat, using alongside a degree path on the Excursion de France.
Pricey Readers – Our loved colleague and good friend Ed Hood suffered a major stroke in February. We don’t be expecting Ed will make it again into our bunch, so we’ve began a GoFundMe web page to assist Ed along with his long run. Learn the whole put up right here – and please imagine donating.
** Click on this hyperlink to donate to the GoFundMe web page to assist Ed **
We’ll be posting a number of Ed’s paintings from the previous 16 years, as a result of nice story-telling by no means will get outdated.
Ed’s Native E-Motorcycle Gravel Rambles: Our guy within the wilds of Scotland, Ed Hood, has been out on his native ‘off street’ routes with Barney, his Ribble gravel e-Motorcycle once more. He is taking up the journey from MacDuff Fort and heads towards the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, the actual Robinson Crusoe.
# You’ll be able to see Ed’s first E-Motorcycle path HERE and his 2nd E-Motorcycle path HERE. #
The costal trail at daybreak
With the candy odor of ‘ganja’ wafting out of the home windows of a minimum of two of the Dysart Prime Side road apartments and into my nostrils, Barney Ribble and I activate for the Fife Coastal Trail over again. The final time we headed east we completed up at MacDuff Fort so we’ll pick out it up there.
West Wemyss sea mine memorial
However ahead of we do, we’ll forestall off at West Wemyss for a memorial that I handiest not too long ago spotted. It’s in reminiscence of the 5 native males who, in January 1941 went out to stop a sea mine which had damaged loose from its moorings from drifting in opposition to the village however unfortunately misplaced their lives when the tool exploded. Incidents like this weren’t reported within the warfare time press for worry of, ‘destructive civilian morale.’
Wemyss Non-public Railway
Simply throughout the way in which from MacDuff Fort up at the major street is a reminder of the times when South Fife used to be on the middle of the Scottish coal business. The Wemyss circle of relatives invested closely in collieries and their very own railways to move the black gold from the pit head to the docks at Methil – thousands and thousands of kilos price of the stuff. From East Wemyss the Coastal Trail follows the flat and rapid line of the outdated crimson gravelled tram line to Buckhaven. In my lack of know-how I assumed that the identify got here from one thing to do with deer – as in ‘dollar’ and ‘hind,’ which is what us locals name town – ‘Buckhind.’ However it in fact comes from Norse, a ‘hyne’ used to be a haven between the rocks the place boats might be safely hauled ashore and ‘dollar’ intended to ‘roar.’
Buckhaven in historical past
And there’s a reference to the biking Heartland of Belgium in that Flemish refugees, escaping non secular persecution settled right here within the sixteenth century. Buckhaven used to have glorious seashores however as with Dysart seashores and the Frances Colliery, ‘redd’ from the lengthy long gone Wellesley Colliery put paid to the golden sand.
Buckhaven sea mine plaque
The trail ‘is going city’ via Buckhaven however now not ahead of a reminder of every other 1941 sea mine tragedy, this time 8 deficient souls misplaced their lives to one of the crucial devilish units.
Robert Dunsire
On the front to Toll Park the place your adventure throughout the city begins there’s a memorial to one of the crucial the city’s most renowned sons, Robert Dunsire who used to be awarded the Victoria Move for bravery in 1915, rescuing two comrades from no guy’s land, wearing them on his again to protection beneath heavy enemy fireplace. ‘They didn’t weigh any longer than a sack of coal,’ defined ex-miner Dunsire; unfortunately, he didn’t live to tell the tale the struggle.
Fabrication Backyard
The place the outdated Wellesley Colliery stood is now a parking lot, overlooking the massive fabrication backyard, it was oil comparable works however wind farms are the item now. There’s no plaque to mark the web site of a pit which gave employment to a couple 1,500 males. The Wellesley canteen used to be open to public and at the college summer time vacations again within the early 60’s once I used to move out with my dad in his wee works van we’d forestall in there for sausage rolls and tea at knock down costs – lifestyles used to be more practical then.
The Swan
Simply alongside from the web site of the Wellesley is the previous Swan Resort, the Swan is the emblem of the rich Wemyss circle of relatives who owned lots of the native pits and railways ahead of nationalisation. There’s a steep brae down from the Swan to Decrease Methil; considered one of Dave’s paintings pals reckoned there wasn’t a person alive may just journey a motorbike up that brae! He’d clearly by no means heard of the ones 60 kg. Colombian boys, albeit I needed to stroll it one time when Barney’s battery died on me.
Bawbee Bridge
On the east finish of Buckhaven and Methil is the Bawbee Bridge, crossing which takes you into Leven, a onetime Mecca for Glasgow vacation makers. It’s known as the Bawbee Bridge as a result of a Bawbee used to be an outdated Scottish coin and that used to be the fare the ferryman used to rate to row passengers around the River Leven within the days ahead of there used to be a bridge. The river rises in Loch Leven, which in a shocking feat of Victorian engineering used to be decreased by way of some 4 toes, sluice gates put in and the river ‘straightened’ to offer a constant waft of water for the 2 dozen paper and textile generators alongside the banks.
Milk Race
Leven Promenade used to be the scene of Excursion of the Kingdom finishes within the 90’s and Scottish Milk Race finishes again within the 70’s; within the 1975 version Dave and I have been situated at the Stanin’ Stane Street, the lengthy, instantly undulating street which heads east into Leven from Kirkcaldy. On the head of affairs used to be that overdue, nice, stocky undergo of a person, Ryszard Szurkowski of Poland, glued to his wheel and making an attempt in useless to get some safe haven from the squat type of Szurkowski used to be large Phil Griffiths. Phil used to be all the time fast witted with masses to mention – however now not that day, Szurkowski had him at the rack, en path but every other degree victory.
Polish paratrooper memorial
Leven is not any stranger to Poles although, the first Impartial Polish Paratroop Brigade educated there ahead of their involvement within the crisis that used to be Arnhem.
Sand dunes
Proceeding previous Leven takes you into the sand dunes which separate Lundin Hyperlinks golfing path from the seaside. There’s a lot of it rideable; that might be ‘it all’ for those who have been Freddy Maertens and the Flandria boys again within the 70’s – however now not for those who’re 67 years-old, even with an electrical motor within the rear hub. And in terms of the motor; some chap on FaceBook used to be sounding off that ‘e Motorcycles’ are a curse, all I will say is that it’s a pleasure to get to the highest of the village and to not have to forestall and faux I’m taking a look at my cell phone till the ache in my hip eases.
Anti-tank blocks
In not unusual with many seashores in East Scotland, Lundin Hyperlinks has concrete block anti-tank defences to thwart possible International Struggle Two German landings; albeit it’s so much additional around the chilly North Sea than it’s around the English Channel.
Sea struggle portray
Should you undertaking inland off the trail to Higher Largo you’ll be able to nonetheless see the canal dug by way of native legend Sir Andrew Wooden from his house to the native church so he may just commute by way of barge to the Sunday provider. It’s been mentioned it is a fantasy, however because the well-known photographer, Robert Capa as soon as mentioned; ‘by no means let the reality stand in the way in which of a excellent tale!’ What’s no fantasy is that Wooden two times defeated awesome English forces in sea battles within the Firth of Forth in 1488/9 and used to be referred to as, ‘Scotland’s Nelson.’
Artist’s gate
Lundin Hyperlinks runs into Decrease Largo previous the quirky and beautiful gate of native artist Alan Faulds.
Alexander Selkirk
Adventure’s finish for this secteur is on the Alexander Selkirk birthplace statue, the foundation for Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe.’ There are two variations of why the Scot ended up on Fernandez cluster off the coast of Chile; one is that he may just see that the send he used to be aboard, the Cinque Ports, used to be a ‘demise send’ and doomed so he requested to be put ashore. The opposite is that he used to be a cantankerous fellow who his shipmates deposited there to eliminate his consistent dangerous tempers.
Subsequent time we’ll cross west once more. . .
Steps at the coastal trail – A part of Ed’s determine. . .
# You’ll be able to examine Ed’s adventure from time trial motorcycle to Ribble e-Motorcycle HERE. #
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