Greetings travellers!
Welcome to the picturesque coastal village of St Monans here on the Fife Coastal path.
On Saturday afternoon I took a trip out here to photograph the "Auld Kirk" which is old Scots dialect for Old Church.
There is some myth and legend surrounding the reason the church was build so close to the sea. As the legend goes King David II survived a shipwreck in the Forth estuary in the mid 14th centaury around 1362.
After swimming to shore the king dragged himself out of the sea on to the rocks where the church now stands.
Before the church was built there was a shrine to St Monanance in the area where the church now stands.Not much about this Saint is known other than he was killed by invading danes in 875.
Much like the other fishing villages along this stretch of coast many of these houses date back to the 17th century.
With spring in full bloom many of the houses have beautifully coloured windowsill planters on display.
I spotted this cat outside one of the houses, looks like its getting ready to pounce....
To get to the church we stroll down past the old houses towards the harbour...
As we pass the harbour I manage to take a few nice shots of the boats and their reflections in the water.
Towards the far end of the harbour a rather curious sight emerges....rows of colourful wellington boots...
This is The wellington boot garden...
"If it wisnae fur yer wellies
Where wud you be?
You'd be in the hospital
Or in firmary
Cause you wid hive a dose o the flu
Or even plurasie
If it wissne fur yer feet in yer wellies!"
That is the first verse of a song by the legendary Scottish comedian Billy Connolly. I'm sure the song helped inspire the idea of making a garden from old boots.
Placed among old lobster pots and decorated with colourful design's and sea shells dozens of pairs of boots make up this unique little garden.
I love these old time photographs...
Just a short walk from the wellington garden we see the old church.
A little stone bridge crosses the burn that runs passed the church and out to sea...
Before heading into the churchyard I noticed this old water hydrant and thought it might make for an interesting composition to take a shot from this angle.
Looking out to sea past some very old headstones...
The church doors and windows allow for some very nice compositions...
I was lucky to get beautiful blue skies as my backdrop...
It is unfortunate this church doesn't have any stained glass windows. The stonework on the window frames is beautifully done.
Many elegant headstone's adorn the churchyard.
Time to head back into town passed some lovely houses near the church...
Before heading home I wander down to the beach...
To get a couple of shots of this old windwmill...
And to collect some treasures of the sea :)
That's all folks ,I hope you enjoy this little wander through another historic village on the Fife Coastal path.