Sandcastle Cottage http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk Sat, 21 May 2011 15:50:09 +0000 en 1.1 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk 1adminkeithd02@googlemail.com 2susansusan@2crail.com http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Crail in January http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2005/12/crail-in-january/ Sun, 18 Dec 2005 21:28:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2005/12/18/crail-in-january/
In January 2005 we had a wonderful day on Roome Bay beach, Crail, Fife. It was cold and the sun was low in the sky, but the air was clear and we took some great photographs of the cliffs at the end of Roome Bay in Crail. Can you believe this is Scotland in January and not Arizona in mid summer?]]>
34 2005-12-18 21:28:00 2005-12-18 21:28:00 open open crail-in-january publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_author blogger_blog blogger_permalink _edit_last
Marketing short breaks near St Andrews http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/marketing-short-breaks-near-st-andrews/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:10:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/marketing-short-breaks-near-st-andrews/ Our company, Sandcastle Holidays (Scotland) Ltd is going to try to improve the number of days which our cottage, Sandcastle Cottage, Crail, Fife is let each year.

The reasons for this are:

* Fife is a wonderful part of the world. We'd like to share its delights with more people.
* Sandcastle Cottage is a great base for holidays but we've focused on the summer weekly lettting market, and have neglected other opportunities to let the cottage all
year round.
* Although we bought the cottage for a number of not very specific reasons back in 1992, we need to make sure that the cottage pays its way and that we generate enough return to pay for improvements which will ensure that our standards are high and guests want to come back year after year.

We're a small business and want to use all the tools which the internet has available to us to promote our business.

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36 2006-09-23 10:10:00 2006-09-23 09:10:00 open open marketing-short-breaks-near-st-andrews publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
Golfing Holidays and Short Breaks in Crail http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/golfing-holidays-and-short-breaks-in-crail/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:50:21 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=66 Sandcastle Cottage back in 1992, my husband and my father both put their names down to join The Crail Golfing Society, and over the years both enjoyed many games on the superb links courses there. When they first joined the Society, there was only one course at the club, but in 1998 a further course - the challenging Craighead Course was added to the original Balcomie Links. Green at Balcomie Links, Crail - Winter 2009 I'm not a golfer myself, but I can recall the discussions when the Craighead Course first opened. It was challenging and many balls were lost. But in the intervening 12 years, the course has matured and developed, and both courses are a delight to play - truly a place to enjoy Scottish links golf at its finest. Recently, the Crail Golfing Society has completed the redevelopment of the Clubhouse which provides a welcoming place for members and guests to relax and relive their game over a drink or a meal. So, if you're coming to Sandcastle Cottage for a holiday or short-break, don't forget to bring your golf clubs! And if this isn't enough of a recommendation, check out these posts from fans of the courses at Crail: Read more on the Crail Golfing SocietyWebsite: http://www.crailgolfingsociety.co.uk]]> 66 2010-03-09 22:50:21 2010-03-09 22:50:21 open open golfing-holidays-and-short-breaks-in-crail publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last thesis_description thesis_keywords Crail Golfing Society - Visit to the Clubhouse http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/crail-golfing-society-visit-to-the-clubhouse/ Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:06:44 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=84 Crail Golfing Society[/caption] This week I was honoured to have the opportunity to visit Crail Golfing Society's new Clubhouse, opened last year. I attended a meeting on 16 March 2010 at Crail Golfing Society which was an invitation to accommodation providers in the area to show them the new Clubhouse and to give a presentation about what the Club could do to work with businesses in the area. There were presentations by: Richard Clifford, Vice captain Who welcomed us to the Clubhouse which opened in mid-2009. The presentation was given The Spike Bar, where golfers can enter to relax before or after their game, whilst already wearing their 'spikes'. For non-golfers like me that was a revelation....I was wondering where they got their quirky name (thinking that spiking drinks was not a very nice thing for a golf club to do!) Crail Golfing Society welcomes 10,000 visitors per year - THAT'S AN IMPRESSIVE FIGURE!! Imagine of all those visitors were to spend some money in the village of Crail while passing through, or use Crail as a base for their trips to several local golf clubs. Graham Lennie, Golf Professional was next to present to us.  He mentioned that Tom Morris designed Balcomie Links.  The Crail Golfing Society is the 7th oldest golf club in world. Minutes of the first meeting 23th February 1786.  Gil Hanse designed Craighead Links which was opened in 1998:  he was Golf Magazine architect of the year 2009. 225th anniversary next year - quasquibicentennial of golf club - Crail Golfing Society will be celebrating, but Graham doesn't want to have to say 'quasquibicentennial' too often! One of Balcomie Links' claims to fame is that it was the first course ever to use hole liners - metal liners to protect the hole.  At the time tees were made of sand, so people took sand from holes to make tees - metal liners were designed to stop the practice. Many well known players come to play here, and all are as welcome as you will be if you want to play a round of golf at either Balcomie Links or Craighead Links.  Graham has had many famous faces in the Pro Shop at the Club.  Clint Eastwood came for a look, but didn't play and Neil Armstrong, who famously took the first steps on the moon, has played here several times.   Alan Shepard, however, was the astronaut who played golf on the moon. David Roy, Club Secretary Introduced us to Doreen Mayes who looks after bookings at Crail Golfing Society (the name behind the email address: info@crailgolfingsociety.co.uk) The golf courses at Crail - Balcomie Links and Craighead Links are a 7-day a week operation, course is open all year round - and its seaside links location means that there are very few days when it is not playable. Club relies on visitors and wants to support businesses.  The club has made books of tickets available to accommodation providers who buy a book of 10 tickets at a discount to the standard price.  They may then sell these tickets to their guests, with the option to pass on the discount if this helps to bundle attractive packages for guests. For guests who prefer to book directly with the club, there is an on-line booking system on website - you can see what tee times are available and make a booking. Tee off at 10 minute intervals both courses - this is strictly adhered to so don't be late! Accommodation providers such as hotels or B&Bs can book on behalf of guests, then guests pay on arrival at course. Few rules, but must take hat off when entering the Clubhouse and spikes are only allowed in the Spike Bar Can book ahead until 2011 at present - but will always have a good forward booking calendar available so guests can book well in advance to plan trips. If a single golfer arrives to play the club won't automatically pair singles up - should ask the club for help If a 2-ball booked won't put folks together unlike some US courses where this would be the norm. Week of British Open Championship at St Andrews means pressure on tee times and gaps may be cut to 7 or 8 minutes to speed up play during that week only. Our visit to the Crail Golfing Society clubhouse was rounded off with a tour of the excellent facilities there and a delicious buffet lunch which gave me and my companion on the visit, Giselle from Alton House, the opportunity to meet some of the other guests of the Club. We do hope that if you are staying at Sandcastle Cottage in Crail and love to play golf, you will take the opportunity to play a round or two at Crail Golfing Society.]]> 84 2010-03-20 17:06:44 2010-03-20 17:06:44 open open crail-golfing-society-visit-to-the-clubhouse publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last 4 http://blog.golfgolfcourses.com/1969/12/31/crail-golfing-society-%e2%80%93-visit-to-the-clubhouse-self-catering/ 65.182.191.41 2010-03-20 18:02:06 2010-03-20 17:02:06 1 pingback 0 0 5 http://naturalgolfswing.org/45/king-cobra-senior-driver/ 69.93.29.34 2010-03-20 21:21:32 2010-03-20 20:21:32 1 pingback 0 0 Crail Golfing Society - Battle Trophy http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/crail-golfing-society-battle-trophy/ Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:21:21 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=100 Battle Trophy[/caption] This year the Battle Trophy will be played for at Crail Golfing Society on Sunday 25 April 2010.  Sandcastle Cottage is in the village of Crail and is currently available for a short break of two, 3 or 4 nights over the weekend of the Battle Trophy at a rental of £250.  You'll find full details of our short breaks here.]]> 100 2010-03-20 17:21:21 2010-03-20 17:21:21 open open crail-golfing-society-battle-trophy publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last Crail Festival 2010 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/crail-festival-2010/ Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:25:54 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=106 Crail Festival Society's newsletter about this year's Crail Festival, which will be held from 20th - 31st July 2010. It's going under the title of Crail 700 - because in 1310 King Robert the Bruce conferred Royal Burgh status on the town of Crail. Robert the Bruce awarded the right to hold a market on a Sunday in the Marketgate, so this year's 2010 Festival will start with a Grand Opening in the very same Marketgate - 700 years on. More news to follow, but for now I can reveal that Eddi Reader will be performing in Concert in the Grande Finale of the Festival. You can find Eddi Reader on Twitter for her own updates. You heard it here first!]]> 106 2010-03-30 14:25:54 2010-03-30 14:25:54 open open crail-festival-2010 publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last Caiplie House, Crail http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/04/caiplie-house-crail/ Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:05:35 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=110 Caiplie House Crail offers evening meals for non-residents[/caption] We've been out in the big wide world of the internet finding out more about places to eat in Crail and around the East Neuk. We're pleased to confirm that Caiplie House, Crail offers evening meals to non-residents, so if you're staying at Sandcastle Cottage, you can book a meal and take a leisurely stroll there in the evening. You can find Caiplie House in Crail High Street. The owner, Finlay had this to say when we asked if he offers meals for non-residents: "Yes we do a la carte Friday and Saturday from 1st May. Thursday to Sunday in July and August. We offer dinner parties for groups of 6+ outwith these times." If you're staying with us this summer, why not give it a try and let us know how you enjoy your meal. We'll certainly be visiting when we next get a chance.]]> 110 2010-04-05 09:05:35 2010-04-05 09:05:35 open open caiplie-house-crail publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last Staying in Sandcastle Cottage September 2006 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/staying-in-sandcastle-cottage-september-2006/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 13:01:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/staying-in-sandcastle-cottage-september-2006/ As I was editing this blog an e-mail came in from the guests who stayed in the cottage from 9-16 September 2006. They had this to say: Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our stay in "Sandcastle Cottage". The cottage was very comfortable and we particularly enjoyed sitting in your lovely garden. We definitely intend to return to Crail in the future. We thought the little coastal villages were very picturesque and great for walking and watching a wide variety of sea birds and wildlife. The people in the area are very friendly and helpful and the local shops great! There was also a reminder in the e-mail that I hadn't returned their deposit yet - oops! It's on the way now...]]> 315 2006-09-23 14:01:00 2006-09-23 13:01:00 open open staying-in-sandcastle-cottage-september-2006 publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last Sandcastle Cottage-Visitors' Views http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/11/sandcastle-cottage-visitors-views/ Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:48:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/11/16/sandcastle-cottage-visitors-views/

Extracts from the Visitors' Book at Sandcastle Cottage, Crail 2006:

Richard, Sheffield - "A lovely cottage in the perfect location - all in all a wonderful holiday. Had a great time." June 06

Andrew, Annette & Fraser, Aberdeen - "Had a wonderful time with perfect weather. The garden was fab for relaxing! " June 06

Karen & Steve, Chadderton, Manchester - "Lovely comfortable cottage, picturesque village, beautiful garden. Had a great relaxing week." June 06

Charlie, Claire, Jamie & Kim, Balquhidder - "This was our first family holiday in Crail. The sun shone all week except for one day. We picked up shells, climbed on the rocks, we found the fossilised tree, we ate fish and chips in Anstruther, we visited the Deer Farm, we made sandcastles at Elie and went swimming in the sea at St Andrews. We ran our own Sports Day in the garden and played Cluedo and had a barbecue. We went shopping and won a prize at the St Andrews Aquarium for a quiz. We had a perfect time and want to come back every summer." July 06

Forrest, Marjory, Jenny, Neil & Lucy, Cambuslang - "This is our fourth annual summer holiday in Crail. There is nothing better than to wake up on the first morning and looking forward to a week of simple pleasures. We seem to relax more each year. We spent three days at Kingsbarns beach this year. The cottage is just as comfortable and ideally situated as we remembered." July 06

Nic, Craig, Katie & Gavin, Johnstone - "Third holiday - third fantastic time! The sun always seems to shine on us in Crail. With the addition of Gavin to the gang we've had even more fun. Thank you, Sandcastle!" July 06

Annan Family, Edinburgh - "Thoroughly enjoyed our 5th summer holiday at Crail. Thanks to the amazing hot and sunny weather, we have certainly brought the sand into Sandcastle Cottage! First time we've been here for the Crail Festival which we thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to Susan's tip, we joined the queue for tickets early and were duly rewarded! The girls (Sophie(5) and Emily(4)) had great fun at the Children's Centre and, as ever, on Roome Bay Beach. Very sorry to be leaving it all behind for another year." July 06

McNaughton Family, Edinburgh - "Wonderful to be in our own cottage once again! We've really appreciated the proximity to Roome Bay for paddling and trips to the park. Often we're just here in the winter so paddling's a bit cold. New places we've visited this time include Verdant Works at Dundee - a fascinating tribute to Dundee's Industrial Heritage. We'd a lovely meal at The Doll's House in St Andrews one evening with our friends and neighbours. Helen's old enough now to cycle to the shops for us, so we've had a ready and willing personal delivery service all week. First Fruits strawberries have been delicious and Ronnie at Penman's has always had a ready supply of stories, and sausages! Can't wait for our next visit." August 06

Jon & Lynne, Joe & Ruby, Chelmsford, Essex - "A lovely relaxing week with plenty of sunshine and lots of large crabs caught at Roome Bay! Ruby (4) and Joe (8) enjoyed exploring. As always the cottage has been lovely and we really like the new decor in the living room. We've enjoyed eating outside and Penman's butchers is excellent for everything. Honey Pot Cafe has lovely fresh scones, North Point in St Andrews is good and very child friendly. Kingsbarns Beach also lovely and sandy. We spent a wet afternoon in the Fisheries Museum in Anstruther and the fish and chip shop is worth a visit despite long queues. Crail Museum also worth a look. We read in the local paper that a bottle nose dolphin was spotted just off the bay in front of the caravan park in July but sadly we didn't spot anything quite so exciting! Sad to be heading home." August 06

Jackie, Chris, Sophie, Ignacius, Phillipe & Sebastian, Roquefort les Pins, France - We have had a wonderful holiday! The weather has been great. We have become experts in Scottish history and heritage having visited Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Linlithgow, Dundee, Dunfermline, St Andrews,.... The children loved crab fishing and kite flying, walks to Anstruther watching cows, pigs and caves! It was worth the long drive and driving with our big car in small country lanes..on the left! We really hope to come back!" August 06

Carol & Howard, Consett, Co. Durham & Lois & Xhevi, Northampton & Albania - "Thank you for a fab. holiday. Cannot fault the house (we have stayed in a couple of stinkers!) Very well- equipped, very comfortable and lovely to come back to at the end of the day. Enjoyed food and a few glasses of wine in the lovely garden. Shopped locally as much as we could (chicken breasts stuffed with haggis tonight from Penman's butchers). We didn't venture too far on this visit to Fife, but just enjoyed the village, the coastline (Howard saw 2 dolphins on one of his many walks - don't think it was the wine!) and St Andrews. We love Crail itself, especially the houses and the harbour - ate our first lobster there (didn't know it was a spectator sport!) - and visited the lovely harbour-side tea room and the pottery. The people are very friendly. All in all, had a thoroughly enjoyable time." August 06

Marian & Barry, Brackley, Northants - Our first visit to Crail but our 2nd to the area. Had a wonderfully relaxing week. Played Golf at Cupar and Anstruther (what wonderful views and a lovely little golf course). We'll be back next year. Enjoyed watching the football at the Golf Hotel. Everyone we have met have been so friendly and welcoming. Ate at the Marine Hotel twice - the fish was superb. The cottage is lovely and very well equipped. Thank you Susan and Sandy for such a great place to stay in this lovely village." Sept 06

Kevin & Jean, Altofts, West Yorkshire - "We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in this beautiful part of Fife. Crail is very picturesque and all the villages along the East Neuk. Saw seals in the harbour at Pittenweem and had a fabulous day out to the Isle of May on the hottest September day. Spent a wet morning in the Fisheries Museum in Anstruther followed by grilled Mackerel and Chips, (lovely!) at the chip shop on the harbour front. We have felt very comfortable in your lovely homely cottage and have enjoyed sitting in the garden. Thanks very much. I am sure we will be back in the future. Excellent last night meal at the Marine Hotel." Sept 06

Bridget & Erik, Maghull, Liverpool - "Enjoyed a very comfortable stay at your lovely home. Thank you for the excellent weather (it rained at night and the sun shone every day). Had a good lunch at the Ship Inn, Elie, sat in the sunshine. Can recommend the Marine Hotel Crail - especially the lobster salad. Falkland Palace is a place not to miss - use the 'B' roads to enjoy the countryside. The changing of the flags in Tolbooth Wynd is a joy." Sept 06

Patricia & Tom, Aberdeen - "We enjoyed every minute of our visit to this beautiful area. The location of the cottage is perfect and the cottage itself is a jewel - comfortable, cosy and well equipped. The weather was exceptionally good for the time of year and we were able to spend some time in the garden after exploring the beautiful little villages in the surrounding area. We look forward to a return visit!" Oct 06

Jim, Sadie, Lynda, Thomas & Isla, Clarkston, Glasgow - "We have had a great week at the cottage. Visited Anstruther, St Andrews and Pittenweem. The weather was great, until today (very wet and windy). Cottage is great and the garden is beautiful. The kids loved walking after dark and looking up at the stars from the garden. Hope to visit again!" Oct 06]]>
316 2006-11-16 21:48:00 2006-11-16 21:48:00 open open sandcastle-cottage-visitors-views publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
A Short Break at Sandcastle Cottage - in November! http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/11/a-short-break-at-sandcastle-cottage-in-november/ Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/11/28/a-short-break-at-sandcastle-cottage-in-november/

When our guests and their children return to school after the October holidays, the opportunity now arises for us to spend some time in our weekend hideaway at Sandcastle Cottage in Crail.

Our daughter is eager for the company of a friend for the weekend, so we invite one of her oldest friends (they met at nursery aged 6 months) to join us for part of the weekend. The girls are not quite at the age when they'd be happy to be away from their parents overnight, so we invite Dad too! It's going to be a bit of a juggling act working out the sleeping arrangements - but it's only for one night.

Friday Night

We set off from Edinburgh in the dark, with rain pouring down and a forecast of more to come over the weekend. We decided to wait until after we'd had our meal on Friday night before setting off because the roadworks on the approach to the Forth Road Bridge mean that setting off any earlier just lengthens the journey time. Fortunately by just after 7 pm the traffic is flowing smoothly, and it's just the poor visibility which slows us down.

It's an easy drive from Edinburgh - only about an hour and a half at the most, and we take the A90 over the Bridge, then up to Junction 2a and on to the A92 towards Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. We choose the inland route towards Glenrothes and along the ? towards Leven - it's longer but usually marginally quicker, and we start to feel like we're coming 'home' as we approach our familiar chain of East Neuk villages - Lundin Links, Upper Largo, then choose the inland road again (we can't see much at all so no point in taking the scenic route) through Colinsburgh where there's a 20 mph limit in force through the village now, along with a whole load of road works. This route bypasses Earlsferry, Elie and St Monans and takes us straight to Pittenweem.

Somewhere between Colinsburgh and Pittenweem the tune for the hymn 'For those in peril on the sea' starts in my head and I am grateful that we're inside our warm car and not out in this wild night, and certainly not in a boat. That's also the time when our 4-year old son starts to ask 'are we almost there?' and our daughter starts to panic - 'Are you feeling sick?' She's still remembering a fateful journey down the A68 when we were heading for Beamish and we didn't manage to stop in time. The point where we discovered that he does suffer from car sickness.

However, we chant the mantra of the East Neuk villages, "look, here we are in Pittenweem passing Heather's house (Heather takes care of Sandcastle Cottage and arranges the cleaning and preparation for our guests)". "Watch out for the Craw's Nest in Anstruther, can you see the flags and the Craw in his Nest?" "What's round the next corner?" "Yes, it's the Shell House." "Not far now." We've not got a saying for Cellardyke, but then we're only really there for a few hundred yards on this inland trail. Then, "look, here we are at Kilrenny - do you remember the wonderful Kirk Tea we had there one day, with the delicious home baking?" Now, "over the bridge at Kilrenny and the next place is Crail."

If it were drier, we'd point out the Island of May and look for the lighthouse flashing there as we travel on the last winding road towards Crail, but the rain is practically horizontal at this point and I'm concentrating on avoiding the roadside puddles - some of the water's quite deep and I don't want to skid.

"See those lights up ahead, there's Crail, hurray, hurray!" "The Chip Shop's open." "Aye, but there aren't many people out tonight - all the locals are keeping themselves warm and dry."

I slow right down to negotiate the right turn off the High Street into Marketgate at the Golf Hotel, and as I do so I remark that the rain's slowed down very conveniently which will at least allow us to unpack the car without getting completely soaked. There's a scaffold up on the house at No 2 Marketgate, which makes the right turn into Kirk Wynd somewhat tricky, but fortunately there's a big parking space just outside the cottage, so we're able to scurry inside with our bags and lift our sleeping son indoors.

Fortunately when I was up a couple of weeks ago showing the Visit Scotland STB Grading Inspector round the cottage, I had the foresight to check the timing on the central heating, so the cottage is toasty for our arrival

We've only brought waterproofs and wellies and a couple of changes of clothing for our weekend stay, so unpacking doesn't take long.

One of the things about this being our own cottage is of course that we're never really 'off duty' - I notice that the new curtains which I put up last winter have one of the rings pulled out at the top, and resolve to get the ladder out tomorrow morning and fix it.

We also inspect the downstairs toilet where there's a small problem with the cistern, which we'd been assured would be fixed this week - but no progress, which is a bit of a pain for us as it means we'll all have to share the en suite toilet upstairs until it's fixed. However, we're coming up again next weekend so we'll make sure it's all done by then.

We're all tired after a long week at work and school, so we don't do much unwinding, but head straight for bed. Our son falls asleep almost immediately, and our daughter is satisfied with only one chapter of Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach" before she's happy to settle down to sleep.

I've brought "Restoration" by Rose Tremain to read, but don't manage much of it before it falls on my nose and I realise it's time for lights out.

Saturday morning



As the kids have had a pancake craze this week, I'd taken the precaution of bringing sufficient quantities of the necessary ingredients with us, just so's we didn't have to go out first thing before we'd had a chance to have a relaxing shower or long lie. However, for our elder child the pancake craze has worn off and she knows that there's the possibility of a Penman's sausage for breakfast, if only her dad shows willing to wander along to the Butchers. Fortunately the gale force winds and driving rain have cleared for the morning, and it's a lovely sunny day outside, and it's not even very cold.

I resolve to make the pancakes anyway as I know that at least one of our family will be glad to munch away on them whilst watching the diet of Saturday morning kids' entertainments on TV.

There's a moment of panic when our eldest finds that she's not able to phone in for the competition on CBBC, and although I've brought the laptop, we don't have internet access.


We find that it's necessary to perch our mobile phones in the window of the cottage just to get some kind of reception here - the thick stone walls are protection against most mobile signals. However, the drawback is that we find that if we've to answer one of the mobiles we've to perch on the windowledge ourselves - which can be a bit awkward, not to say looking a bit odd from the street. However, one of our guests was successful in having sufficient strength on her mobile signal that she not only managed to ring through to the Fred MacAulay show on Radio Scotland, but also successfully won the Daily Dementor quiz - great excitement in Sandcastle Cottage that morning.

When Sandy returns from his walk along the High Street, he's managed to buy provisions for the rest of the day, not just breakfast. This involved the obligatory chat with Ronnie at Penman's, who agrees with Sandy's view that parties for birthdays should stop at a young age. Sandy had been telling him that we were coming up to Crail next weekend to celebrate his 50th birthday, and going out for a meal rather than having a party.

But for those of you who are reading this for ideas on what there is to do on a weekend in Crail, we'd happily confirm that Sandy was able to buy plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, ham hough for making soup and three splendid sirloin steaks for our evening meal. Penman's famous pork sausages and delicious back bacon are teamed up with fresh free range eggs from Kilduncan Farm which we buy at Fresh Fruits. They've also got perfect vine tomatoes and mushrooms for our breakfast feast.

Fortified with our cooked breakfast, the kids decide it's time to go to the beach - yes, even in Scotland you can go to the beach in November. However it's a pretty different sartorial decision than summer beach visiting. Our daughter decides that whilst she wouldn't be seen out in Edinburgh in the layers of clothes we insist upon here, we're in Crail so it doesn't really matter. So t-shirt and skirt is supplemented by a stout pair of wellingtons, cardigan, waterproof and windproof jacket, hat, gloves, scarf. Our son is similarly bundled up and we set off - but it's the adults who need the windproofing most because we're so much more likely to stand around than the kids who're soon off running.

Big sisterly concern is shown as we descend the steps by the 16th Century Doo'cot on the way down to Roome Bay beach. Our son quickly finds out about the dangers of standing on the green slimy stuff which coats the rocks nearest to the sea, and lands firmly on his bottom. Our daughter is soon returning with wellies which have accidentally let in some of the waves in which she was paddling, and needs her socks wrung out and stowed away in Mum's pockets.

Some small boys are making their version of a 21st century fortification with rocks and sand on the beach - it's quite an impressive structure involving circles of standing stones and mounds of sand.

It's wonderful to see the kids relax and become carefree as they gallop around yelling and enjoying themselves. I reflect upon the passage I read recently in Nicole Krauss's "The History of Love", where the character of Uncle Julian talks about how an artist, in order to paint a head, has to make a decision to leave out the rest of the body. It's a similar thing when we get to contemplating the beach at Roome Bay - beachcombing focuses our attention on the myriad of small things to be found on the beach, and pushes out cares and worries from our heads.



We enjoy the winter sunlight - although looking over towards the Lammermuir Hills behind Berwick Law and the Bass Rock, it looks as if the sun hasn't really risen too far in the sky today as the light behind the clouds seems to be the colour of a sunrise, but the sun itself isn't visible.

The children are soon wandering happily looking at the colours and shapes of the pebbles and boulders on the beach, and wading through piles of slimy seaweed. I spot some redshanks landing further along the beach, and there are whirling herring gulls and arctic terns shrieking above us.

Our daughter finds out about the properties of sandstone as she chucks a rock and it splinters, and about pigment as her hands get covered in red particles from spots of (presumably) iron within the rock.

I notice that the Seaside Award flag has tattered so much in the prevailing wind that the year of award has been worn away. There's a new board up beside the path at Roome Bay Beach which provides some information about the beach and the parkland on the coast. I take a photo to remind me to look at the information later.


As we're climbing back towards the play park to do some swinging and circling on the roundabout to work off the cold, we notice a couple of intrepid canoeists rounding the headland from Sauchope Links and heading towards Crail Harbour, also a couple of small fishing boats which follow them round the coast.

Meantime Sandy's been back at the cottage preparing a delicious soup for our lunch from the aforementioned ham hough which he's boiled up and added a selection of vegetables - leeks, onions, carrots, parsnips and potatoes. It's wonderful to return to the smell of it filling the kitchen, and to welcome us back.

Our weekend guests arrive at this point and are soon happily sitting with us discussing plans for the afternoon and munching on the crusty bread which we've also bought from Penman's this morning.

After lunch, we decide to take a circular walk which takes in some of the highlights of Crail, and will give our guests a flavour for why we love it here so much. Neither of them have been to Crail before, so it's a great opportunity for us to travel familiar territory and tell some old tales of our experiences here.

We set off again, suitably wrapped up and with the kids kitted out with Wellington boots just in case of paddling. We go down the path towards Roome Bay once again, which is just on the other side of Nethergate from our cottage. As we round the corner at the top of the Triangle Park, our guests remark that it's an amazing surprise to come round the corner and find the sea so close. While you can see the sea from our upstairs bedroom windows, it's still a breathtaking view from the height of the path at the top, looking towards St Abbs Head in the far distance and out to the North Sea from the very end of the River Forth. The tide has come in since our last visit to the beach, and the waves are stronger, splashing the children and forcing a speedy retreat up the beach in an attempt to avoid being completely soaked before our walk even begins.


We head along the Coastal Path in the direction of Crail Harbour. As well as the views out to sea, there are some interesting sights to take in on the landward side. The gardens behind Downie Terrace (also on Nethergate) show evidence of their historic use as bleaching fields where linen which had been woven in some of the old mills in Crail was laid to bleach and dry. We cross the fast-running mill lade and the Smugglers' Path - is it called Brandy's Holme? - and resist the children's begging to climb up there. David Grieve, the owner of the Crail Pottery, has a wonderful organic garden behind his cottage on the steep slope towards the path. We spot leeks, Brussels sprouts and all manner of winter vegetables growing in his productive plot. There are ornamental gardens too - with railway sleepers set into the hillside to hold back pebble gardens, and large cactus-like plants and ornamental grasses.

The steep ascent towards the Watch House reminds us that there was once a mill here too - the board at the top of the path tells the story of the Corn Mill, called Kings Mill, which once occupied the site. There's a link to our cottage too as one of the people who held the original title when the cottage was built had something to do with Kings Mill. I must check out the title deeds again when I get back home.

Our daughter relates our family story to our guests, that the benches on Castle Walk have a particular significance for us. Her grandfather proposed marriage to her grandmother there, so she in part owes her very existence to the benches there - it's quite an inspiring spot.

Unfortunately the board at the corner of Castle Walk is missing, so we can't see the distances to the Island of May, and the other landmarks on the horizon - the Bass Rock, Berwick Law and even Arthur's Seat and the Pentland Hills behind Edinburgh.

There's a steep path down to the harbour past the Harbour Cafe and Gallery which is closed for the winter until early March, and we find when we get to the harbourside that there are no crabs or lobsters to be seen - it's a feature of our summer walks to visit the tanks at the harbour shed and see the crab and lobster crawling around in the tanks, and to buy some delicious dressed crab when it's available.

By this time the children have decided to start begging to be taken to the sweetie shop for their afternoon treat, and after the ascent of the Hen's Ladder, they've certainly earned it. We pass the East Neuk hotel which is advertising teas and coffees and meals - we must visit sometime to check it out as our friends at the other end of the village say that it's now very welcoming and child-friendly. We also spot the Crail Bookshop, but it doesn't have the essential sweetie factor, and the kids are now even more eager to get that sugar fix.

We're surprised to find that Penman's has opened again this afternoon - we didn't realise that they were open on Saturday afternoons. Our guest is astounded at the range of produce on offer there - with all the preserves and speciality delicatessen foods as well as the butchery section.

A lady at the bus stop begs us to confirm that she's standing on the correct side of the road for the bus to Leven as she says she's been standing there for an hour already and she is worried that she's going to miss the bus. We assure her that she's in the right place, and that the bus is due quite soon - the timetable states that the bus is due at 14.39 and we see it a little later, although it's running about 4 minutes early at that point - maybe that's why she missed the last one.

Unfortunately the Newsagents doesn't have the required variety of 8-year old girls favourite magazines, so we're unable to ensure that we've patronised every single shop in Crail this weekend.

A quick trip into the Beehive however ensures that we've at least obtained the necessary sugar dose in the form of musical lollipops and a choc ice for our son who doesn't seem to care that we're already in late autumn.

We discover that First Fruits is open in the afternoon too and decide that their green grapes will go very well with the gift of cheese from Ian Mellis that our guests have brought as their contribution to the evening meal. A quick race across to the Co-op finds the required pink magazines with obligatory plastic gifts sellotaped to the front. These should occupy a quiet half hour later when the girls are worn out.

The Crail Museum has opened especially this weekend to show an exhibition of Santa's Eye Views of Crail - some locals have taken a flight over the coast in the summer to check out an article which was published in the Scotsman newspaper in the summer which said that the dry summer had exposed some previously unknown archaelogically significant sites. Something to do with patterns appearing in fields of crops showing where there had been ancient buildings or sites. We appreciate the views of Crail, and put our names down to buy one of the prints which shows our cottage quite clearly. I'm wondering if I can scan the photo and use it on our website for the cottage. Must find out who took the photographs and write asking their permission.

Our weekend guest is fascinated by the part of the Museum exhibition which deals with HMS Jackdaw - the coastal defence base situated at the Airfield in Crail during the Second World War. It transpires that he thinks his father spent some time serving there. The younger members of the party are disappointed that the upstairs exhibitions are not opened because they include an old typewriter which they love to visit and bash away on. I'm a bit miffed because I find that the lovely Dunoon Ceramics mugs which I bought in John Lewis recently are cheaper at the Crail Museum!

There's one more essential stop on the way back to the cottage - the Jerdan Gallery. The lady there explains that many of the favourite pieces have in fact gone off to Edinburgh for the weekend to participate in the Edinburgh Art Fair which is taking place at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh this weekend. But there's certainly plently left to look at and lovely sculptures in the garden which excite our son's imagination. One of our party however is having trouble with her wellies rubbing on her feet and we decide that it's really time we retreated to the cottage for an afternoon cuppa and the odd chocolate biscuit or two. Just as we come out of the Jerdan Gallery, the sun reaches an angle through the High Street so that it illuminates the Market Cross, and I take some photographs.
We pause opposite Crail Parish Church to see if we can spot the Blue Stane - a big boulder which sits to the left of the entrance to the Kirk. Legend has it that the devil hurled it there from the Island of May - but legend doesn't explain what the devil was doing on the Island of May in the first place!

The children take possession of the living room and the television, and the adults take their afternoon tea in the dining room - I'm glad I hung on to the old armchairs when we refurbished the living room last winter.

When it gets towards time for our evening meal, the children vote to have fish and chips from the Anstruther Fish Bar, so a small group sets out on that endeavour while I stay behind to prepare the vegetables to cook for the evening meal. Simplicity in itself, I peel betroot, sweet potato, parsnip, carrots and red onions then venture out to the back garden to snip some rosemary from the busy which grows at the back door and add this to some olive oil to coat all the vegetables. Forty five minutes or so in a hot oven will roast all of these and provide a tasty accompaniment to the sirloin steaks which Sandy cooks with onions, mushrooms and a little cream and brandy.

We don't always go as far as Anstruther for our fish and chips - after all there's Borella's fish bar in the centre of Crail, but the last time we went there the fish was so overcooked that it was almost inedible, and we don't want to take the risk of that when we've special guests for tea. Despite our daughter's protests that she doesn't want to go all the way to Anstruther, she decides that it was definitely worth it when she tucks into the tasty treat. Two fish suppers (haddock and chips) are an ample portion for three hungry youngsters, and there's even a bit of fish for the adults to have a taste.

We have to confess to having brought our own red wine with us rather than buying it here - but this was really because we'd opened some earlier in the week and it didn't get used. We could easily have bought some at the Co-op or KB Stores here in Crail.
An intensely competitive game of Scrabble keeps the older children and a couple of the adults amused until it's time for bed. It's amazing how large doses of sea are shorten the usually long-drawn out performance of falling asleep for our two eight year olds. Our four year old didn't even make it to the game of Scrabble before he was completely worn out.

Sunday



Everyone awakes refreshed from a good night's sleep - and not too early either. The children go off to find out what is on Sunday morning TV and I snatch another half hour with my book before I feel obliged to to and fix breakfast.

Suitably fortified with a stack of the (ok today it seems) pancakes and some home made apricot jam and strawberry jam, the older children are deemed responsible enough to be sent on a trip to collect the Sunday papers and some milk and rolls for later. This has the danger of allowing them their own choice of a sweet from the shop too, which inevitably results in the sugariest confections being chosen. However at least we don't end up with the horrible concoctions which our daughter and a friend found in the campsite shop at Sauchope Links in the summer - lollipops in the shape of a thumb - which would have been bad enough, but to cap it all they were turquoise in colour and turned their lips and tongues bright blue!

The adults tuck into a wonderful cooked breakfast (diet tomorrow?) and enjoy the Sunday papers which the girls have brought us.

Amazingly, we've got another brilliantly sunny day, but our youngest has woken up with a temperature and a sore throat and doesn't feel like going out or eating anything. So we let the older girls go off to the beach and the park at Roome Bay, taking periodic peeks down to see that they haven't thrown themselves into the sea. I settle down to write this, and try to shut out the combined sounds of the Teletubbies on Video and the Nintendogs puppy chirping away in the background. So much for peace and quiet.


After a morning with the papers the Dads set off on a journey of discovery to the bottom of the garden - and out through the gate to take another wander round the village. There's a little path running along the side of the Den Burn through the Denburn Wood and up to Beech Walk park which makes a pleasant circular walk which is not too taxing.

The girls return from their bracing voyage to the beach and settle down at the table in the dining room to busy themselves with some Sand Art projects which keep them busy until lunchtime.]]> 317 2006-11-28 12:15:00 2006-11-28 12:15:00 open open a-short-break-at-sandcastle-cottage-in-november publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last Sandcastle Cottage, Crail - Visitors 2007 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2008/03/sandcastle-cottage-crail-visitors-2007/ Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:37:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2008/03/05/sandcastle-cottage-crail-visitors-2007/


Our visitors in 2007 have been happier than ever! It's a delight to read their comments in our Visitors' Book. But, they'll be surprised when they come back to Sandcastle Cottage in 2008 to find that we've been busy over the winter with renovations, and we're even better than before.

Why don't you book your next holiday with us at Sandcastle Cottage, Crail?

Guest Book 2007

Staying at "Sandcastle Cottage" has given us the opportunity to explore an area that I visited over 40 years ago and have only briefly passed through on our way to see family in Tayside. This cottage is just ideal - not only its location in such a picturesque place as Crail, views of the Isle of May and the sunrise, but so cosy, comfortable, clean and well-equipped - a most welcome break before the winter and busy schedules. Thank you for your hard work in providing such a gem of a cottage. - Gopsill Family, October 2007

We love "Sandcastle Cottage", and have had 5 wonderful days here. Crail is the perfect base - especially with Roome Bay & Park on the doorstep. We flew our kites on St Andrews West Sands and the gorgeous beach at Kingsbarns - which is great for rock pool exploring too. Can't believe we were in the sea mid-October - fab! The cottage is everything we could've hoped for - clean, comfy and "home from home". Thank you. We will be back. - Bottomley Family, October 2007

We have enjoyed a very relaxing week at Sandcastle Cottage. It's cosy, comfy and very well equipped - a holidy cottage with 'en-suite' is a big plus for a teenage family! Walks to the lighthouse, coffee and scones at Crail Harbour, delicious smoothies from the Juice Bar in St Andrews, friends in the cottage round the corner, have all made for a week of 'happy memories'. Thank you! - Berry Family, October 2007

Coming back to the wife's birth county. What a great place to stay. After touring and re-visiting old places it is a wonderful haven to retire to. It is great to relax and unwind. Just the tonic. Would thoroughly recommend a visit to anyone - the comfort and warmth cannot be faulted. - Joe & Brenda Dwyer (from Bega, NSW, Australia), September 2007

Lovely relaxing holiday with fine weather. The cottage is warm, comfortable and welcoming. The garden is beautiful and quiet. There is lots to see in the area and we recommend Kellie Castle and Cambo Gardens. Alan & Vivien Foulkes, September 2007

This has been a fantasitc first family holiday with our little baby boy. Weather terrific and Crail is just gorgeous. We can't fault the cottage, very comfortable and well-equipped, and the garden has been a lovely place to sit in this glorious sunshine. The Crail Harbour Gallery Cafe does amazing coffee, cakes and panini and the service at The Honeypot was warm and very family friendly. We really do hope to be back sometime. Thank you! - Currie Family, September 2007

We have had a lovely holiday and the weather has been very good. The cottage is in an ideal location and we recommend Northpoint Café on North Street in St Andrews. A brilliant cottage and we hope to be back soon! - Stacey Family, August 2007


We have enjoyed a perfect family seaside holiday! Highlights have included: walking the Fife Coastal Path; spending a day building dams on Kingsbarns Beach; the Fisheries Museum at Anstruther followed by a visit to the famouse fish bar and the post-dinner crab catching resulted in a final night's record of 30 crabs and 20 shrimp!! Sandcastle Cottage was a home from home and we'd love to come back! Phillips Family, August 2007

We have really enjoyed our holiday at Crail following one week at Oban. The cottage is really nice, the two children (4 and 1 1/2) enjoyed playing and running everywhere. We visited Crail of course, and its harbour, Anstruther, St Monans. We rode to Edinburgh, Glamis and Blair Castle. The Fife Coastal path is really pleasant. We will keep a wonderful memory of our visit to Scotland and your address in Crail. Hope we could come another time. - Enjalbert Family (from Toulouse, France), August 2007

This is our fourth year at Sandcastle Cottage, though it's still as good as ever! The downstairs bathroom makeover is brilliant, and so was the weather. Lots of crabs on Roome Bay, and went fishing in harbour. Didn't catch anything though! - Wheater Family, August 2007

We've enjoyed another lovely fortnight in Sandcastle Cottage, Crail. The weather has been very kind - we left the rain behind. The beach at Roome Bay kept the girls amused for hours. Craigtoun Park, St Andrews, is great value for a day out (£12 for a family of 4) and the re-vamped swing park met with the girls' approval! Ate out locally and didn't travel too far for entertainment. - Annan Family, July 2007

It was lovely to come back to Sandcastle Cottage where we had a most enjoyable week. The weather was warm, like the welcome. We loved Kingsbarns Beach best where we all swam as well as the St Andrews Pool. Kite flying, jigsaw puzzling, monopoly playing, ice-cream licking, cakes devouring, barbecue savouring, wave jumping, strawberry picking, book reading, fun having....lots... - Hunter Family, July 2007

We've enjoyed our fifth holiday in Crail. We really like this cottage. The weather has been mixed. But there is always lots to do. We hope to come back next year.
Anderson Family, July 2007


What a wonderful little cottage! Your photographs did not disappoint! This being our first trip to Scotland, we could not have chanced upon better accommodations. The children (and Dad too!) loved the proximity to the sea - perfect for our after dinner strolls. Regretfully, our schedule did not permit a thorough exploration of Crail and its environs, although we managed a visit to Anstruther Fish Bar for delicious fish 'n chips. Of course, all this means is that we shall have to come back for another look-see!! Many thanks. - Cole Family (from Ottowa, Ontario, Canada), June 2007

Good location from which to attend all the ceremonies of Graduation week at St Andrews. Had a great time and have successfully launched another MA into the whirlpool of working life! Comfortable place to stay and pleasant neighbours. - Briggs Family, June 2007

Enjoyed a relaxing week in this lovely cottage. Weather was not very good but there is so much to do and see, we were out every day. Hope to come again (with better weather), but now we are off home to Bishopbriggs. - Pollock Family, July 2007

At first when I heard we were going to stay in a little cottage in Scotland for my birthday, I dreaded it - but Sandcastle Cottage is wicked! - Lily (12) May 2007

My first time in Scotland!! At last, came up for the Edinburgh Marathon - what a lovely surprise Crail came to be! in fact when running and chatting to fellow Scottish runners - all very impressed in our choice of Crail. We LOVE it here! Although weather not been great, have explored coastal pathway (towards Anstruther); had fish 'n' chips there - only to realise in wrong shop and 'The Anstruther Fish Bar' was further on - (!). Nevertheless, a good fish supper! Also been to Secret Bunker, St Andrews (Doll's House for lunch - good food, service, etc - and even the children behaved). Rome Bay and local shops (wonderful butcher - great steak for Marathon recovery!) - Would love to return. Lovely Cottage. Hamilton Family, May 2007

We have had a wonderful time at Sandcastle Cottage. The sun has shone all week and we think Crail is terrific. We have made sadcastles, paddled in the sea, guddled in rock pools and had fun on the swings. We have had lots of picnics on the beach with family who are staying in their caravan at St Monans. We have had fish 'n' chips at Anstruther and a good lunch at friendly Littlejohns in St Andrews. We played hide and seek in the lovely garden and we sang happy songs all week. We will be back. - Jones Family, May 2007

On the first day, we walked along the path opposite, to Crail Harbour where we met an elderly gentleman who was sitting outside his house enjoying the morning sunshine. He invited us in, showed us around the house and garden, then entertained us with stories galore! The following day, we met a lady in Anstruther who invited us back to her home, showed us around, gave us a glass of wine, then amused us with tales of her experiences as a B&B lady! We've met so many friendly folk - just like they are in Northumberland! The cottage is simply perfect and we will recommend it, and you, to others. Thank you. - J Robson, May 2007 (owner of Belle Vue, Hexham, Northumberland)

The house was great again, as it has been since 1999. The weather was brilliant this time and a lot of time was spent in the garden. The neighbours were very friendly and helped when rounding up stray tennis balls. We tried out some new facilities like the tennis courts in Anstruther and the swimming pool in St Andrews. Looking forward to coming back this time next year. - Rory (12) - April 2007 We also visited the Ship Inn in Elie (again) for fantastic fish & chips. Bought a new picture from the Crail Gallery - we now have quite a collection of our own in London! Love the new bathroom! - Horne Family, April 2007

We had a fantastic holiday at Sandcastle Cottage. We went to Craigtoun Park. We flew our kite at Elie Beach and spent lots of time at the playpark at the Beach. Mum and Dad had a great time too. Sandcastle Cottage is very cosy and comfortable and is in the perfect spot for a relaxing family holiday. We will definitely return. - Kane Family, April 2007

Great place to stay, Crail is as nice if not better than Brittany for scenery!! Hope to be back this summer for another relaxing break! - Anderson Family, February 2007




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319 2008-03-05 17:37:00 2008-03-05 17:37:00 open open sandcastle-cottage-crail-visitors-2007 publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
Visitors' Book 2008 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2009/01/visitors-book-2008/ Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:14:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2009/01/27/visitors-book-2008/
During 2008 we had a number of guests (most of whom had stayed before) telephone us during their holidays to say that they wanted to come back in 2009. This was wonderful, and means that we start 2009 with only one week available during the summer holidays.

But I'm going to let you into a secret - Crail is a fantastic destination at any time of year. We go there ourselves as much as we can during the winter, spring and late autumn. We revel in the fact that although it might be blowing a gale outside, as soon as we get the heating on and light the fire, we're cosy inside. We head along to see Ronnie or Keith at Penman's butchers, then work out what we're going to have for our evening meal. A quick visit to First Fruits and we've enough fresh vegetables for a pot of soup. The Co-op has improved a lot with more Fair Trade and Organic offerings, so we might even buy muffins or croissants for breakfast too. With the provisioning sorted, it's wellies on and off to the beach. Winter weather brings stormy seas and washes up plenty of wood for our foraging and building activities on Roome Bay sands. Or a walk round the village, or a circular walk out by Wormistoun is enough activity to merit the soup! Oh, I can't wait to get up to Crail again!

Don't leave it too long before you book to find out what it's like for yourself: www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk has all the details.

Visitors' Book extracts 2008

Lovely to return to this very comfortable and cosy home from home to not only have the ability to see our daughter (1st year at St Andrews), but have her spend evenings/overnight with us - long chats over dinner, games of scrabble, tec. Wonderful autumnal weather. Walked from Crail to Pittenweem (and back)... observed owls and sparrow hawk hunting. Hope to return again soon. Many thanks. Gopsill Family October 2008

Great Cottage! Plenty of room and HUGE back garden! Lots of surrounding areas in Crail. Enjoyed Fishery Museum and had a great walk at the coastal walk. What a GREAT cottage! The Mitchells say thank you! The Mitchell Family October 2008

What a fanstasic find! Stumbled upon this gorgeous cottage whilst mucking around on the internet one afternoon. Every eventuality has been considered by the owners and this has to be the best equipped holiday home we have ever rented. Comfortable, cosy,clean and fresh. The perfect base for our short break. Carial and the surrounding area are beautiful. Just wish our break was longer. Hope to return again! Many thanks! The Fisher Family October 2008

A well-equipped, comfortable spacious cottage for all the family. Brief weekend to blow out the cobwebs! Enjoyed the weather, the fab little beaches for 'little adventures', 'little cliff walks' with pram and Granny! The local fish and chips were good and local shop had anything we needed! Bonus experience seeing live pirates in costume at Anstruther - a bit too much with the re-enactment and the hanging!! (Pirate day at Anstruther Fisheries Museum). All in all a relaxing weekend, just what we needed!
Paton Family October 2008

Lovely, comfortable, comfy, well equipped cottage. Enjoyed our few days revisiting Fife. We visited St Andrews, Cupar, Anstruther as well as having walks around Crail. Eating places we would recommend are Cafe Moka in Cupar (giant scones and muffins), Zizzi's in St Andrews and the Cheese Factory in Pittenweem. Nice relaxing time had by all.
Brisbane Family October 2008

Couldn't believe our luck with the weather! It was so nice all the way her and on Monday, as the sun was still shining, we decided to find out about the boat trips to the Isle of May as we missed out on a previous visit. Conveniently the boat sailing was 'billed' as 12-30 pm on the Tuesday. Next day was also warm and sunny so we had a delightful visit to the Island and even saw a 'pod' of dolphins on the way over which caused some excitement! Fish and Chips at Anstruther rounded off our day. Spent a day in Dundee - my home town. Discovery Point is worth a visit. Captain Scott's ship "Discovery" is alongside and is very interesting. Driving up to the top of the "Law" for wonderful views including fife, St Andrews and all round.
The small town of Ceres is worth a visit. Take the Cupar road out of Crail. Ceres lies about 2 miles south of Cupar. We though it was quite a unique little place, while so near to Cupar. Just after entering the town (Cupar) from Ceres you will find FISHER AND DONALDSON'S BAKERY and tea room on the right. It's an Alladin's cave of gorgeous, mouthwatering cakes, pies, tarts, scones, shortbread etc. - treat yourself!!
We have had a great time here. You must be pleased with your home here - so comfortable and cosy - someone has taken a great deal of thought and trouble with it!! Perhaps another time! Many thanks.
Philpot/Partridge Family September 2008

Another wonderful holiday in this lovely cottage! Wather not too bad, quite warm and sunny at times. This is a perfect place for small children with the play park and beach just down the hill. Our son has been walking for a few months and loved doing the "castle walk". We did a bit of the coastal path up to Fife Ness - not advisable with a pram, but well worth it when we got there. All in all a lovely relaxed holiday in the perfect cottage in a beautiful place - couldn't ask for more. Hope to be back! Thanks!
Currie Family September 2008

A wonderful cottage in a super town! I used to spend chilhood holidays at Largo and Elie so the East Neuk has a special place, not only in my heart but also now in my family's. The weather has actually been good - beach and garden bmost days. Hopefully we'll be back next year! All the very best to the 'next'....
Waddell Family September 2008


Great cottage, beatuiful garden, terrible weather! Our 3rd stay in Crail and still finding new places to visit in the area: St Andrews Botanic Garden, The Pettigrew-Bell Museum, also Dundee for rainy day attractions - DRA, Sensations, Verdant Works. Of course lots of rock-pooling, paddling and ambles round the harbour. If you fancy a day in Edinburgh, think about cathcing the train from Leuchars - stress free. Left the timetable. Go off-peak and the kids go free - bargain. Ziggys - top burgers and music to suit m-m-m-my generation! Back next year.
Downie Family August 2008

Our 5th year at Sandcastle Cottage and we love the new kitchen and hallway. Some horrendous weather - even the native Scotsman in the family admitted it was bad! Two lovely sunny days spent at West Sands, St Andrews - body boarding and also lots of fun catching crabs and building dams at Roome Bay. Zizzi's in St Andrews was good for a family meal - beware the giant garlic breads, definitely for sharing! The fish and chips from Borellis (Crail) was really nice! I really enjoyed bodyboarding at West Sands! We also caught the train from North Queensferry into Edinburgh which was fun! It has been another great year at Sandcastle Cottage! Wheater Family August 2008

Another holiday of lovely memories in Crail. Weather started well so we spent lots of time at Roome Bay, on the beach and guddling in the rock pools. Then the haar rolled in but didn't spoil our fun. The girls enjoyed lots to see and do in the Crail Festival. Been swimming Roome Bay and at St Andrews pool. Our daughter went out early one moring to spot dolphins but didn't see any - spotted a couple of otters on the rocks, though. None of us want to leave..... Annan Family July 2008

Another fantastic holiday - number 4! Only one rainy day so we did get pretty muddy at the Mega-Maze at Cairnie! Managed all our favourite spots including Craigtoun Park, the swimming pool at St Andrews, the Deer Centre, not forgetting th swing park and beach on many occasions - lots of hermit crabs this year! The house looks fantistic and the kitchen is a massive improvement - lovely! I loved the Happy Gang Video & the Giggles, especially Spatz getting spatted with the cream cake. We had a great time sepecially when we had Irn Bru sorbet. Stewart Family July 2008

The cottage is the best one we've ever rented in Crail. Everything we needed is here. Our grandchildren loved the cottage and suggested we phone the owners and offer to buy the place for next week so we could extend our holiday...
Ideal places for kids - Allanhill Farm - superb strawberries. Built-up haystacks for kids to jump around. Craigtoun Park another winner. Weather was so so but didn't stop us having a great time. Graham Family July 2008

This is our sixth year in Crail and once again we have had a great time. The weather has been fantastic and we have enjoyed doing some of the coastal walks. We would really recommend The Doll's House and the Grill House Restaurants in St Andrews. (by Jenny aged 10) P.S. We love the kitchen. Anderson Family July 2008

Enjoyed another great holiday at Sandcastle Cottage. Weather was lovely and we packed so much into our stay here. Cottage is very well equipped with absolutely everything we needed. Love the new kitchen. Hope to visit again. Our visits this year included St Andrews, Hill of Tarvit (where the cook made a pancake for Caitlin), Anstruther for fish and chips, the Secret Bunkerr, Craigtoun Park (Caitlin did not want to leave) and several visits to Kingsbarns beach. We also enjoyed a lovely meal at the handy Golf Hotel. We are now going home to Bishopbriggs with happy memories. Pollock Family June 2008

Annie nearly exploded with joy when she saw Sandcastle Cottage!! She ran into every corner saying "It's the nicest cottage in the world!" We have had a wonderful time in beautiful weather! As both Paul and I are Biologists we loved the rock pools at Kingsbarns and I gave lectures on the names of seaweeds!! Our best find was a Pipe Fish which amazed us by swimming like an arrow with no sign that muscles were contracting! Then, guess what! We watched a pod of dolphins in the bay! How good does it get?
Flying kites next day at St Andrews! Lunch at The Glass House which was great! We had the balcony table in the sun. The queue at The Anstruther Bish Bar sent us straight to "the other one"!! Fife Ness! Never seen such amazing rock formations! The wild flowers were amazing! At Fife Ness family swam in wet suits in gorgeous big rock pools - and saw more dolphins! (The were going to the Isle of May - but boat was full!). Thank you Susan and Sandy for all the care you take to make holidays special. Walton Family June 2008

We were here last year in May. We said we would be back and we are. Katie talked about Sandcastle Cottage all year - it was such a happy memory for her. This year wee sister Megan and Cousin Finlay were more able to join in the fun so will have even more happy memories. Our visit to the lovely Tentsmuir Forest and beach was great. The sun shone all day on Wednesday at Elie (everyone was in the water, except Grandpa!) and we had a great dinner in the Ship Inn. On Thursday we went to The Cheese Farm (above Anstruther). unfortunately no cheese was being made that day but we thoroughly recommend their Butterpat Cafe. No fish suppers at Anstruther for us this year, but the local Chippie (Borellas) was every bit as good, fishy suppers at the start and tasty pizzas at the end. We would also recommend The Dolls House Restaurant in St Andrews - quality food and child friendly. Three cheers for Crail and the East Neuk! Jones Family May 2008

Our second visit to Sandcastle Cottage (same week in 2005). Crail every bit as good as we remembered; girls enjoyed clambering over the rockpools at Roome Bay, Sensations Science Museum in Dundee and ice creams on the beach at Anstruther. Managed to visit all the East Neuk villages this time round and, of course, St Andrews.
Weather not kind enough for BBQs. Taylor Family May 2008

Had a great week again. Love the refurbishments you have done. Played golf at Anstruther, Charleton and Cupar. Weather was very kind to us - didn't see any rain all week. Spent a couple of late afternoons/early evenings in the garden. BBQ'd 3 times. Crail is lovely. PS Great meat from Penmans. The Lucks May 2008

Recommended by our friends - and not disappointed. We've had a lovely week's holiday - the first with our new addition: if only he would sleep past 5 am!! Spent a sunny p.m. on Elie beach equipped with buckets and spade, another at Craigtoun Park - very quiet and joined by squirrels for our picnic! Enjoyed a swim at East Sands in St Andrews and the aquarium in North Queensferry was a hit with the boys. Final day on the wonderful beach at Tentsmuir. Thanks for a great week in such a lovely cottage - we never saw rain once! Adam Family May 2008

We had a very relaxing week in the cottage even though the weather was not very kind to us. We enjoyed all the home comforts and think the cottage is a great place to stay for a break. We would like to have enjoyed the garden more but the weather was too chilly/wet. Crail is a great place to come on holiday and we really liked the Pottery, the swing park and the locat shops. It's also a great location for getting up to St Andrews (East Sands Leisure Centre for swimming is great) and all the lovely spots along the coast of the East Neuk. We had a nice lunch at the Grill House in St Andrews: great value, nice menu (including children's) and good atmosphere. We very much hope to return again soon. Thans for a great stay. Rowan Family April 2008

We're so pleased to be here at Sandcastle Cottage, enjoying all the beneifts of the new layout and the added light in the kitchen. It's been a lovely, relaxing week. On Saturday we wandered round Crail, looking to find the best fresh produce at our two favourite shops - Penmans and First Fruits. Unfortunately we did a bit too much wandering and didn't get to Penman's until the afternoon - so had to settle for frozen chickens! We had guests from Edinburgh coming for dinner on Sunday, so we were glad to find that we could clean up a couple of the garden chairs to seat eight round our bit table.
We made many trips to Roome Bay on Sunday, enjoying building shelters from the wood we'd gathered on the beach and running inside to escape the occasional showers which soon blew over.
Monday was our "Visit Scotland" Grading visit, and we were pleased to attain our 4-star grading - we'd only been one point below it before, anway, but we decided it was worth having after all the effort we've put in over the years. It's taken us 16 years to save up for the kitchen! After the grading visit we could relax...Tuesday we were so relaxed we did very little - a cycle for Sandy and Helen and some gardening for Sandy. Then a trip to Cambo to walk through the gardens and the woodland walk to the beach.
Wednesday: St Andrews for cycling Lade Braes, shopping (shoes, shoes...) and a trip to the cinema - burgers at Ziggy's first. Thursday we decided to walk the coastal path from Crail to Anstruther with the goal of ice creams at the end. Alex's first long walk so he had a double cone to celebrate (mint chocolate chip of course). Weather has been great - so all our rainy day activities have been missed - again! Friday brought a little drizzle so Sandy took Helen and Alex to the Secret Bunker: none of them enjoyed it. P.S. Trip on Saturday evening to see "The Guizzards" in "There Goes the Bride" was fun - meal in Byre Restaurant was passable. Friday evening: meal at the Marine Hotel was most enjoyable - our first time there for many years. Local produce and good value! Would have been better if there had been more customers.
McNaughton Family March/April 2008




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320 2009-01-27 12:14:00 2009-01-27 12:14:00 open open visitors-book-2008 publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/st-andrews-farmhouse-cheese-company/ Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:35:16 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=14

The St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company has become a firm favourite with our family since it was recommended by one of our guests in the Visitors' Book at Sandcastle Cottage shortly after opening.

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322 2010-03-01 23:35:16 2010-03-01 23:35:16 open open st-andrews-farmhouse-cheese-company publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
Checking key words and looking at the competition http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/checking-key-words-and-looking-at-the-competition/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 09:48:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/checking-key-words-and-looking-at-the-competition/ Spent some time yesterday morning checking out some key word searches for other operators who are offering short breaks or self-catering near St Andrews.

Did the search on Google, and picked out a few sites from their first 10 returned where I thought it might be useful to look more closely at the sites and examine their tactics, keywords, descriptions, etc.

Keyword Search: short breaks near St Andrews
Returned these sites of interest:
www.Scotland-holiday-cottage.com
http://www.standrewsalbany.co.uk/fife.html
http://www.braeside-standrews.co.uk/links2.htm
http://www.rufflets.co.uk/short_breaks/

Keyword Search: self catering near st andrews
Returned these sites of interest:
http://www.coastal-life.com/st_monans/
http://www.woodlandholidays.co.uk/
http://www.castawaycottage.co.uk/


Keyword Search: short break self catering near st andrews
Returned these sites of interest:
http://www.eastneukescapes.com/Pages/Prices.shtml
http://www.scotland-inverness.co.uk/standrews.htm

To take a look at the keywords for each of these sites I have to use Mozilla Firefox as my browser, because it allows you to View - Page Source and look at the coding which has been used to create each page.
I've kept an Excel spreadsheet containing the keywords and descriptions for these sites, which I'll refer to later when I am ready to develop my own site.
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323 2006-09-23 10:48:00 2006-09-23 09:48:00 open open checking-key-words-and-looking-at-the-competition publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
Inspiration for this excercise http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/inspiration-for-this-excercise/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 10:13:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/inspiration-for-this-excercise/ the flat, attending two different book groups, supervising homework, shuttling children around, planning how to occupy the next school holiday, walking with my walking friends, swimming with my swimming friend, organising the group of Edinburgh Self-Caterers to which I belong, thinking up ideas for the group of Crail Self-Caterers - oh and so many things which divert attention from my small business. And of course when other people for whom I've done websites like Lorna, or Jan or Matt and Sally ask for changes or amendments, then I of course rush to help them first because they're my customers. So my websites get neglected, and my marketing suffers. Then one day last week, a chance correspondence with a fellow member of the ASSC, John Winkler leads to an exciting exchange of views and tactics. John's been very active in encouraging members of the ASSC to exchange links to each other's websites. I'd added two lists of links to the Sandcastle Cottage and Sandcastle-in-the-City websites which John was having difficulty finding in his constant quest to ensure that those of us who'd said we'd participate actually did so. He'd e-mailed me to ask me where I'd hidden them and I'd been a bit short with him in my reply - sorry John! However, it led to him asking me 'how's business?'. An innocent enough question. I hope he doesn't now regret asking it. John owns a holiday cottage in Scotland too: Bayview - a holiday cottage on a lochside near Glencoe. He is very active in marketing it and using the power of the internet to attract visitors from all over the world to visit Kentallen. He's been working on building links in to his website from many other sites, and says that he's currently got 182 links in Google, 232 in MSN, and 131 in Yahoo. You can check how many links your website has by typing link:www.sandcastleholidays.co.uk into Google (or the other ones) Search (of course you use your own URL). But I didn't find much that way, and preferred to click on the Advanced Search tab on Google, and search for the phrase www.sandcastleholidays.co.uk which gave me some hope that we at least had some links somewhere! I need to spend a bit of time now checking how my websites fare with this. I'll post the results as another blog.]]> 324 2006-09-23 11:13:00 2006-09-23 10:13:00 open open inspiration-for-this-excercise publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last 2 2006-09-23 18:09:00 2006-09-23 17:09:00 If that isn't devotion to the cause I don't know what is.]]> 1 0 0 Which of my websites to use to market short breaks near St Andrews? http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/which-of-my-websites-to-use-to-market-short-breaks-near-st-andrews/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 11:13:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/which-of-my-websites-to-use-to-market-short-breaks-near-st-andrews/ 1and1 internet earlier this year because my internet service provider, blueyonder, didn't seem to be meeting the needs of a small business, and although I had been using their personal web pages to run Sandcastle Holidays, I wanted to do things with my website which I didn't seem to be able to work out how to do on their servers.

The thing about using 1and1 is that they make it so easy to buy new domain names, so you're always being tempted to just buy another one whenever you think up a new idea. They're so cheap (you think to yourself) - under £10 and you too could have your own dotcom.

So when I decided to look at marketing Sandcastle Cottage as a short break destination, I was unsure whether I needed to buy a new domain name, or whether by clever use of an existing domain name I could use one which I already owned.

I logged on to my 1and1 account yesterday and took a look at the domain names which I already own:

www.sandcastleholidays.co.uk - the one where we bring together our two properties on one site, and also publish information about our company and my web design services.

www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk - the site which we use to promote Sandcastle Cottage, our self-catering cottage in Crail, Fife which is a great place to have family holidays.

www.sandcastle-in-the-city.co.uk - the site for our self-catering holiday apartment in the centre of Edinburgh where we offer short breaks, weekly lets and longer stays for visitors to Scotland's capital City.

www.2crail.com - the site I'm developing to hold information about what there is to do when you come to Crail on holiday - the one where we 'sell the location' if I think about John Winkler's comments about selling the area to potential guests.

www.2edinburgh.com - the site I want to develop for Edinburgh which does the same job as the site above, but offers a personal view on what's hot and what's not for visitors to our fair city.

www.2edinburgh.co.uk - the site I was using to gather together the websites for the members of our group of self-caterers in central Edinburgh, but which didn't get off the ground after initial discussions. The members of the group weren't all in favour of having a marketing tool which wasn't properly optimised and managed. I may come back to this idea later. However, in the meantime I decide to offer the domain name to www.sedo.co.uk for parking and possible sale.
I can always change my mind later and start re-using the domain name if it doesn't sell.

Having done that, I decided to opt on the side of economy, and try setting up a sub-domain for one which I already own to do the marketing of the short breaks at Crail. So, I set up www.short-breaks-near-st-andrews.2crail.com - it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, and won't be easy to tell people over the phone, but that's not the point of this exercise is it? We're getting key words into the URL and then making the web page very relevant - aren't we? Time will tell if this is the right approach.]]>
325 2006-09-23 12:13:00 2006-09-23 11:13:00 open open which-of-my-websites-to-use-to-market-short-breaks-near-st-andrews publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
Trying sell a short break at the last minute http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/trying-sell-a-short-break-at-the-last-minute/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 12:08:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/trying-sell-a-short-break-at-the-last-minute/
Next week at Sandcastle Cottage we could do a short break from Monday 25th September to Friday 29th September, priced at only £200 for 4 nights.

But how can I get this sold with only the internet as my tool (it's too late to do anything else)?

My friend Isabelle (a fellow central Edinburgh self-caterer and B&B owner) has just bought a new property in Plockton which she's going to get the keys to this week and is trying to hurry along and get marketed. She's taken a page on the Cottage Guide already and she sent me an e-mail the other day asking where I thought she should market it.

I'd suggested Undiscovered Scotland because they've got a late availability page which we're currently using to sell our short breaks. However, we haven't had any enquiries for next week.

We're also using the ASSC's Late Availability page - so I just take a minute to check that we've got the right dates on there. When I see how many people are now using pictures of the scenery on their late availability pages, I think it's about time we stuck in something different - so I upload the Sandcastle Cottage welcome plate photograph just so that we stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately there's a delay in the photographs posting as they have to be approved - I wonder if the Webmaster works over the weekend?

I've also offered short breaks on Visit Scotland's site for our cottage, and checked that my availability is all up to date on their IONA System - I also notice that they've updated the photograph which is being used to sell the cottage - we're using the Welcome Plate which Karen Edwards of Funky Scottish designed for us. I love that plate Karen!

I decide to try something radical - e-bay! So I put up an ad. which closes at 22.19 on Sunday night and costs me £2.50 or so to place. Check it today and its had 16 views - so maybe there's something in this, but I'll only be convinced if it actually sells.]]>
326 2006-09-23 13:08:00 2006-09-23 12:08:00 open open trying-sell-a-short-break-at-the-last-minute publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last 3 2006-10-07 09:28:00 2006-10-07 08:28:00 John Winkler]]> 1 0 0
short breaks near st andrews http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/short-breaks-near-st-andrews/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:05:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/short-breaks-near-st-andrews/ short breaks near st andrews - great idea for a blog.]]> 327 2006-09-23 15:05:00 2006-09-23 14:05:00 open open short-breaks-near-st-andrews publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last Selling a short break for Dunhill Golf Tournament at St Andrews http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/09/selling-a-short-break-for-dunhill-golf-tournament-at-st-andrews/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:07:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/09/23/selling-a-short-break-for-dunhill-golf-tournament-at-st-andrews/ Google Adwords account, and get the (golf) ball rolling. It's the Dunhill Cup 5-8 October at St Andrews, so it should still be possible to pick up a rental for some short breaks around then.

Put £10 per month into my Adwords account. I don't know if this is too stingy, but I don't want to run up huge bills doing this until I feel much more comfortable with the idea.]]>
328 2006-09-23 15:07:00 2006-09-23 14:07:00 open open selling-a-short-break-for-dunhill-golf-tournament-at-st-andrews publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
URL length for GOOGLE Adwords campaign http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2006/10/url-length-for-google-adwords-campaign/ Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:05:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2006/10/06/url-length-for-google-adwords-campaign/
So: http://www.short-breaks-near-st-andrews.2crail.com won't be any good. Back to the drawing board....]]>
329 2006-10-06 14:05:00 2006-10-06 13:05:00 open open url-length-for-google-adwords-campaign publish 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last
Crail Parish Church - from a different angle http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/04/crail-parish-church-from-a-different-angle/ Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:23:29 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=118 Crail Parish Church from Beech Walk Park[/caption] A phone call from Giselle at Alton House this morning led to a chat about Twitter and how you can use it to promote your site and your business. But any chat about Twitter leads me into the time-consuming void which is my current Twitter addiction! Some people claim not to 'get it' and others like me think that it's just the greatest fun. So how does this have anything to do with Crail Parish Church? Here's how it happens. I go into TweetDeck and set up a search for 'Crail' just to demonstrate to Giselle how she could find out what people are saying about Crail. There's a problem. A "crail" (is it a c-rail?) is part of a skateboard, so we have to weed out all the mentions of 'Crail Couch' from the search as 'On the Crail Couch' is a YouTube channel where skateboarders talk about skateboarding stuff. Then we're looking (hopefully) at mentions of Crail, Fife on Twitter. And that's where I find the link - Kim McGowan is a blogger who has written a post about her visit to the graveyard at Crail Parish Church. I've wandered through the church yard of Crail Parish Church many times, occasionally taking photographs, but more often on the way to visit my Dad's grave for a few minutes of quiet reflection and a 'chat' with him and a nod to his boyhood friend Ernie whose grave is nearby. I've seen some of the things Kim talks about in her blog, but her writing has given me a whole new perspective for my next visit there. Go and read what she says, and maybe come and visit Crail soon.]]> 118 2010-04-23 15:23:29 2010-04-23 15:23:29 open open crail-parish-church-from-a-different-angle publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last thesis_thumb_width thesis_thumb_height 6 kimmcgowan@btinternet.com http://kimmcgowan.blogspot.com/ 86.140.55.55 2010-04-24 10:24:24 2010-04-24 09:24:24 1 0 0 Crail Events - May weekend and coming soon http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/04/crail-events-may-weekend-and-coming-soon/ Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:42:08 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=125 May mini festival 1-2 May 2010. Don't miss Caiplie House's debut dinner for non-residents - Classic Scottish Cooking with influences from Finlay's time working in France and Italy. Or what about a chance to go to one of Jerdan Gallery's famous previews, this Friday 30 April 2-8pm, with wine and nibbles, all welcome, the new exhibition 'Razzle Dazzle' runs till June 20. Also, see aboutcrail.co.uk for more about Crail! ]]> 125 2010-04-29 13:42:08 2010-04-29 13:42:08 open open crail-events-may-weekend-and-coming-soon publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last Events in and around Crail this weekend http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/04/events-in-and-around-crail-this-weekend/ Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:51:08 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=129 Alton House that Cambo Estate is having a Tulip weekend this weekend - what a lovely idea for something to do if you're having a short break in and around Crail at the beginning of May. Sandcastle Cottage would be a lovely base for experiencing some of the events which are happening in and around Crail this weekend.]]> 129 2010-04-29 13:51:08 2010-04-29 13:51:08 open open events-in-and-around-crail-this-weekend publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last Sand sculpture event coming to Crail http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/05/sand-sculpture-event-coming-to-crail/ Wed, 05 May 2010 22:34:50 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=132 Sandcastle Holidays logo[/caption] There will be more than one Sandcastle in Crail this summer as the East Neuk Festival brings Sand Sculptor Jamie to Crail to build a train in the High Street - intrigued? I was! Here's some more about the work of the Sand Sculptor on the Sand in Your Eye site. For more information and up to date developments on the Festival, why not follow the East Neuk Festival on Facebook?]]> 132 2010-05-05 22:34:50 2010-05-05 22:34:50 open open sand-sculpture-event-coming-to-crail publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last 7 scotland4thesenses@googlemail.com http://scotland4thesenses.blogspot.com/ 80.41.249.14 2010-05-05 22:53:13 2010-05-05 21:53:13 1 0 0 8 susan@2crail.com http://www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk 82.41.77.235 2010-05-05 22:57:33 2010-05-05 21:57:33 1 7 2 9 svend@svendbrown.com http://www.eastneukfestival.com 217.42.160.50 2010-05-06 07:43:22 2010-05-06 06:43:22 1 0 0 Your daily bread http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/05/your-daily-bread/ Thu, 06 May 2010 22:41:50 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=139 [/caption] Crail has good quality local shops in the heart of the village, and for your daily bread there is Barnet's the Baker's shop in the High Street. Sample the delights of locally baked cakes such as 'Sair Heids' - I'm not going to explain, go and find out! If you are touring around Fife you might also like to try some of the delicious cakes and breads baked by Fisher & Donaldson's bakery - based in Cupar, but with a branch in St Andrews too. They are currently launching a Bread Club, which means that even after you have gone home you can re-live the tastes and smells of their delicious loaves. Our family favourite is the famous Fisher & Donaldson's Fudge Doughnut - so much so that we ordered a giant birthday cake sized one for a family celebration. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Fudge Doughnut Birthday Cake"]Fisher and Donaldson's Fudge Doughnut Cake[/caption] ]]> 139 2010-05-06 22:41:50 2010-05-06 22:41:50 open open your-daily-bread publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last 10 http://www.2crail.com/2010/11/28/crail-a-photographers-paradise/ 82.165.59.177 2010-11-28 06:28:57 2010-11-28 05:28:57 1 pingback 0 0 Crail Primary School Fair - Saturday 12 June 2010 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/06/crail-primary-school-fair-saturday-12-june-2010/ Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:32:01 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=153 Crail Queen, Emma Busby, and the Goldwing Misfits providing an escort on their Goldwings Bikes. Or join in at Beech Walk Park at 2pm for the crowning of the Crail Queen, followed by pony rides, kids races, games for all ages, home baking, raffles and stalls. Admission: Free. Proceeds go to the Parent Council for playground improvements.  Donations for stalls welcome at the school anytime. Have your photo taken on a Goldwing Bike for  £1 donation to charity. Beech Walk Park (or adjacent Community Hall if rainy), 2-4pm. St Andrews Road will be closed for the parade from 1:30 pm - 2 pm. For other things happening around Fife at the moment take a look at the St Andrew's 'Things to Do' page.]]> 153 2010-06-02 13:32:01 2010-06-02 13:32:01 open open crail-primary-school-fair-saturday-12-june-2010 publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last What was in the box? http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/06/what-was-in-the-box/ Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:19:26 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=157 Back in the early 1960's an amazing box was discovered - and if you're in Crail on the night of Monday 7 June 2010 you can find out more about what was in it! Crail Museum Trust are hosting an illustrated talk on Erskine Beveridge, who took photographs between 1880 and 1919, including some in Crail.  Come along to Crail Town Hall, Marketgate, Crail, KY10 3TL at  7:30pm on Monday 7 June 2010 to hear more. The talk will give further insights into the exhibition being held at the Museum this year - a collection of photographs of Crail. If you can’t be there on the night, perhaps you’d like to purchase a copy of "Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland" which showcases lavish reproductions of over 170 of Erskine Beveridge’s finest photographs, along with a fascinating biographical introduction by RCAHMS Head of Collections, Lesley Ferguson.]]> 157 2010-06-02 14:19:26 2010-06-02 14:19:26 open open what-was-in-the-box publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last 11 giselle@altonhousecrail.com http://www.altonhousecrail.com 80.177.208.207 2010-06-02 17:36:30 2010-06-02 16:36:30 1 0 0 Get into Geocaching http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/06/get-into-geocaching/ Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:05:49 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=178 Caves at Caiplie, Fife[/caption] A book group friend of mine mentioned that she and her family had recently been on a Geocache treasure hunt in Fife, so I thought I'd check it out. Putting the postcode of Sandcastle Cottage (KY10 3TU) into the Geocache site soon brings up some locations nearby which you might like to try treasure hunting in. One such site is at The Caiplie Caves, which can be reached easily by following the coastal path from Sandcastle Cottage in the direction of Anstruther.]]> 178 2010-06-29 01:05:49 2010-06-29 01:05:49 open open get-into-geocaching publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last Find some Fossils http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/06/find-some-fossils/ Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:58:01 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=182 [/caption] Inspired by finding out that there was a huge carboniferous tree trunk to be found at Crail, I've been doing some 'digging around' on the web and have found one or two resources which give more information about fossil hunting in Crail. Our book group recently read Tracy Chevalier's 'Remarkable Creatures', so if you're interested in finding out about the Victorian fossil hunters, it might be a good place to start - or a good book to pack for your holiday reading when you're visiting Sandcastle Cottage. Sites such as UK Fossils Network and Discovering Fossils give an idea of what you should look out for, and there are some directional photos on this blog. A great way to spend a day in Crail, and I'm sure you could make up some marvellous stories to get the kids interested.  Why not give it a try? Update: August 2010 - met our guests who are staying in Sandcastle Cottage during the Crail Festival. They recommend the Fossil Hunting Event in the Crail Festival - so look out for next year's event if you're going to be in Crail in the last two weeks in July.]]> 182 2010-06-29 00:58:01 2010-06-29 00:58:01 open open find-some-fossils publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last 12 http://www.2crail.com/2010/10/26/david-attenboroughs-first-life-in-crail/ 82.165.59.177 2010-10-26 14:52:11 2010-10-26 13:52:11 1 pingback 0 0 Sandcastle Competition - Crail Festival http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/07/sandcastle-competition-crail-festival/ Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:25:33 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=196 Sandcastle Competition, Crail Festival[/caption] Sandcastle Cottage was delighted to be able to sponsor the annual Sandcastle Competition this year, part of the Crail Festival. We were lucky enough to have Giselle Glackmeyer of Alton House, Crail on hand to take some photographs. This is what Giselle had to say about the event:
It was a very exciting day at the Harbour Beach. Low tide, overcast but warm - a tractor was grooming the beach as contenstants arrived, and quickly vied for their favorite spot. Some choose the top where the sand is finer and others choose the bottom where the wetness is great for molding. The beach was fairly full as budding sculptors both local and visiting sketched out their plans and began digging, pilling and carving! An amazing amount of found objects were collected and used to embellish the designs, from pebbles to fish bones, crabs to flowers, seaweed to thistle! Competitiors of all ages came out to show their expertise, some worked alone, and others worked in with families and friends and everyone had a good time. The sun came out for judging which was witnessed by the boats that sat in the incoming tide waiting to enter the harbour and one local said this is how it used to be when they were young with the beach full of youngsters. We spend a lot of time building sandcastles on the beach, but it was lovely sharing the experience with so many other enthusiasts today! We worked hard enough that we thought we earned ourselves an ice cream at the Beehive!
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196 2010-07-30 11:25:33 2010-07-30 11:25:33 open open sandcastle-competition-crail-festival publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last
Coconuts don't grow in Crail http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/09/coconuts-dont-grow-in-crail/ Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:48:45 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=225 [/caption]I had the good fortune to be invited along to a meeting of the Crail Business Network last night in the East Neuk Hotel, Crail. Billed as a social evening and get-together there was an item on the agenda for discussion which I was interested to hear more about and felt it worth making the effort to attend in person. It's been a busy week one way and another, and I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the number of new people I'd met in the past few days at the Fife Diet AGM and St Andrews and East Neuk Tourism Innovation Events I'd attended, and the number of new ideas which had been circulating in my head from the different discussions I'd been involved in. But there is a common thread to these meetings, and it's about information: how we receive it, how we process it, how we pass it on, what we do as a result of having found the information. So, when asked to take to the floor and talk about what social media means to me and how it can help us in Crail, I thought about a little story which I'm going to tell you now. Social Media works. Why do I say that? Because, by being active on Twitter (2crail and 2edinburgh) and using the links I found there, I've taken bookings this year based purely on 'conversations' I've had with potential guests who have noticed that I rent holiday homes. Using these methods is not a quick fix for your business, but it is a way of getting people who might never have heard of you before to look at your website and find out more about you. Through talking to various people in Crail, I've encouraged (no, not bullied, Graham!) people I've spoken with to take tentative steps with social networking - initially through Twitter, and increasingly through Facebook too - and to explore what it has to offer. The Crail Accommodation Network (a co-operation between the accommodation businesses in Crail) gave me the idea that we could be using some of the tools which are freely available to advertise late availability and assist the potential visitors to Crail to find what they are looking for. To this end, I set up a Facebook Page (Crail Last Minute) and encouraged any of the accommodation providers who had a personal Facebook Page to 'like' the page, thereby allowing me to grant them administrative status so they could post their own late availability. Every time a post is made to the Facebook page, a 'tweet' is created on the VisitCrail Twitter account, so that we can encourage potential visitors to find out more about Crail Accommodation through a variety of means, dependent on what suits them. Giselle is maintaining a full email list of accommodation providers. When any of us has an enquiry from a guest and we can't satisfy their request (we're already booked, or their requirements don't match our offering in some other way), then the members of the network can forward an email to Giselle asking her to circulate the details of the enquiry. But there is now another way. Peter Salkeld has created a super resource in the website AboutCrail.co.uk - there's a full listing of accommodation businesses and featured listings for those who are contributing to support the site. It's a great idea to point potential visitors to the AboutCrail.co.uk site at various points in the booking process, but most importantly before they book and at the time when they're about to come and stay. We have a 'blog' now for the Crail Accommodation Network, which needs to be developed and worked upon, but we've got the structure now and are actively seeking ideas and contributions for the blog. Within the blog we've successfully managed to pull the 'Twitter feed' from the VisitCrail Twitter account so that postings show on the front page of the blog, and we've also linked the Facebook account Crail.Last.Minute to it. Unfortunately due to the type of blog we're not seeing the full Facebook postings - just a link to the page. But we'll work how to present that better (we'd prefer it to look like this). We also discussed briefly the fact that if you use Facebook as a 'person' - i.e. you keep in touch with friends and family through Facebook, then you can set up a page for your business on Facebook and I was delighted that in the social part of the meeting three people asked for more information about how to do this. But all this may just seem like 'double dutch' to you right now - what on earth am I going on about? So, here's my little story: I sometimes search on the Internet for things people have been saying about areas of interest to me, and as we have a holiday cottage in Edinburgh too, when people are in Edinburgh I occasionally read what they've been writing about their visit. One such person was Lee Ann - a lady from New York - who wrote a blog about her visit to Edinburgh which I pored over one day. And there on her profile was a link which intrigued me: The Fife Diet. I signed up for their newsletter by following the link here back in December 2009. This last weekend, I attended the very first AGM of the Fife Diet which was amazing, delicious and challenging in pretty much equal measures. Which is how I came to be eating Venison Casserole in Burntisland because of a girl from New York. And to illustrate the 'it just works' contention: on that very day I also received an enquiry from Lee Ann who has decided to make a further visit to her beloved Scotland ... and who booked to stay at our cottage in Edinburgh. Social Media - you don't have to make a science out of why it works, it just does! And if you want to know some food news about Crail - then watch this space for more information about what might just grow in Crail: but it ain't coconuts! ]]> 225 2010-09-23 16:48:45 2010-09-23 16:48:45 open open coconuts-dont-grow-in-crail publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug aktt_notify_twitter socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize 13 lionartcreations@gmail.com http://lion-art.blogspot.com 24.90.190.238 2010-09-27 00:03:28 2010-09-26 23:03:28 1 0 0 14 http://visitcrail.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/coconuts-dont-grow-in-crail/ 72.233.69.25 2010-10-08 00:42:45 2010-10-07 23:42:45 1 pingback 0 0 15 kate@rosemcgrory.co.uk http://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk 80.175.217.124 2010-11-11 15:56:36 2010-11-11 14:56:36 1 0 0 Crail Ephemera http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/10/crail-ephemera/ Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:06:32 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=234 blog post.
View Larger Map]]>
234 2010-10-08 14:06:32 2010-10-08 14:06:32 open open crail-ephemera publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug
St Andrews Pilgrimage - New Walking Guide http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/10/st-andrews-pilgrimage-new-walking-guide/ Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:32:22 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=238 Informed Edinburgh, I've just been reading about of a walking route which follows the trail of ancient pilgrimages from Edinburgh to St Andrews. A book by Cameron Black called 'The Saint Andrew’s Way – Restoration of a Medieval Pilgrimage' is due to be released. You can obtain copies by emailing standrewsway@ymail.com Although most walkers who stay at Sandcastle Cottage, our lovely seaside home in Fife, tend to walk sections of the Fife Coastal Path, this book might generate some ideas for those wishing to walk sections of the Fife part of the walk. I've entered the competition to win a guide, but it will be going on my Christmas wish list too! Would be great training for next year's Edinburgh Moonwalk which I'll be walking towards during 2011.[caption id="" align="alignright" width="400" caption="St Andrews Cathedral"]St Andrews Cathedral[/caption] ]]> 238 2010-10-13 13:32:22 2010-10-13 13:32:22 open open st-andrews-pilgrimage-new-walking-guide publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug David Attenborough's First Life in Crail http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/10/david-attenboroughs-first-life-in-crail/ Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:21:27 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=243 Kim, who I've credited in a previous post about Fossil Hunting in Crail. Last night, via Twitter, she alerted me to the fact that a new television series by David Attenborough is starting, and a taster about the series had been on TV this week. Called Attenborough's Journey, you can catch up with it by following this link. Or if, like me, you end up watching it on your mobile smart phone then this link might be better. (The Scottish section starts at about 45 minutes in). The enthusiasm of David Attenborough for his project 'First Life' shines through - but for us the most exciting thing was that he has been filming part of it in Crail! As we are holidaying at our seaside cottage this week, we were delighted to be able to head off for a morning walk from Sandcastle Cottage today to take a look at what he had found.]]> 243 2010-10-26 14:21:27 2010-10-26 14:21:27 open open david-attenboroughs-first-life-in-crail publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug 16 mike@everythingdinosaur.com http://www.everythingdinosaur.com 217.43.154.166 2010-12-29 17:10:44 2010-12-29 16:10:44 1 0 0 17 susan@2crail.com http://www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk 188.220.124.218 2010-12-29 17:24:22 2010-12-29 16:24:22 1 16 2 Missed Attenborough's Journey? http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/10/missed-attenboroughs-journey/ Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:11:04 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=251 Attenborough's Journey If you'd like to see a snippet of how Crail features in the new series of David Attenborough's First Life, then you'll find the Scottish feature at about 45 minutes in. Great to see how, even in foul weather, David Attenborough found examples of the origins of life itself near the Harbour Beach at Crail, Fife. You might like to follow in his footsteps with a short walk from Sandcastle Cottage.]]> 251 2010-10-26 15:11:04 2010-10-26 15:11:04 open open missed-attenboroughs-journey publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug Crail Food Festival - Social Networking in Action http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/11/crail-food-festival-social-networking-in-action/ Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:54:20 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=255 [/caption] As owners of Sandcastle Cottage, we have had a base in the village of Crail since 1982. It's a lovely village, and over the years we've had a small circle of friends and acquaintances there through neighbours, old friends who've lived here for a while, and some of the other holiday home owners we've got to know via emails and occasional meet-ups in Crail. The great thing we're finding about the growth in new technologies (grouped loosely together under the umbrella term 'social media') is that we're getting to know lots more people in Crail by sharing our knowledge of how to be social on-line. Yesterday, at one such meeting, Peter Salkeld, Graham Anderson and I were discussing how to make the most of the tools available on the internet to publicise an event which Graham's driving forward - next summer's Crail Food Festival. Peter was remarking that in days gone by, we'd have put up posters round about Crail and the local villages, and maybe we'd have attracted some local people and a few tourists to come to such an event. More recently, we'd have advertised by building a website and using the website address on our poster campaign to allow people to find out more about the details of the festival. But over the last 5 years, new tools have been emerging which should allow us to publicise our event to many more people, which will hopefully lead to the event being a commercial success as well as great fun and a lovely day out in Fife - or the centrepiece of a weekend stay here. We were discussing Twitter and Facebook and how they can be used to help us to make the most of our event. We have a website for the Crail Food Festival, and it's currently being developed as we contact more potential sponsors and participants who will want to come to Crail to showcase the best of Food and Drink in Fife and Scotland. We also have a Crail Food Festival Facebook page where friends can participate and hear the latest news, and a Crail Food Festival Twitter account where we'll be building a following by adding friends and helpful Tweets about food in Fife and more details of the events as they become available. Our discussion yesterday centred around the power of these new tools to encourage our friends to visit the website for the event, put the date in their diaries, and most important of all - to come along and support the event. A little Facebook workshop developed as we discussed the difference between having a personal account on Facebook - all three of us: Graham, Peter and Susan have them, but there was a little clarification on how Facebook Pages - such as this one for Crail Food Festival were different from our personal accounts. When it came to the Twitter discussion in our meeting however, we needed to have a concrete example of how Twitter is at the basic level a really helpful tool. Graham plucked an example out of the air. He said: "here's the thing - I'm going to Dundee this afternoon. What if I were to ask on Twitter where I should go for a coffee?" (As the owner of the Honeypot he's keen on people asking that type of question :)). I said that the first thing you'd have to do is make sure that you have enough followers who know Dundee well to get a chance of getting an answer - but I've got quite a few followers on my @2crail account - I'll have a go. Here's what happened: I sent out a Tweet: [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/2crail/status/7041681375367168"] A little later in the afternoon came the reply from Kim Adamson: [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/DiscoveryDundee/status/7088387152416768"] Then Kim followed it up with a further reply: [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/DiscoveryDundee/status/7089029606547456"] And, another suggestion arrived from our friend Finlay - just a bit too late for our coffee-drinking decision (but one to store away for next time): [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/Caiplie/status/7096468598951936"] As our friends Kim and Finlay had been so helpful, I thanked them for their help: [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/2crail/status/7099710301020160"] But guess what? Our little chat about coffee had attracted the attention of another Twitterer - our friend Harriet @fictionwitch - who did another thing which good Twitter friends do: she 'retweeted' the thank you note - thus giving more exposure to all of the Twitter accounts mentioned. What a super result from our little coffee friends experiment. Do you have an example of how Twitter or Facebook friends have helped you out that you'd like to share? Add a comment below if you do.]]> 255 2010-11-24 10:54:20 2010-11-24 10:54:20 open open crail-food-festival-social-networking-in-action publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug _blackbirdpie_7041681375367168 Twitter for iPhone","in_reply_to_status_id_str":null,"id_str":"7041681375367168","contributors":null,"coordinates":null,"in_reply_to_screen_name":null,"in_reply_to_user_id_str":null,"place":null,"user":{"geo_enabled":false,"profile_background_color":"C0DEED","description":"Providing family friendly holidays at our lovely seaside cottage. We love Crail and know you will too.","profile_use_background_image":true,"favourites_count":24,"url":"http://www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk","verified":false,"profile_text_color":"333333","follow_request_sent":null,"lang":"en","profile_background_image_url":"http://s.twimg.com/a/1289607957/images/themes/theme1/bg.png","created_at":"Fri Jan 15 12:39:34 +0000 2010","location":"Crail, Fife, Scotland","profile_link_color":"0084B4","notifications":null,"profile_background_tile":false,"id_str":"105125771","following":null,"profile_sidebar_fill_color":"DDEEF6","listed_count":26,"protected":false,"statuses_count":958,"profile_sidebar_border_color":"C0DEED","profile_image_url":"http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/632804058/3n-welcome_normal.jpg","name":"Susan McNaughton","show_all_inline_media":false,"time_zone":"Edinburgh","friends_count":559,"followers_count":359,"id":105125771,"contributors_enabled":false,"utc_offset":0,"screen_name":"2crail"},"retweet_count":null,"in_reply_to_user_id":null,"id":7.0416813753672E+15,"retweeted":false,"text":"About to head off to Dundee for the afternoon. Where would be good for a coffee."}}]]> _blackbirdpie_7088387152416768 TweetDeck","in_reply_to_status_id_str":"7041681375367168","id_str":"7088387152416768","contributors":null,"coordinates":null,"in_reply_to_screen_name":"2crail","in_reply_to_user_id_str":"105125771","place":null,"user":{"follow_request_sent":null,"profile_background_color":"C0DEED","description":"Welcome to Discovery Point the home of Captains Scott's famous Antarctic ship RRS Discovery, come along and explore, enjoy and have a great day out.","verified":false,"profile_use_background_image":true,"favourites_count":0,"url":"http://www.rrsdiscovery.com","profile_text_color":"333333","lang":"en","profile_background_image_url":"http://s.twimg.com/a/1288470193/images/themes/theme1/bg.png","created_at":"Wed Jul 08 12:48:41 +0000 2009","location":"Dundee","listed_count":63,"profile_link_color":"0084B4","statuses_count":3412,"notifications":null,"profile_background_tile":false,"id_str":"54884840","following":null,"profile_sidebar_fill_color":"DDEEF6","contributors_enabled":false,"protected":false,"show_all_inline_media":false,"profile_sidebar_border_color":"C0DEED","profile_image_url":"http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/349181962/dp-image-for-web_normal.jpg","name":"Kim Adamson","geo_enabled":false,"time_zone":null,"followers_count":807,"id":54884840,"utc_offset":null,"friends_count":597,"screen_name":"DiscoveryDundee"},"retweet_count":null,"in_reply_to_user_id":105125771,"id":7.0883871524168E+15,"retweeted":false,"text":"@2crail go to @DundeeRep - coffee is always good there"}}]]> _blackbirdpie_7089029606547456 TweetDeck","in_reply_to_status_id_str":"7041681375367168","id_str":"7089029606547456","contributors":null,"coordinates":null,"in_reply_to_screen_name":"2crail","in_reply_to_user_id_str":"105125771","place":null,"user":{"geo_enabled":false,"profile_background_color":"C0DEED","description":"Welcome to Discovery Point the home of Captains Scott's famous Antarctic ship RRS Discovery, come along and explore, enjoy and have a great day out.","profile_use_background_image":true,"favourites_count":0,"url":"http://www.rrsdiscovery.com","verified":false,"profile_text_color":"333333","follow_request_sent":null,"lang":"en","profile_background_image_url":"http://s.twimg.com/a/1288470193/images/themes/theme1/bg.png","created_at":"Wed Jul 08 12:48:41 +0000 2009","location":"Dundee","profile_link_color":"0084B4","notifications":null,"profile_background_tile":false,"id_str":"54884840","following":null,"profile_sidebar_fill_color":"DDEEF6","listed_count":63,"protected":false,"statuses_count":3412,"profile_sidebar_border_color":"C0DEED","profile_image_url":"http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/349181962/dp-image-for-web_normal.jpg","name":"Kim Adamson","show_all_inline_media":false,"time_zone":null,"friends_count":597,"followers_count":807,"id":54884840,"contributors_enabled":false,"utc_offset":null,"screen_name":"DiscoveryDundee"},"retweet_count":0,"in_reply_to_user_id":105125771,"id":7.0890296065475E+15,"retweeted":false,"text":"@2crail or pop in here - they do really good hot chocolate downstairs and freshly baked cakes and scones too"}}]]> _blackbirdpie_7096468598951936 _blackbirdpie_7099710301020160 Twitter for iPhone","in_reply_to_status_id_str":null,"id_str":"7099710301020160","contributors":null,"coordinates":null,"in_reply_to_screen_name":null,"in_reply_to_user_id_str":null,"place":null,"user":{"profile_background_color":"C0DEED","description":"Providing family friendly holidays at our lovely seaside cottage. We love Crail and know you will too.","profile_use_background_image":true,"favourites_count":24,"url":"http://www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk","listed_count":26,"profile_text_color":"333333","lang":"en","statuses_count":958,"profile_background_image_url":"http://s.twimg.com/a/1289607957/images/themes/theme1/bg.png","created_at":"Fri Jan 15 12:39:34 +0000 2010","location":"Crail, Fife, Scotland","show_all_inline_media":false,"friends_count":559,"profile_link_color":"0084B4","contributors_enabled":false,"notifications":null,"profile_background_tile":false,"id_str":"105125771","following":null,"geo_enabled":false,"profile_sidebar_fill_color":"DDEEF6","protected":false,"verified":false,"profile_sidebar_border_color":"C0DEED","profile_image_url":"http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/632804058/3n-welcome_normal.jpg","name":"Susan McNaughton","follow_request_sent":null,"time_zone":"Edinburgh","followers_count":359,"id":105125771,"utc_offset":0,"screen_name":"2crail"},"retweet_count":null,"in_reply_to_user_id":null,"id":7.0997103010202E+15,"retweeted":false,"text":"Thanks to @caiplie @DiscoveryDundee for coffee suggestions. Just trying to show @aboutcrail and @CrailCoffee Twitter power!"}}]]> _blackbirdpie-7041681375367168 Twitter for iPhone";s:11:"profile_pic";s:66:"http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/632804058/3n-welcome_normal.jpg";s:16:"profile_bg_color";s:6:"C0DEED";s:15:"profile_bg_tile";s:0:"";s:16:"profile_bg_image";s:60:"http://a3.twimg.com/a/1300224005/images/themes/theme1/bg.png";s:18:"profile_text_color";s:6:"333333";s:18:"profile_link_color";s:6:"0084B4";s:10:"time_stamp";s:10:"1290513842";s:10:"utc_offset";s:1:"0";s:13:"friendly_date";s:25:"23 November 2010 12:04 pm";s:8:"time_ago";s:25:"23 November 2010 12:04 pm";}]]> _blackbirdpie-7088387152416768 2crail go to @DundeeRep - coffee is always good there";s:6:"source";s:63:"TweetDeck";s:11:"profile_pic";s:72:"http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/349181962/dp-image-for-web_normal.jpg";s:16:"profile_bg_color";s:6:"C0DEED";s:15:"profile_bg_tile";s:0:"";s:16:"profile_bg_image";s:60:"http://a3.twimg.com/a/1299876209/images/themes/theme1/bg.png";s:18:"profile_text_color";s:6:"333333";s:18:"profile_link_color";s:6:"0084B4";s:10:"time_stamp";s:10:"1290524977";s:10:"utc_offset";s:0:"";s:13:"friendly_date";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:09 pm";s:8:"time_ago";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:09 pm";}]]> _blackbirdpie-7089029606547456 2crail or pop in here - they do really good hot chocolate downstairs and freshly baked cakes and scones too";s:6:"source";s:63:"TweetDeck";s:11:"profile_pic";s:72:"http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/349181962/dp-image-for-web_normal.jpg";s:16:"profile_bg_color";s:6:"C0DEED";s:15:"profile_bg_tile";s:0:"";s:16:"profile_bg_image";s:60:"http://a3.twimg.com/a/1299876209/images/themes/theme1/bg.png";s:18:"profile_text_color";s:6:"333333";s:18:"profile_link_color";s:6:"0084B4";s:10:"time_stamp";s:10:"1290525131";s:10:"utc_offset";s:0:"";s:13:"friendly_date";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:12 pm";s:8:"time_ago";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:12 pm";}]]> _blackbirdpie-7096468598951936 2crail DCA ,152 Nethergate Dundee DD1 4DY just in time for afternoon coffee!";s:6:"source";s:3:"web";s:11:"profile_pic";s:66:"http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/712356804/Anglesmall_normal.JPG";s:16:"profile_bg_color";s:6:"C0DEED";s:15:"profile_bg_tile";s:0:"";s:16:"profile_bg_image";s:60:"http://a3.twimg.com/a/1299876209/images/themes/theme1/bg.png";s:18:"profile_text_color";s:6:"333333";s:18:"profile_link_color";s:6:"0084B4";s:10:"time_stamp";s:10:"1290526904";s:10:"utc_offset";s:1:"0";s:13:"friendly_date";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:41 pm";s:8:"time_ago";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:41 pm";}]]> _blackbirdpie-7099710301020160 caiplie @DiscoveryDundee for coffee suggestions. Just trying to show @aboutcrail and @CrailCoffee Twitter power!";s:6:"source";s:67:"Twitter for iPhone";s:11:"profile_pic";s:66:"http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/632804058/3n-welcome_normal.jpg";s:16:"profile_bg_color";s:6:"C0DEED";s:15:"profile_bg_tile";s:0:"";s:16:"profile_bg_image";s:60:"http://a3.twimg.com/a/1300224005/images/themes/theme1/bg.png";s:18:"profile_text_color";s:6:"333333";s:18:"profile_link_color";s:6:"0084B4";s:10:"time_stamp";s:10:"1290527677";s:10:"utc_offset";s:1:"0";s:13:"friendly_date";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:54 pm";s:8:"time_ago";s:24:"23 November 2010 3:54 pm";}]]> 18 http://topsy.com/www.2crail.com/2010/11/24/crail-food-festival-social-networking-in-action/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 208.74.66.43 2010-11-25 07:12:28 2010-11-25 06:12:28 1 pingback 0 0 Crail - a photographer's paradise http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/11/crail-a-photographers-paradise/ Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:28:52 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=260 Early Morning at Roome Bay[/caption] It is such a pleasure to me to receive photographs from guests who have spent time at Sandcastle Cottage in Crail. And even more so when I see a beautiful image like this one. A February morning, just before dawn at Roome Bay. This morning scene prompted me to get up early when we were at the cottage recently and take lots of photographs myself, and some video footage. It's such a pleasure to have the wide horizons of Roome Bay so close to Sandcastle Cottage - just cross the road outside and head down the path past the Doo'cot opposite and you're there. When we're staying at the cottage the circuit down to the coastal path, up the steps by King's Mill and along Castle Walk to Shoregate is our 'long road for a short-cut' to the High Street and the local shops. Tony, our photographer, is a keen birdwatcher, and uses our cottage in Crail as a base to go exploring round the Fife coast as there are many spots where different birds can be seen. If you are interested in finding out more about the wildlife you can see around Crail, the About Crail website has a new column being contributed to by a local enthusiast, Will Cresswell - read more about Wild Crail. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="February Sunrise"]A February sunrise at Roome Bay, Crail[/caption] ]]> 260 2010-11-28 06:28:52 2010-11-28 06:28:52 open open crail-a-photographers-paradise publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug Crail - a little video of Crail Harbour http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/11/crail-a-little-video-of-crail-harbour/ Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:46:58 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=268 Video taken on iPhone4 camera in October 2010 - Hope it will encourage you to take a look at Sandcastle Cottage for your next holiday by the sea.]]> 268 2010-11-30 00:46:58 2010-11-30 00:46:58 open open crail-a-little-video-of-crail-harbour publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize _wp_old_slug 19 lionartcreations@gmail.com http://lion-art.blogspot.com/ 74.72.95.95 2010-11-30 04:19:39 2010-11-30 03:19:39 1 0 0 Chips or Chocolate? http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/chips-or-chocolate/ Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:05:01 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=277 Sandcastle Cottage in Crail along the coastal path gives a dilemma - should the goal of the walk be to reach the famous Anstruther Fish Bar or the chocolate heaven of the Cocoa Tree in Pittenweem? To be honest, after the snowy scenes of the last few weeks, we were just so delighted to be out walking in sunshine - a real bonus for the last day of 2010. This time, chips were the reward - and delicious they were too! The walk was just under 5 miles from the cottage to the bus stop at the Murray Library in Anstruther, and the 95 bus brought us back.]]> 277 2011-01-01 17:05:01 2011-01-01 17:05:01 open open chips-or-chocolate publish 0 0 post 0 aktt_notify_twitter _edit_last socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize thesis_keywords _wp_old_slug 20 http://www.2crail.com/2011/01/02/this-time-chocolate/ 82.165.59.177 2011-01-02 22:31:00 2011-01-02 21:31:00 1 pingback 0 0 Ne'er Day walk round Fife Ness, Crail http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/neer-day-walk-round-fife-ness-crail/ Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:31:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=286 Happy New Year!]]> 286 2011-01-01 20:31:00 2011-01-01 20:31:00 open open neer-day-walk-round-fife-ness-crail publish 0 0 post 0 _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize _wp_old_slug TV INSTRUCTIONS http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2009/02/tv-instructions/ Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:03:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=15 video. Press VCR ON button on Video. Switch tv on. Press source button
on TV Remote (under round green button) then play on VCR or VCR handset.

To watch TV. Connect SCART lead to back of Dvd player (SCART out
socket). Use Dvd controller blue arrows to select DVB from on screen
menu (highlighted in yellow, per photo). Press enter. Use up and down
arrows to select channel.

To play a DVD, use the yellow 'source' button on handset to show
source menu, the up/down arrows to select Dvd, then open/close (green
button, top left on remote), etc.

Susan McNaughton
01314764011
susan@2edinburgh.co.uk
or for Anne House
mail.annehouse@gmail.com

]]>
35 2009-02-07 16:03:00 2009-02-07 15:03:00 open open tv-instructions trash 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-12-05 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/12/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-05/ Sun, 05 Dec 2010 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2010/12/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-05/
  • @LindaMellor our post got delivered - unfortunately right into the puddle in the hall left by my snow-covered wellies! #
  • If you're staying in Crail for the first Saturday of any month, why not take a trip to the St Andrews Farmers'... http://fb.me/Fgwrwevn #
  • Crail community are building a coastal skiff - a project which will involve lots of people locally. Gaelic... http://fb.me/KLbcCsPs #
  • When you're in Crail it's lovely to take a stroll past The Jerdan Gallery in Marketgate - you might be tempted to... http://fb.me/Lobd6VTu #
  • A wee Scottish village could be the best place to spend your next holiday if you're missing Scotland on #StAndrewsDay http://ow.ly/3hkUL #
  • A little look at Crail Harbour - lovely ! http://ow.ly/3hbVF #
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    273 2010-12-05 07:15:00 2010-12-05 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-05 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_time _wp_trash_meta_status
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-12-12 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/12/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-12/ Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2010/12/12/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-12/
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Daily is out! http://bit.ly/fcISYR ▸ Top stories today by @caravanwalks @susanmcnaughton @censta @annielennox #
  • Must get website updated with all the bookings we've taken for next year. It cheers people up to plan next holiday - have you booked yours? #
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Daily is out! http://bit.ly/h6vaq4 ▸ Top stories today by @katemayfield @englishmum @orangeprize @roomfor5 #
  • @BookWorm71 will adjust settings so it only picks up Tweets from a list rather than all those i've followed. Lesson of day! #
  • @BookWorm71 I was trying out a new 'auto' twitter thing and didn't realise quite what a reach it would have. #
  • @BookWorm71 sorry for any offence caused. None intended. I'm nice too! #
  • RT @budgettraveller: @2crail Love East Neuk. Deserves higher profile. Am going to do a series of articles about what travellers can do here #
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Daily is out! http://bit.ly/fcISYR ▸ Top stories today by @censta @toulousenessie @bookworm71 @foxandbhut #
  • @thelakehotel is this part of the Visit Scotland initiative, or your private enterprise? #
  • @BudgetTraveller fantastic - happy to chat it through with you if you want any extra ideas. Have had a cottage there for almost 19 years #
  • @BudgetTraveller are you fond of the East Neuk? It's a wonderful place to escape to. #
  • @Livvers great, thanks. Just trying to spread the word for local business which will be a great attraction for our guests at Sandcastle #
  • @ostawitchestour ours arrived the other day. Unfortunately I'd left snowy wellies to thaw behind the door: result soggy mail! #
  • @ostawitchestour same story where I am at the mo in Edinburgh. Blue skies tomorrow? #
  • @ostawitchestour me too! How's the snow up your way? #
  • Hearing great things about the Christmas Tree lighting night at Crail. @AltonHouseCrail has more details. #
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    274 2010-12-12 07:15:00 2010-12-12 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-12 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-12-19 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/12/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-19/ Sun, 19 Dec 2010 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2010/12/19/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-19/
  • @AileenLamb thanks Aileen. Can't remember when I did it - ages ago. Think the music a bit much, but hey, it was part of the @TripAdvisor ad #
  • @tartancat @techmeerkat David Attenborough came to Crail to see this: http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=785615&month=10&year=2010 #
  • Check out this amazing trip slideshow - forgot I'd made this: http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/vr-0019-447e-81a2?tw #
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Daily is out! http://bit.ly/fcISYR ▸ Top stories today by @richquick @columbastrail @naturalscotland @alexconsuelo #
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    275 2010-12-19 07:15:00 2010-12-19 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-19 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-12-26 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/12/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-26/ Sun, 26 Dec 2010 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2010/12/26/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-26/
  • @Toulousenessie thanks Alan. Have a lovely day tomorrow. #
  • @tourscotland thanks Sandy, and Merry Christmas to you and yours. Currently waiting at Waverley for Mum: she's 3.5 hours late at the mo! #
  • @tourscotland please would you include @2edinburgh @2crail and @Anne_House. Thank you! #
  • @andrewghayes my friend @SenseOfScotland is spending the night in Seattle en route to Vancouver - she was trying to Amsterdam. Wave! #
  • @andrewghayes thanks Andy, will look out for it. #
  • @jools_octavius mind boggling - what were you thinking? :) hope you've bought fiancée something slightly more romantic this year? #
  • @BAIRDSTRAVEL yes, wanted to see the eclipse - what's with the clouds? #
  • @BAIRDSTRAVEL good morning Dougie! #
  • @ostawitchestour ooh you'll need a big stick for that :) #
  • @ostawitchestour oh no, Shirley. Disaster at this time of year. Will have to be sausages and Penman's burgers for your BBQ. :) #
  • Hope you've ordered your Penman's pies for Christmas or New Year celebrations in Crail. #
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Digest is out! http://bit.ly/h6vaq4 ▸ Top stories today by @windermerelodge @andrewghayes @travelmamas #
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    276 2010-12-26 07:15:00 2010-12-26 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-12-26 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-02 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-02/ Sun, 02 Jan 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/01/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-02/
  • @Caravanwalks LOL! Did the same thing and found 3/5 top followers were my other Twitter accounts #muststoptalkingtomyself :) Happy New Year #
  • @Scotwriter mwah! #
  • My Top Followers in 2010: @visitstandrews @susanmcnaughton @fictionwitch @2edinburgh. Find yours @ http://mytopfollowersin2010.com #
  • @Bordeaux8 don't know the official name either, but ebuyer.com is good for gadgety computery things. #
  • Crail has unveiled a perfect day for a walk along the coast and we're making the most of it! http://yfrog.com/h8g3rij #
  • Last night of the Pantomime at Byre Theatre in St Andrews this evening was fun for all the family (oh no it wasn't! Oh yes it was!!) #
  • Firth of Forth is misty this afternoon http://yfrog.com/h6e1bxj #
  • Foggy on the Forth this morning. #
  • Lots of people (including us) have booked their 2011 holidays already. If you're making plans, we'd love to... http://fb.me/O7nQ4caO #
  • @nomadicchick that's sad, but guessing it was sick. We'd a lovely Christmas here. #
  • @birnamhotel och, yes it was just a wee tease about the typo! :) #
  • @hobonora no matter how many days on a train, boredom would never set in! Love the journey you're taking. Great way to see Australia. #
  • @birnamhotel is hagmanay a special witchy version of the New Year's Eve celebration? :) #
  • @nomadicchick you're welcome! How are you today? #
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Digest is out! http://bit.ly/h6vaq4 ▸ Top stories today by @sharingtravel @nomadicchick @dundeeal @bellacaledonia #
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    289 2011-01-02 07:15:00 2011-01-02 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-02 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    This time, Chocolate! http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/this-time-chocolate/ Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:30:54 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=290 year end walk on 31 December 2010, you'll see that we ended the walk in Anstruther having a portion of chips at the Famous Anstruther Fish Bar. Today we decided to fortify ourselves at the Cocoa Tree in Pittenweem before starting a walk back to Crail from there, figuring that it was cold and we needed some incentive to get us going. What a choice! We were greeted warmly by Chris Walker who was spending his New Year break helping out in the cafe. The Cocoa Tree was one of the few places to be open on 2nd January, but this was due to demand from regulars and at the time when we were there a steady stream of customers was arriving to savour the delights on offer. This was our first visit, and certainly won't be our last. The Caliente: a divine combination of quality hot chocolate and a hint of chilli is definitely addictive and a perfect pick-me-up for someone who doesn't like sickly sweet chocolate drinks. Paradise in a cup. If you can't wait to get here to sample some, then the Cocoa Tree offers on-line ordering and I've just noticed that they also stock Willie Harcourt-Cooze's World Class Cacao products too. Oh, I'm lost! We measured our distance using iMapMyWalk (a free app for iPhone) and from the western end of Pittenweem to Sandcastle Cottage at the eastern end of Crail we clocked up just over 8 miles, to bring our total for the three days over New Year to 20 miles. Great training for the Moonwalk! ]]> 290 2011-01-02 22:30:54 2011-01-02 22:30:54 open open this-time-chocolate publish 0 0 post 0 aktt_notify_twitter _edit_last socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize _wp_old_slug 21 cif128@gmail.com http://www.annehouse.co.uk 86.177.155.149 2011-01-03 00:39:23 2011-01-02 23:39:23 1 0 0 22 caroline@i3media.net http://www.lhhscotland.com 86.162.137.172 2011-01-05 12:48:37 2011-01-05 11:48:37 1 0 0 Self-catering seaside holidays: winter walks on the Fife Coastal Path http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/self-catering-seaside-holidays-winter-walks-on-the-fife-coastal-path/ Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:37:16 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=299
    Winter Walk From Crail to Anstruther, Fife Slideshow: Susan’s trip to Crail, Fife, United Kingdom was created by TripAdvisor. See another Crail slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.
    ]]>
    299 2011-01-08 00:37:16 2011-01-08 00:37:16 open open self-catering-seaside-holidays-winter-walks-on-the-fife-coastal-path trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_notify_twitter _edit_last socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize aktt_tweeted _wp_old_slug _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-09 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-09/ Sun, 09 Jan 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/01/09/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-09/
  • @filigreegirl will ask Ben at Crail Pottery next time I see him. Have you seen their YouTube Videos? #
  • @filigreegirl no I don't know. #
  • @Peelcastle oh dear, were they early? #
  • @filigreegirl agree! We made Jamie Oliver's leek and potato earlier. It was delish. #
  • @Scotwriter like the profile pic! Looking adventurous there. Where were you? #
  • @fynbosridge is your wish list of places to visit very long? #
  • @BeckyMcCray yes, it was the things you said about emphasising the great things to do in your local area. Will help with @CrailFoodFest #
  • @sjsocialmedia thanks for the RT - now realise the video didn't appear on my iPhone.... Oh dear :( #
  • @TourismCurrents good evening from Scotland * waves back * (time zones...) #
  • We nominate @VisitStAndrews for a Shorty Award in #travel because they help visitors and locals alike keep in touch with St Andrews updates. #
  • Just in case you're still thinking about where to go on holiday - or maybe a short break? http://fb.me/I4o6NeJG #
  • Browsing YouTube, found a video of our friend Ben Grieve making a plate at Crail Pottery. http://fb.me/stahNa81 #
  • Still wondering where to take your next holiday or short break ? http://ow.ly/3AgjN #
  • Nine Weeks #LessAmbitiousFilms #
  • Half Day #LessAmbitiousFilms #
  • Star Arguments #LessAmbitiousFilms #
  • @Anne_House there's enough of it to feed all comers! #
  • Inspired by Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food cookbook, our wee stars are cooking Jamie's Pea and Mint soup today in... http://fb.me/LjdGAIb4 #
  • @fynbosridge thanks! We've been putting together some little slide shows from local walks on http://www.2crail.com - great NY weather we've had #
  • @fynbosridge snow caused all sorts of delays, but it's melted now - we're in a microclimate by the sea 31/12 pic http://yfrog.com/h0xtelj #
  • @fynbosridge mmm. Very fragrant then. Imagining it wafting on a warm breeze now. #
  • @awanderingsole @pausethemoment well we have Fat Face shops in the UK, so it must work at some level? #
  • @fynbosridge what are fragrant 'fynbos'? (Pardon my ignorance) #
  • The Sandcastle Cottage Digest is out! http://bit.ly/fcISYR ▸ Top stories today by @polandd @2wheeltours @lupinehorror @sharingtravel #
  • @kimmcgowan yes, please do! Would be great to meet for a chat. Happy New Year. #
  • @kimmcgowan hi Kim. Are you in Crail by any chance? #
  • Caiplie Caves looking spookily beautiful on our walk the other day. Much flatter light today, so less interesting http://yfrog.com/h09dsbjj #
  • At the Cocoa Tree in Pittenweem where we are reading how healthy chocolate can be! #
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    302 2011-01-09 07:15:00 2011-01-09 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-09 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-16 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-16/ Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/01/16/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-16/
  • @ostawitchestour oh no! If I were nearer I'd pick them up for you #
  • @ostawitchestour thanks Shirley! How are you doing? #
  • I Love St Andrews! While you are staying in Crail, it's only a short drive or bus ride (on the 95 bus) to St... http://fb.me/A979UxAB #
  • @VisitStAndrews especially if you're walking up North Street! LOL! #
  • @babinaba we've been having success doing some of Jamie Oliver's recipes from Ministry of Food over Christmas. That might get you started. #
  • @filigreegirl enjoy! #
  • @filigreegirl will do, but there's a link on my YouTube page Sandcastle24 #
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    303 2011-01-16 07:15:00 2011-01-16 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-16 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-23 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-23/ Sun, 23 Jan 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/01/23/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-23/
  • @yewtreebnb - here's mine: http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=835027 #
  • @yewtreeBnB we will need photos! Sure he'll look great. #
  • Love the new Blog Central section on the @aboutcrail website: http://ow.ly/3IdeZ #
  • Not the kind of bird you'd expect in Crail, Fife http://t.co/4tPHVQ5 #
  • Cambo Snowdrops by Starlight was a lovely event last year. Wonderful idea for a Valentine's weekend visit to Crail? http://fb.me/OsXS9vEE #
  • @alisonsdiary I'm on learning curve too - think I managed to have yesterday's conversation with you via too many different Twitter personae! #
  • @alisonsdiary yes, link works - just that I'm using iPhone so it wasn't as easy as it might have been as without the www. Best if clickable #
  • @BAIRDSTRAVEL you too! #
  • @Toulousenessie looks like good advice. #
  • 90% of our forward bookings for 2011 are from guests who've stayed before. What would make you visit a holiday home more than once? #
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    304 2011-01-23 07:15:00 2011-01-23 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-23 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-30 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/01/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-30/ Sun, 30 Jan 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/01/30/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-30/
  • @tartancat I have no idea what either of them look like. But it sounds scary. #
  • @BudgetTraveller just as well it's not the ghost walk passing by screaming! #
  • This rightly deserved to win a Scottish Flag trust award: http://ow.ly/3Jlve #
  • @yewtreeBnB hoots! #
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    305 2011-01-30 07:15:00 2011-01-30 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-01-30 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-06 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-06/ Sun, 06 Feb 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/02/06/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-06/
  • Guests who've booked a stay with us in May are planning a trip to the Isle of May to see the puffins. http://fb.me/PxJT2bsP #
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    306 2011-02-06 07:15:00 2011-02-06 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-06 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-13 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-13/ Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/02/13/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-13/
  • @kimmcgowan that's what friends are for, Kim. #
  • @GuidCheeseShop thanks for the follow. We've followed you from @CrailFoodFest too - a great event being planned for this June. Will... #
  • A wander along the Fife Coastal Path to Kings Mill and round by Crail Harbour is our favourite way to start the day in Crail. What's yours? #
  • Easter Holiday dates are very odd this year. Early April booked at Sandcastle Cottage, but actual Easter still available. Have you plans? #
  • A lovely reason to visit Crail soon. http://fb.me/HrjO6W5y #
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    307 2011-02-13 07:15:00 2011-02-13 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-13 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-20 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-20/ Sun, 20 Feb 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/02/20/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-20/
  • Finding the Facebook plug-in for the Adobe Lightroom package should mean a few more photographs on the Sandcastle Cottage page. #
  • I posted a new photo to Facebook http://fb.me/tulC8LHL #
  • As it's wild and windy in Crail, the Sandcastle Cottage kitchen is in full swing. Mackerel pate for lunch. Now... http://fb.me/G0k4ebhn #
  • @kimmcgowan you are welcome. We're just off to visit them in a while. One day, our paths will cross here. X #
  • @hazmattmum Ca va bien, merci - et qu'est-ce que tu faites aujourd'hui? #
  • @techmeerkat well and truly hooked on Twitter? #
  • #FF for @EastNeukFest and @CrailFoodFest - Crail's going to be fun this summer. #
  • Thanks and a big #FF for friends @AileenLamb and @BudgetTraveller for their kind recommendations this week. #
  • Buses from Crail to Cambo on Thursdays & Fridays are the way to reach the Snowdrops by Starlight at Cambo. #
  • East Neuk Festival launch this weekend - a great event in Crail and surrounding area in early July. #
  • @BAIRDSTRAVEL that tweet reminded me of a delightful French family who regularly phoned me after one holiday. #
  • With lots of public holidays in April, surprised we haven't had more enquiries for the second half of the month - have you booked Easter? #
  • @nadinepierce yes, we'd love to have you stay some other time. Or happy to recommend others nearby. #
  • People from all over Europe are finding out more about where our food comes from. The Scottish Fisheries Museum... http://fb.me/ONeI3Z0X #
  • @Darcie can help you if Crail is destination. @VisitCrail is local accomm network. Want me to circulate requirements? #
  • @AileenLamb thanks for the recommendation, Aileen :) #
  • @nadinepierce Sandcastle Cottage booked this weekend and next, but all March dates available. Can help refer you to @VisitCrail network? #
  • Must find out how the plans for the Kingsbarns Distillery are progressing. Could be an interesting addition to our local attractions. #
  • @hazmattmum is there a special French tradition for Valentine's Day? #
  • @tourbritain sounds interesting. #
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    308 2011-02-20 07:15:00 2011-02-20 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-20 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted aktt_notify_twitter _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Short Breaks in March 2010 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/short-breaks-march-2010/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:24:08 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=1 Sandcastle Cottage, Crail - a cosy cottage for a short break[/caption] We're offering some short breaks in March 2010 for visitors to Sandcastle Cottage, Crail - and if you visit in the early part of the month, a visit to Cambo Snowdrops would be a lovely way to spend some time. Available Weekend Breaks: 5-8 March £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot -booking now 12-15 March £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot - booking now 19-22 March £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot - booking now 26-29 March £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot - booking now Mid-week March Breaks 8-12 March 4 nights for only £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot - booking now 15-19 March 4 nights for only £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot - booking now 22-26 March 4 nights for only £250 for up to 5 people, plus cot - booking now]]> 314 2010-03-02 13:24:08 2010-03-02 12:24:08 closed open short-breaks-march-2010 trash 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_old_slug thesis_thumb_height thesis_post_image_horizontal thesis_thumb_width _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time Sandcastle Cottage, Crail - higher standards for self-catering http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2007/10/sandcastle-cottage-crail-higher-standards-for-self-catering/ Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:33:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2007/10/16/sandcastle-cottage-crail-higher-standards-for-self-catering/
    We're closing at the end of October 2008 to allow for essential maintenance to Sandcastle Cottage, and to renew the kitchen fitments and equipment which although still functional, do not match the higher standards which we are striving to attain for our guests at the Cottage.

    Our loyal band of local tradesmen will be employed again this winter carrying out the work.

    We'll try to post regular updates as work progresses.

    First priority is to call a site meeting with our Joiner, and project manager, Mr Sandy Syme from St Monans, our architect, Doug Carrie from Crail and our structural engineer, Brian Saddler of Beech Construction at Chance Inn.

    When we get all of them together we'll do some investigation in the dining room/kitchen to see about the possibility of removing the archway which divides these two rooms.

    If we can't use the space 'liberated' by removing the archway, then we'll have to look at blocking up the kitchen doorway and making a new doorway to the dining/kitchen in the centre of the dining area wall.

    So this is what we need to discuss with the above gentlemen at the earliest possible opportunity.]]>
    318 2007-10-16 22:33:00 2007-10-16 22:33:00 open open sandcastle-cottage-crail-higher-standards-for-self-catering trash 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Sandcastle Cottage: ToDo! http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/01/sandcastle-cottage-todo/ Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:32:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2010/01/15/sandcastle-cottage-todo/
  • Twitter name: twitter.com/2crail
  • Check availability updated
  • Update Terms & Conditions of Let
  • Email all those who've booked confirming what their booking is, where they are with deposits etc and alerting them to T&C changes
  • Ask for feedback on improvements - completed and planned
  • Email all those who've stayed before but not yet booked and ask if they want to book remaining available weeks
  • Special offers for remaining weeks in April & May?
  • Last year's comments updated on blog
  • Add blog link to page 'About the Cottage' for 2008 and 2009
  • Photographs/new web pages for winter breaks at Sandcastle Cottage - all those fab snow pictures must go somewhere!
  • Page for spring breaks
  • Page for winter breaks
  • Remember East Neuk Festival, Crail Festival, Pittenweem Festival
  • Add links in to AboutCrail.com
  • Update on Wi-Fi access in Crail - mention The Honeypot Guest House
  • Investigate WordPress blog for 2crail.com - convert it to Wordpress & theme as a test case & blog about what happens when I do it.
  • Links to www.funkyscottish.co.uk and St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company
  • That's quite enough for now....
  • ]]>
    321 2010-01-15 13:32:00 2010-01-15 12:32:00 open open sandcastle-cottage-todo trash 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_time _wp_trash_meta_status
    Re-writing the 2crail.com website: stylesheets http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2010/03/re-writing-the-2crail-com-website-stylesheets/ Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:54:38 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/?p=24 Sandcastle Cottage website with the 2crail.com website if I use stylesheets based on the same layout, but using different colours and backgrounds. So first step is to download the basics of a stylesheet which I like, then work on it to change the colours and so on. I've found some coding on a website which gives me the basics - good to credit another blogger! First step is to create the stylesheet, then change the colours to match the existing stylesheets for the 2crail.com website. ]]> 330 2010-03-03 15:54:38 2010-03-03 14:54:38 open open re-writing-the-2crail-com-website-stylesheets trash 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time October School Holidays 2007 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2007/09/october-school-holidays-2007/ Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:34:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2007/09/17/october-school-holidays-2007/ Sandcastle Cottage, Crail since early May, we've suddenly come to a grinding halt with our bookings for the rest of this year. Until last Saturday (15th Sept) we had no bookings after 29th September, then I got a telephone call while walking along Callander High Street asking us for a weekly booking fromm 6 - 13 October - hallelujah! However, this gives us another challenge. Because we're just not sure what people are looking for at this time of year. We'd only just finished 'crafting' a short breaks offering from 29th September, and updating all the websites, and now we've a weekly booking - which is great, but means we're back to trying to sell a week from 29th Sept - 6th October, then probably weekly breaks again through the end of October. Last year we had a couple of short breaks in October as well as some weekly ones.

    So I've updated my short breaks page on my '2crail.com' website.

    Which other sites are worth working on? Well, we've a listing on 'The Cottage Guide' - so it could be worth posting some late availability there. Must e-mail them with our prices for next year too.

    Then there's the dreaded VisitScotland listing - why do we 'dread' this? Well, the infamous (to members) Tiscover system is almost unintelligible for us mere mortals who have to do the updating, and our visitors don't seem to be able to figure out how to use it either, because we've had NO BOOKINGS AT ALL THIS YEAR which resulted from our presence on the system, and we paid an extra shed load of cash for a PRINTED BROCHURE ENTRY - for what??? Wish I could find a decent alternative place to spend the money we wasted this year on advertising with them! As I do this I search for my own accommodation for the week of 29 September and find it isn't available - despite updating my availability. Another e-mail required...

    Need to do some more searching round for where best to advertise Autumn Breaks]]>
    331 2007-09-17 21:34:00 2007-09-17 20:34:00 open open october-school-holidays-2007 trash 0 0 post 0 blogger_blog blogger_author blogger_permalink _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Hello world! http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/04/hello-world/ Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:16:03 +0000 admin http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/?p=1 1 2011-04-19 05:16:03 2011-04-19 05:16:03 open open hello-world trash 0 0 post 0 _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time _wp_trash_meta_comments_status 1 http://wordpress.org/ 2011-04-19 05:16:03 2011-04-19 05:16:03 To delete a comment, just log in and view the post's comments. There you will have the option to edit or delete them.]]> post-trashed 0 0 Blog post 1 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/04/blog-post-1/ Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:53:26 +0000 admin http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/?p=18 18 2011-04-26 04:53:26 2011-04-26 04:53:26 open open blog-post-1 trash 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time Blog post 2 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/04/blog-post-2/ Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:53:43 +0000 admin http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/?p=20 20 2011-04-26 04:53:43 2011-04-26 04:53:43 open open blog-post-2 trash 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time blog 3 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/05/blog-3/ Thu, 12 May 2011 19:02:02 +0000 admin http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/?p=32 32 2011-05-12 19:02:02 2011-05-12 19:02:02 open open blog-3 trash 0 0 post 0 _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-27 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-27/ Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/02/27/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-27/
  • @GillGamble enjoyed seeing your series of photos for #StA600 #
  • @carolbrazel @beside_the_sea yay! You'll love it here too. And maybe we'll get to Camber Sands :) #
  • @Beside_The_Sea we were walking beside the sea too today - #Crail #Scotland http://yfrog.com/h0d8ltmj #
  • @ACrosbi hello Aileen. Welcome to Twitter. Look forward to reading your Tweets. #
  • In the Sandcastle Cottage kitchen we're cooking @HairyBikers Yellow Split Pea and Ham Soup this evening so that it will be yum by tomorrow. #
  • Looking at recent landslip near our favourite carboniferous tree trunks #Crail http://yfrog.com/h31qbfbj #
  • A glorious day for walking the Fife Coastal path - bit muddy underfoot. http://yfrog.com/h3p2stsj #
  • @musa_standrews we'll let you know, and hopefully send some of our guests your way too. #
  • “@Dundeevolaction: Dundee Women's Festival Starts 28 february till 13 March 2011. For further details http://www.d-v-a.org.uk/” #
  • @dawnkilner ooops just spotted your byline on the photo! Good one. #
  • @dawnkilner just looking at the Courier now. Which pic yours? #
  • @musa_standrews adding a trip to visit you to our 'things to do' list for our Easter holidays. #
  • @HCStAndrews thanks for sharing the pics. So nice to see the 'real' views and not just the staged for press shots. #
  • “@whiteley: I swear sometimes my son attends Hogwarts http://photogallery.thestar.com/944771 #sta600 ]]> 309 2011-02-27 07:15:00 2011-02-27 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-02-27 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-06 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-06/ Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/03/06/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-06/
  • @CountryLets well I was till I sprained my ankle texting! But still cheery - bit behind on Moonwalk training tho'. :) #
  • @CountryLets too late! I'm being very wary this week after falling while looking for this last week http://plixi.com/p/81737480 #
  • @takehc hello! How did you find us over here in Crail, Fife, Scotland? #
  • @Caravanwalks three caravan sites in Crail, all easy access to long distance #Fife Coastal path. :) #
  • @Caravanwalks great! Now we just have to find some folks from Lancashire who'd like to visit Scotland - especially Crail! #
  • @KTTunstall road from Anstruther to Crail was like that too, but it's been resurfaced :) #iheartbeachtowns too! #
  • @TheLovat *waving* you off on that run. #
  • @CountryLets was that designed to make me fall over? #
  • @foxandbhut maybe you've entered a parallel dimension? #
  • Anyone know which areas of the UK are taking school holidays weeks of 16 & 23 April? #
  • @VisitStAndrews thanks for the recommendation, and a wee plug for @Crailfoodfest and @VisitCrail #FF #
  • @fynbosridge good morning, we're looking for signs of spring here in Scotland :) #
  • Great big reminder of Crail in middle of George Street, Edinburgh - Royal Bank of Scotland http://t.co/QLA6pf4 #
  • @kbdistillery you're welcome Doug. Have you liked the @CrailFoodFest facebook page? Happy for KBDistillery to post on our wall. #
  • Easter self-catering week of 16th & 23rd April available at £495. Near Coastal path. Sleeps 5 + cot. Only 10 miles St Andrews. #
  • “@kbdistillery: http://www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com Planning permission just granted so fundraising again :-)” <=great news Doug! #
  • @LindaMellor yes, just wish I was in Crail. #
  • Short breaks available in March. Weekly breaks available end April/early May. All at: http://www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk #
  • @VisitStAndrews always lovely to be able to share pictures of Crail looking beautiful. :) #
  • @LindaMellor lovely sunset! I was catching the sunrise yesterday at Roome Bay, Crail. http://yfrog.com/h8w2tegj #
  • Should be in Crail for the Rugby - here's a great offer http://yfrog.com/h0xlxidj #
  • @Derek_Haines here's an illustration for your thought for the day http://bit.ly/geIeLJ #
  • Good morning sunrise in Crail http://yfrog.com/h5umbopj #
  • Roome Bay is a great place to watch the sunrise - a bonus if you're staying in Sandcastle Cottage during the... http://fb.me/wH3Zxktc #
  • I posted a new photo to Facebook http://fb.me/SVngYiVu #
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    310 2011-03-06 07:15:00 2011-03-06 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-06 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-13 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-13/ Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/03/13/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-13/
  • Off to finish newsletter for Sandcastle Cottage and email to guests who've stayed in last 5 years. Would love to welcome them back. #
  • @Cloagfarm yes, sitting here with analysis paralysis trying to get a 'spring' newsletter together. Finding April bookings a challenge! #
  • @AileenLamb on the bright side, I've got bookings in place for 2012 at Sandcastle Cottage #loveguests #
  • @AileenLamb last minute I can handle, it's the day after I've been empty that I can't get back :) #
  • One day the spring will come, tra la la <closes eyes to snow and imagines> #Scotland #
  • @mitchellsdeli hope so! Will send your details to the organisers and get them to send you an info pack. #
  • @mitchellsdeli have you met @Byamt in your travels? He makes hot chilli jam and lots more :) #
  • @mitchellsdeli hello from Crail. Good luck with your opening in April. Have you heard about @CrailFoodFest ? #
  • @kbdistillery @pitmilly hope it works out, drive safely! Fife businesses rooting for you! #
  • @pitmilly @kbdistillery yes, Doug - are you still snowed in, and how did it go? #
  • @Adrienne65 thanks Adrienne - it's nice to be a local interest! Here's another for you @CrailFoodFest #
  • @BudgetTraveller haven't forgotten about idea to meet up @2edinburgh soon. Meeting guests there today, but very short changeover time. #
  • @SeafoodRestau hope you're braving the storms today, Tim. I've been walking round Edinburgh and am now off to repair face after hailstorm! #
  • @SeafoodRestau would you mind my clarty boots tramping into your posh restaurant tho? #
  • @SeafoodRestau wow, now that sounds like a walk worth doing :) #
  • @BudgetTraveller it is! The @seafoodrestau at St Monan's is my favourite. Now you've got me thinking - Coastal walk & lunch sorted :) #
  • If you haven't booked an Easter break yet, how's about one where you can take walks by the sea and eat seafood at @SeafoodRestau ? #
  • @Bordeaux8 good, we love visitors :) @VisitCrail #
  • @Bordeaux8 hope you'll come back for longer soon, or maybe even for @crailfoodfest or @EastNeukFest ? #
  • Great to see @CrailBookshop on Twitter - give them a nice warm welcome, and if you love books too, how's about a follow too? Remember... #
  • We've still got availability for 16 - 30 April - let me know if you'd like a short break within the dates and... http://fb.me/JtbfvqXt #
  • Do you know anyone at St Andrews University who might be looking for accommodation for family visiting at Easter? #
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    311 2011-03-13 07:15:00 2011-03-13 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-13 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted aktt_notify_twitter _edit_last _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-20 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-20/ Sun, 20 Mar 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/03/20/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-20/
  • @AileenLamb thanks! #
  • @KingdomBF thanks for the invite. Family commitments make a 6:45 am meeting challenging, will bear in mind though. #
  • @RickwoodPortpat just tweet about what you love and they will come. Everyone needs a holiday sometime! #
  • @RickwoodPortpat glad to hear it! How are you finding Twitter as a tool for connecting with guests? #
  • I love waking up in Crail and heading out for a stroll along the Coastal Path before anyone else is up. Great way to start the day. #
  • @tourismnetfife trying hard to enlist other small biz to engage more with others. But need leader to emerge for East Neuk :) #
  • @BAIRDSTRAVEL you too Dougie! #
  • @BAIRDSTRAVEL and a great place to live :) #
  • Where is the East Neuk of Fife? http://t.co/5uopRPl Each village has its own character. Crail has two golf courses too! #
  • @chrismarr101 yes, nothing like sweet success to inspire :) #
  • @OldCourseHotel yes all that talk about Arran Cheese and @CrailFoodFest! But had to get off for school pick up. Food looked splendid :) #
  • @carolbrazel Whereas I've gone slightly longer :) #
  • @carolbrazel yes, just wish occasionally I could get list to shrink. Off for walk to clear head first :) #
  • @carolbrazel @HoeGrange have been told that in Scotland regs apply for properties let out to one tenant for >12 weeks. You may need to chk #
  • @chrismarr101 yes, he was excellent. But I enjoyed hearing about Fife Earth project & Arran has a lot to teach us (@CrailFoodFest) #
  • Lovely to meet so many enthusiasts for Fife at the Fife Tourism Conference yesterday. Lots going on: golf... http://fb.me/G7gQfdMd #
  • @pitmilly thanks for invite, yes! Will contact you direct to arrange date as I've got @2edinburgh & @SusanMcNaughton business nxt wk #
  • @VisitStAndrews great #fifetourismconf yesterday. Loved hearing about Fife Earth Project. Fife rival to Eden Project? #
  • @NaeLimits at #fifetourismconf had us gasping! Highland Fling bungee jump will add to Scottish adventure tourism. Not for fainthearted :) #
  • @pitmilly missed meeting John at Conf, but good to hear him speak. Really want to see more East Neuk action via @TourismNetFife #
  • @chrismarr101 that's why we didn't recognise you LoL! What was your favourite #fifetourismconf session? #
  • @HoeGrange yet another piece of bureaucracy to be covered by self-catering properties I fear. Did you get definite answer? #
  • @tourismnetfife missed you at #fifetourismconf yesterday. What was your favourite session? #
  • @Balmashie good to meet you at #fifetourismconf yesterday. What was your favourite session? #
  • @golffife Brian, would be great to see a profile pic on your Twitter accounts. People will be more likely to follow you. :) #
  • @golffife good to meet you at #fifetourismconf yesterday. @sandymcnaughton was surprised to hear we'd met. #
  • @Alba_StAndrews hope you'll follow @CrailFoodFest which might be of interest to some of your guests this summer. And @EastNeukFest too. #
  • @OldCourseHotel thanks for lending me one of you linen napkins when I had to rush off from #fifetourismconf - sorry I missed lovely lunch! #
  • @Shattonhallfarm hello from Crail and @2edinburgh - holiday cottages on Twitter, yay! @BeechenhillFarm :) #
  • #fifetourismconf inspirational today and their was cake from Fisher & Donaldson's too! @edinburghcake :) http://t.co/Ypb1ZEe #
  • @kimmcgowan @little_mavis oops ! Just saw the clue. Sandcastle Cott avail 3 weeks 16 April - 7 May if that helps: sandcastle-cottage.co.UK #
  • @kimmcgowan @little_mavis will have to give me a clue as tweets are protected: I can't see the convo. #
  • @kimmcgowan @little_Mavis - how can I help? #
  • @AileenLamb thanks for putting together a great and inspiring conference today. Just sharing with @sandymcnaughton now :) #fifetourismconf #
  • @SparkleSmith #fifetourismconf was a great event, but there was so much to cram in I had to leave before networking :( #
  • @SparkleSmith met your Mum! Lovely lady. #
  • @SparkleSmith will do ;) #
  • Look forward to seeing @AileenLamb #FifeTourismConf today @OldCourseHotel & @CrailFoodFest @Caiplie @AltonHouseCrail :) #
  • What a lovely place to wake up: Calm, Relaxed, And Ideal Location : C-R-A-I-L !! #
  • “@CrailFoodFest: Crail Food Festival finding ways to raise funds http://t.co/HZp9SKy” can u help donate Raffle prizes?” <please RT #
  • @malthouse haggis, whisky and #deepfriedmarsbar - wonder where you get your inspiration? #
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    312 2011-03-20 07:15:00 2011-03-20 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-20 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time
    Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-27 http://craigwell.fourthwallweb.co.uk/2011/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-27/ Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:15:00 +0000 susan http://www.2crail.com/2011/03/27/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-27/
  • @chrismarr101 ok, no slacking then - hit that deadline! :) #
  • @chrismarr101 thanks Chris. Hope the studies are going well. #
  • @carolbrazel thanks Carol. One day we'll get to your part of the world :) #
  • A little #FF for our friends at the Honeypot. Graham & Edna working hard & providing great service in #Crail @Honeypot_Crail for cake! #
  • There are lots of beautiful beaches in #Fife but I like the colours on the rocky ones. http://t.co/hYAJkoH #
  • @Anne_House thanks for the RT, but need a space between link and text otherwise doesn't launch :( #
  • Let's have a little pic of Sandcastle Cottage, Crail to start the day today http://t.co/2fOaDNq #
  • @Honeypot_Crail oh, no! You've turned into a strawberry in your profile pic : really was a problem with the upload! :) #
  • Hello @Honeypot_Crail! Is that a cake I see there? What kind of cheese scones are on the menu today? #
  • If anyone hasn't booked their Easter holidays yet, don't you think maybe it's time....we're offering short breaks... http://fb.me/EEXDuC5s #
  • @lesleyjudge have a good time and look forward to hearing all about it. #
  • @pitmilly well done! Your high standards of service are paying dividends with Corporate bookings. #
  • @lesleyjudge @scotfishmuseum @OpenStudiosFife @caiplie @altonhousecrail @eastneukfest @crailbookshop lots more reasons to visit #Fife #
  • @lesleyjudge you're very welcome! Chatting to @ScotFishMuseum this morning about a great series of food/fish events they're running. #
  • Let's see ... How's about a wee photo of a Crail sunrise to start the day? http://t.co/uKEDznr #
  • @Shattonhallfarm Yes, you MUST. Best seafood ever! #
  • @BalcomieHotel do you think a #CrailTweetup would be a good idea? #
  • With Crail as a holiday base, St Andrews is only 10 miles away. http://t.co/l0tcDA5 #
  • Heard this was going to be a year of last-minute bookings, so on tenterhooks waiting for Easter lets! #
  • Welcoming guests to Crail is what we like to do. They come for coastal walks, calm, relaxation, to step out of busy lives. #
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    313 2011-03-27 07:15:00 2011-03-27 06:15:00 open open twitter-weekly-updates-for-2011-03-27 trash 0 0 post 0 aktt_tweeted _edit_last aktt_notify_twitter socialize_text leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.]]> socialize _wp_trash_meta_status _wp_trash_meta_time