Hurrah, Elie chain walk.....done it at last.
I set off nice and early, and there was a typical Scottish haar hanging around, although the sun was threatening to show. Instead of parking in Elie itself, I stopped at the golf course and walked from there, deciding to do the chain walk first and return via the top path. There was a group of kids already above the cliffs and heading West, obviously going to start at the Shell Bay end first.
It was a mixture of enjoyment and a smidgin of disappointment. The good part is it was a lovely wee walk and the notice board estimate of allowing 1 - 3 hours is way off mark. I'd say 35 minutes to an hour.
There are some cracking rock formations to be seen and a few 'caves' which upon first glance look promising exploration sites, but are really just shallow hollows into the cliff face. There are quite a few nesting seabirds on the cliffs just now, so it's a tad noisy which in no way detracts from the enjoyment.
As I mentioned, this cannot be classed as a taxing walk, but then I'm a bit more used to the mountains and found this rather tame.
However.......the magic of it all came back as I met up with the group of kids who had set off on the upper path, all helmeted and under the supervision of their instructors. They were all doing the walk with carabeiners clipped to the chains and getting through the sections with a bit of 'shaky legs and squeaky bums', and it brought back great memories of when I was that age and things like this were a great adventure and I felt like I had conquered fears and gained a fantastic sense of achievement upon completion.
Therefore, upon that alone, I'll stop being a cynical old git, and give the walk the thumbs up for enjoyment.
A word of warning though, this can most definitely be a dangerous route if you get caught by the tides.
As for tomorrow, Gary and myself are heading off to Kinlochleven tomorrow to visit a few sites, then I'll likely use the excuse of being there to hang around for a day and try to get a couple of the Ring of Steal Munros walked.
I must, must, must stay out of the Bothan Bar the night before this time
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