Monday 21 October 2024--It's not unusual to leave a place with a sense that there are things left undone. Sometimes it's a feeling of regret, because I don't know if I'll be back. Other times it's a matter of looking forward to the next visit. Killin is somewhere in between, or maybe off to the side. I think we'll be back, and there will be things to do. But I can't say I feel any great urgency about it.

We're headed to Anstruther, on the Fife coast, and St Andrews, which Ron has not been to, is a logical stop. The village of Abernethy is on the way, so we stop there for a look at the round tower. Round towers are mostly an Irish thing; this is one of only two in Scotland (the other in Brechin). The date of this one is uncertain--1100, give or take a century. A relatively crude Pictish symbol stone mounted at the base of it was found in the foundation of a nearby house.

[I find out later that keys to the locked door to the tower are kept in a nearby tearoom and at the local museum. Apparently there are fine views from the top.]

We go for a pint at the St Andrews Brewing Company, which wasn't here in 2009. I've made a point of wearing my t-shirt from the St Andrews Brewing Company of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. It gets a smile from the barmaid. I want to buy a shirt here to wear at the other place, but there are none in stock.

We arrive in Anstruther and check in at The Waterfront, which is actually on the waterfront. (Not all hotels are so honestly named.) The restaurant downstairs looks really nice, but we dine this evening at sister property The Bank, because it has a more pub-like atmosphere and (most important) serves real ale. After dinner, we find more proper pints at the Ship Tavern, along with a lovely dram from the nearby Kingsbarns Distillery. For the first time on the trip, I stay up fairly late. It's only taken me ten days to shake jet lag.