Category Archives: Fife Fantasy

Diana’s Virtual Tour of the Kingdom of Fife ~ Lower Largo

For each of my books I have written virtual tours of the places which have inspired me to write, and Fife is no exception. My tour will be in chronological order rather then geographical, as I discover, explore and come to love this region of the UK.

DSCN4412.JPGI will begin in Lower Largo.

I was visiting my husband one weekend. He was commuting from Bedfordshire to Dunfermline each week and so I flew up to join him.

On the Saturday we went for out a drive.

‘Let’s have a look down there,’ I said, when I noticed a ‘to the beach’ sign from the main road along the coast. It was time for coffee anyway. There we stumbled upon a magical place, reminiscent of Cornwall years ago, before the floods of tourists descended. It was early May in 2013.

DSCN4411.JPGWe stood gazing along the beach for a while towards the peninsula, which pointed out towards North Berwick on the south coast of The Forth. Rocks and sand stretched for what appeared to be miles into the distance. Behind us was a small harbour, The Crusoe Inn Hotel and a viaduct which framed quaint cottages, like a backdrop for an Agatha Christie movie.

We breathed in deeply, hubby after a week’s rewarding but challenging work, and me after a stressful time at college and delayed flights the previous evening. A welcoming coffee at The Crusoe next revealed Lower DSCN4410Largo’s claim to fame as the birth place of the real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk. Old ‘letters’ adorn the walls of the hotel and you can even ‘walk’ on a footprint of the man himself.

I was so charmed by all of this, my natural curiosity inspired, and thus I began my first research into the history of Fife, the Kingdom I now call home.

(Author Diana Jackson loves researching social history and this inspires her writing. Her latest release ‘The Healing Paths of Fife’, a fantasy / memoir, reflects her growing love for the Kingdom of Fife.)

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Filed under Fife, Fife Fantasy, Research, Scotland, The Healing Paths of Fife, Virtual tour of Fife

Paperback Book Launch ~ The Healing Paths of Fife

DSCN3925[1]Although ‘The Healing Paths of Fife’ came out on kindle in April, it has only just been launched as a paperback to be available for order though any good bookshop.

Available through:

Waterstones                          Amazon UK                        Amazon.com

To celebrate its conception it could not be more fitting but to hold my first public sale at Kinghorn in Bloom Christmas Fair

At Kinghorn Church Hall

                                                  On Saturday 11th November

                                                From 10am to 12.30pm.

Do pop in and have a chat, buy a signed copy and browse the other lovely stalls.

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Filed under Events, Fife, Fife Fantasy

Queensferry Crossing Experience in Photos

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The Queensferry Crossing, Scotland

We were fortunate to be allocated passes to walk over the Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh last Sunday. Catching the train from Kinghorn and alighting at Inverkeithing, we had a short walk to Ferry Toll, where we were security checked andDSCN4190 bused to the bridge. The organisation was slick, cheerful and efficient and reminiscent of The Olympics (or The Commonwealth Games)

We were given only an hour to walk the 1.7 miles. This was perfect to include regular pauses to take photos and enjoy The Queensferry Crossing, the old Forth Road Bridge and The Forth Bridge, the iconic rail bridge admired by thousands over two centuries.

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Here’s the rail bridge appearing Nessie – like through the gaps in the wind shielding glass; a photo which will never again be taken except from a moving vehicle.

 

At intervals information boards gave us fascinating facts and figures about the bridgeDSCN4227 and its construction and also historical background. On this one we were told that, whilst clearing the site, signs of the oldest dwellings in Scotland were discovered.

The views of the other bridges wowed us by their grace and symmetry.

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The glimmers of sunlight through the clouds enhanced the beauty of The Queensferry Crossing itself. I couldn’t help but wonder, half way across, what Queen Margaret (or St Margaret (1045-1093) would have thought of it all, since she instigated the first ferry route for pilgrims over the Firth of Forth, which existed until the first road bridge was opened in 1964.

(Diana Jackson is the author of ‘The Healing Paths of Fife’ a fantasy memoir of her walk along the Fife Coastal Path)

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Filed under Events, Fife, Fife Fantasy