Our last evening

Fife holiday 2026 #15

So we came to our last evening on the Fife coast - fitter, perhaps fatter (good food and plenty of coffee and cake!) and I think all of us very happy with our holiday and the lovely group we were privileged to share it with. We enjoyed dinner together in the Golf Hotel in Crail and then most of us went for a final walk around the village.

We were intrigued by the beam of sunshine finding its way through a hole in the cloud. It neatly illuminated some of the wind turbines out in the Firth of Forth. As we watched, we were suddenly treated to a fleeting burst of rainbow colours - though you couldn't really call it a rainbow and it didn't seem to have the full spectrum of colours. I've never seen this phenomenon before and I'm not sure if it has a proper title. It was really beautiful and exciting to see. 

It was a final, ephemeral gift from the Scottish coast that had provided us with a wonderful and memorable holiday - and perhaps a blessing for us too. 

Many, many thanks to all my fellow travellers, who were truly wonderful, each in their own way. Together we made a community and to be part of it was a joy.   

(Readers, if you're thinking that's the last of my holiday photos - maybe thinking 'hurrah' or maybe even thinking that's sad - be assured there are some more to come, as I extended my time away with a short trip to Dundee. I'll post those images in a while. I've a few more thematic photos to share too... so you're not yet off the hook! I'll spread them out.) 

Doubly blessed

I caught an epic double rainbow after a biblical deluge the other day. They're always so uplifting to see, a real blessing I think. The rain is welcome too, as it is topping up our depleted reservoirs quite quickly, according to the TV weatherman. 

'I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'

Genesis 9:13

(Apologies to those who've seen this twice as I initially put it on Facebook.)

A hint of a rainbow

Dramatic skies and light drizzle resulted in the faintest hint of a rainbow over Salts Mill. I did wait to see if it would come stronger but what little sunshine there was to create it disappeared behind a cloud, so eventually I continued on my way. 

I could see it again as I walked up Saltaire Road. There's something eternally joyful about rainbows (even faint ones), isn't there? 

I do also love the effect of sunlight on the stone set against a dramatic stormy sky, even when there isn't a rainbow. 

IKEA rainbow

In the process of moving house, there are some places I've been visiting far more frequently than usual. One of them is the municipal tip/recycling plant. (The guys there almost know me by name!) The other is IKEA. I had been to visit my sister and it was a long drive home, held up by congestion at roadworks on the motorway. There is a large IKEA store southwest of Leeds, just off the M62, so I decided to break the journey there, even though it wasn't long since my last visit. But there were a couple of storage items I needed and knew I could get there - and it has a café and loos. When I came out it was pouring with rain and I'd left my jacket in the car so I got soaked! There was, however, the most magnificent double rainbow I have ever seen, so near you felt you could almost touch it. So big that even my wide-angle phone could not capture more than half of it in one shot.

After the storm

Northumberland break 11

After the storm came the rainbow... and I wandered over to the other side of the harbour. There are a few small fishing vessels and some leisure craft. The fishermens' shacks made from the upturned hulls of old boats tend to feature heavily in everyone's photo records of the island. Every time I go, they are more weathered and patched and one wonders how much longer they will survive. 

There seemed to be a bit of a 'blue and yellow' thing going on. 

The rainbow and the rabbit

I wanted a walk, though initially it wasn't a promising forecast. Bolton Abbey is a good place to head on such a day, with plenty of places for coffee and lunch and a choice of scenic walks. The early morning rain soon abated, to leave a chilly but sunny day - perfect for enjoying the winter woodland and the fast-flowing River Wharfe, sated after the storms of the previous week. As I arrived at the Strid, where the river churns dramatically through a narrow gorge in the rocks, a rainbow revealed itself. At the same time I noticed the rabbit - not a real one but a patch of lichen or perhaps scraped rock on a boulder across the river. Do you see it? It put me in mind of 'Alice in Wonderland' and the White Rabbit: "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late." I didn't follow him and I wasn't late for anything... because how can you be when you're just strolling along on a Sunday morning? 

Sunshine and showers

A break in the showers urged me out to stretch my legs with a brisk walk round the park but, halfway round, another sharp shower caught me out. The light was rather beautiful and then there was a rainbow - even the hint of a double rainbow - over the New Mill.  A pot of gold on top of the tower, perhaps? 

A sudden shower

I got caught in a sudden, sharp shower. The drenching was almost worth it for the rainbow that appeared over Saltaire as the cloud passed over. 

Sadly, the green space in the foreground has recently been earmarked for housing (despite being on a very precipitous slope and only accessible by steep, narrow streets). There are efforts being made to mobilise opposition to the plans. I would be heartbroken not only to lose the green space but also the fabulous view of Salts Mill from up here.