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Milestones between Radernie and Pitkierie
On the B940 between Radernie (some half mile west of Higham Toll) and Drumrack (five or so miles east of Higham) there are six milestones. The B940 goes on to Crail, but at the Kingsmuir or Drumrack crossing I turned right onto the Anstruther road (B9131). This is 6 miles from St Andrews and 3½ to Anstruther. Between the crossroads and Anstruther there are two milestones recorded as missing, and two extant, the last being at Pitkierie, 1½ miles from town.
The photographs were taken on a grey, breezy afternoon in June 2013. An account of the walk is given here. (PDF file)
Subsequently, I found that the milestone just outside Anstruther was no longer missing, and I photographed it on a sunny afternoon in early August 2013.
Radernie, one mile from Peat Inn
The milestone at Radernie, partly hidden in long grass.
The view north, and a water aven from the verge on the other tree-shaded side of the road.
Lathockar Bridge, two miles from Peat Inn
The second milestone is at the bridge over the Lathockar Burn. Despite the drying wind and the drainage pipes there was still some small reminder of the previous night's heavy rain.
Belted Galloways near the second milestone.
Three miles from Peat Inn
The third milestone is east of Lingo.
Note the letter B on the top of the cap.
North Baldutho, a little beyond the third milestone, where I stopped to watch hay being gathered and carted along the farm track.
The fourth mile from Peat Inn
On the way to the fourth milestone, which is just beyond the turning to Arncroach.
The fourth milestone, seven miles from Crail.
Lochty, five miles from Peat Inn
The fifth milestone is at Lochty, just before the turning to Carnbee and Pittenweem. It is so overgrown that I almost missed it, and to get my photographs I had to hodl the grass aside.
The sixth milestone, near Drumrack
A view of Kellie Law a few hundred yards before the sixth milestone.
The sixth milestone is a short distance before the Kingsmuir crossroads, where the B940 crosses the B9131 from St Andrews to Anstruther.
The Kingsmuir Crossroads
Views from the road just past the sixth milestone.
The Kingsmuir crossroads.
On the road to Anstruther
There is a milestone, 3½ miles from Anstruther and 6 from St Andrews, at the crossroads.
The milestone at the Kingsmuir crossroads. The south-facing side is cleaner than the north-facing side. Note the slight discrepancy between the milestone and the modern sign just yards further along the road.
Spalefield and the missing milestone
The book and the map agree that the milestone that used to be a few hundred yards before the Spalefield cross-roads has been lost.
The verge is not without interest. There were several signs of subsidence, this being the most dramatic. The web-address on the drain covers caught my attention. Several of the drain covers on this stretch of road had a similar dab of green paint. The clump of unfamiliar flowers was later identified as comfrey.
View of Anstruther from above Spalefield
The doocote is shown on the map to be close to the Pitkierie milestone.
The Pitkierie milestone, 1½ miles from Anstruther
This is one of the stones rescued by Professor J F Allen's team of student conservationists in the 1970s. In The Milestones of Fife there is a photograph of them setting it upright.
The milestone is a little beyond the Pitkierie filling station and the apparently derelict farm at West Pitkierie. It is just visible opposite the turning for Kellie and Arncroach. (Thanks to Mike Merchant's friend Calum Anton for correcting my original reading of the rusty signpost as East Pitkierie.)
Once again the north or west facing side of the stone is in worse condition than the south facing side.
View towards Kilrenny.
The book and the map both say that the last milestone, half a mile from Anstruther, is missing. According to the book the stone was restored, but soon afterwards was damaged by a car, and was then set up again in the wrong place and without a cap. I therefore ended my walk here in the car-park just beyond the Pitkierie milestone, with the view over the Forth towards the Bass Rock.
Outside Anstruther
Subsequently, I noticed that the last milestone had been replaced in the correct location and that it had a cap. On Sunday 4 August 2013, when visiting Anstruther, I walked out to photograph it. Like other caps that have been replaced since the Gazetteer in The Milestones of Fife was compiled, this has block capitals rather than cursive lettering, and like some of the others, it is incorrect, showing the same distances as the Pitkierie milestone, which is 1½ miles from Anstruther. These photographs were taken on a sunny afternoon.
The stone should show half a mile from Anstruther and 9 miles from St Andrews.
Looking East to Kilrenny and West to Pittenweem.
A previous walk took me the four miles from St Andrews to Stravithie. Between Stravithie and the Kingsmuir crossroads The Milestones of Fife lists one missing milestone, south of Beley Bridge. This means that, taking this walk and the Stravithie walk together, I have photographed all the extant stones between St Andrews and Anstruther on the B9131.