Elie

The forecast was too good to waste so we had a Post-Fun-Friday on a Monday with a visit to Elie in Fife. Even better, the tide was low, giving us most of the day to potter on the shore.

But first, an early lunch at Salty Dog cafe just near the Harbour master's office, where my 'scrambled egg roll'  was more like an omelette with a roll round it, and simply delicious, with a very nice latte. This was followed by a walk along the shore to Ruby Beach. so named for the orange-red crystals found there, actually pyrope garnet, from the specific rocks - not that we found any - to the lighthouse.

Here we watched sandwich terns diving for fish, in competition with Razorbills (or were they guillemots? My phone cannot focus well enough at that distance.) chasing the same fish. We had to admire their skill as the area in which they dived was littered with large rocks to be avoided.

Lady's Tower appeared to be a copy of Old John Tower in Bradgate Park, like a beer tankard but closer up reveals a round tower with three windows, looking north, south and west over the sea. From here the main photo was taken of a fishing boat heading out to sea with North Berwick Law in the distance, with optional gull in passing. Extra of the lighthouse, through the south window.

The significance of this area is that it is the site of an extinct volcanic vent, one of at least hundred in East Fife, from 300,000,000 years ago. The surface is a mix of flattened and rippling rock with inclusions of rock of sizes between small pebble and large boulder, created from explosive eruptions and pyroclastic flow of ash, gas and rock. It leaves the impression of an alien landscape, all in today's sunshine.

The top path took us back to the car, past the free carpark with its mass of motorhomes, back to the Salty Dog for an ice cream, eaten at a picnic table overlooking the bay. After a quick look at the viewpoint it was time to head home, late enough for the rush hour traffic to have melted away.

Elie is such a nice place, we must return before too long.