"Time and tide wait for no one," proclaimed the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer some 650 years ago in his tales of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury. Heeding his timeless advice, and with our challenge nearing its end, our group of 24 - St Margaret's families, friends, and supporters - set off on the final stretch of our 120 kilometer walk to complete St Margaret's Way on Sunday morning.
St Margaret herself seemed to have saved the best for last, though she included a few challenges to keep us on our toes. The concluding section of this amazing walk followed a portion of the Fife coastal path, which recent storms and tides had severely eroded. In some areas, paths had vanished entirely, leaving us to navigate terraces and cliffs. This demanded sure footing and more endurance and energy than earlier parts of our route. Complicating this, high tide coincided with the middle of the day, presenting a couple of points along the way where the sea could have stopped us in our tracks.
So with a clear purpose, we set off from Kingsbarns: to beat the tide. Our St Margaret's girls set a remarkable pace, which everyone matched, and we reached the "pinch point" beyond Buddo Rock just in the nick of time. Scrambling up a rocky promontory moments before the tidal cut-off, we were able to relax in the sunshine and gaze out to sea while enjoying our picnic lunch. We knew then that our destination, the beautiful ruins of St Andrews Cathedral, was only a few kilometers away. Another ascent of the cliffs on old pilgrim pathways brought the spires into view, and finally, we crossed the golden stretch of the East Sands, arriving at our pilgrimage end.
No promises were left unfulfilled. After a few minutes of gathering and reflection beneath the ancient arches of the cathedral, we followed Miss Tomlinson to what was perhaps an alternative pilgrim's destination: Jannetta's ice cream parlour, where she treated us to a small piece of heaven!
