August adventures – festival fringe, faffing in Fife, and freezing cold swims.

This post brings a story of adventure and exploration from the wonderful city of Edinburgh, and the not-so-touristy haven of Fife. I’m lucky to have friends who live in the city, yet last visited them in 2018! Where that time has gone I do not know, but I will be back to this wonderful city and country sooner than that, next time!

August is the Festival Fringe season in Edinburgh. There’s an interesting read on this years festival here. I’m not an expert but, like many I’m sure, I was pleased to see it’s return – even on a smaller scale.

I was able to catch the tail end of a few shows. I’ll mention Myra’s Story – an emotional rollercoaster of a play, delivered by a solo actress, which bought tears to the eyes, standing ovations, and the prestigious Bobby award.

And, on the other end of the show spectrum, I stumbled across Police Cops – badass be thy name – a genuinely funny-semi-improvised show based on a 90’s rave-scene vampire-slaying action. Random, but hilarious!

But, this adventure wasn’t all about the festival.

I was road tripping in the trusty ‘van, and keen to explore some of the local areas. My hosts Will and Laura suggested a few ideas around Fife – a historic county, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. Basically, above Edinburgh and below Dundee.

Often skipped by tourists rushing further north, or along the west coast, I was keen to explore something with a local feel. Their recommendations first took me up the West and East Lomond hills which offered vistas across some of Scotlands more agricultural land.

Next, it was along the coast to explore the plentiful tidal swimming pools, dotted amongst the villages and towns. These were brilliant, being topped up by the ocean at each tide. But they were cold. Scottish north sea cold!

Also worth a mention was Tentsmuir forest. Not only for the forest trails, sand dunes, and abundance of wildlife, but also the Salt and Pine Crepé van. The stewed apple and cinnamon biscoff is well recommended!

Aside from the activities, I enjoyed the slow pace of life on Fife. Other than the iconic St. Andrews, famous for it’s golf course and university, I didn’t get the sense of a hectic tourist drive.

Instead, I was met with locals on holiday, opportunities for relaxed Stand up Paddle boarding, campervan dwellers looking for an easy existence, and a myriad of female wild swimmers, in the 60’s, looking for their next opportunity for cold water exposure…