Anstruther

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If, for some unfathomable reason, you failed to notice that Anstruther sits by the sea, you would soon be reminded by the plethora of circular blue plaques attached to buildings where famous sailors and captains of ships were born. I don't think I've ever seen quite so many blue plaques. There must be something in the seafood at Anstruther to give rise to so many famous folk. And they're not all sea-going types. There are ministers and poets and all sorts, all having in common some trait that marked them out as being a cut above their fellow man and worthy of a blue plaque long after they were gone. In fact, amongst all the entertaining things available to visitors in Anstruther it is a simple stroll through the town's little lanes doing nothing more taxing than reading the blue plaques that somehow brings the most pleasure. Of all Fife's East Neuk towns, it is Anstruther that feels more like a popular seaside resort, almost Blackpoolish in nature. There are fish and chip shops and ice-cream parlours aplenty, and one senses that at the height of summer the place is probably choc-a-bloc with folk ambling slowly around eating stuff. Indeed, in some businesses in the town I caught small instinctive feelings of either weariness or wariness from those within. It is something that you sometimes come upon when in places that see too many visitors, like some sort of sensory overload at having to witness so many ice-creams being licked. So, when you go, do what few others do, and just look at the blue plaques. It's free, and guaranteed to give you a stiff neck.