Crail

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One of the many joys of travelling and being a tourist is found in visiting places you've never ever seen. It's that glorious transitional stage that comes between unfamiliarity and a grasp of what sits where and how all the streets come together. It is an exciting phase in a tourist's day, one where each turn of a corner brings great wonder and excitement as each scenic delight and ancient curiosity is revealed. In the stunningly beautiful fishing village of Crail there is probably sufficient visual stimulation to keep you smiling for the rest of your days. From a long and exceedingly wide main street, complete with a well-preserved mercat cross, narrow cobbled streets wind their leisurely way down to the harbour, as picturesque an old harbour as you will ever find with its ancient worn stone steps and a backdrop of crow-stepped gables stacked up on a steep little hill behind. Never have I seen a prettier harbour. I visited Crail over a decade ago during a long walk on The Fife Coastal Path, possibly before it was known as The Fife Coastal Path, and about all I could recall about Crail was that it had a nice harbour. I could remember nothing about where I stayed or what I ate or where I supped ale. It just had a nice harbour. And that is also one of the joys of travelling, in returning to places after many years, to renew acquaintances with places you have been, to stand on ground where once you stood, and to touch bits of a lovely brown stone harbour that once upon a time you touched.