Sunshine, Johnny Cash, Salt, and Smoked Fish
A visit to the East Neuk of Fife
Our long trip through Europe this summer ended where our lives started — in Scotland. A summer trip to our homeland is what got us started on our obsession with Italy a few years ago. After two weeks of rain (‘gey dreich’, as the locals say) we vowed never to spend our precious vacation days there again. But the pull of family is strong and this year we enjoyed a couple of weeks travelling around the country.
Longing for a sandy beach and perhaps even some sunshine we headed to the East Neuk of Fife, a gorgeous area of quaint fishing villages like Crail, Pittenweem, and St Monans which is not far from St Andrews, the home of golf. I last visited St Monans as a child, on one of the two holidays I ever took with my parents.
Johnny Cash — the famous ‘man in black’, singer of classics like “I Walk The Line”, “Ring of Fire” and of course that awesome cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” — also felt the familial pull of Scotland. In 1981 he made the pilgrimage to Fife, where the Cash family originated, and filmed his CBS Christmas special in the church. Some of the locals still have vivid memories of playing the glockenspiel or singing backup while Cash recorded many takes of “Silent Night”.
The church is beautiful and dates back to the 14th century with a very touching graveyard. From the grounds, you get a really beautiful view of the harbour which was filled with little jellyfish when we visited — beautiful. Old fashioned ‘creels’ — lobster pots — were stacked up in colourful piles.
We had a fabulous lunch on the other side of the harbour at the East Pier Smokehouse. In the surprisingly hot sun, it was wonderful to sit on the roof terrace and gaze out across the tranquil bay to the windmill on a nearby promontory.
Established to supply Edinburgh restaurants with smoked fish, East Pier does an amazing, laid-back but top-quality lunch of the most perfect fish and seafood served with chunky chips and a variety of delicious accompaniments. I opted for the Cullen Skink, one of my all-time favourite soups — smoked haddock and potato based, it’s comforting and nutritious. I can’t wait to go back and sample more of the menu. Book ahead though — it’s very popular!
Historically, as well as fishing, salt production was a big industry in this part of the world. In fact, so important was the production of salt that the workers, ‘salters’, were basically slaves.
That windmill I mentioned earlier? It dates back to the peak of the salt production years, in the 18th century, and was used to pump water up from the sea into the salt pans, where it was dried out by coal fires and the salt harvested. Eventually, it became uneconomical to produce salt this way in Scotland and the site became a ruin.
Recently, the production of salt has been brought back to St Monans by a young entrepreneur, Darren Peattie of the East Neuk Salt Co. and the resulting sea salt is used by Michelin-starred chefs and global foodies alike. The site, including the windmill, has also been turned into a fascinating visitor centre.
The architecture of this area is stunning, whitewashed cottages with corbel stepped roofs, paned sash windows and colourful window boxes. One of the driest, sunniest places in Scotland, the East Neuk is definitely worth a visit!
For more great travel writing check out writers like Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages and Adrienne Beaumont on Globetrotters.
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