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Cowdenbeath hotel

Best of all the car has broken down and won't be repaired until the weekend so it's train home and back this weekend. So I'm stuck in the town this week and next.
Why don’t you stay there for the weekend and go and do the Elie Chainwalk? Right up the street of a mountaineering chappie like you. Two hours by bus - change at Kirkcaldy. See, I’ve done the hard planning bit for you… Or you could stay in the Earlsferry area overnight - probably cheaper than catching the train home.

See if you can make a better fist of it than Lego Marchbanks. I sent him there during last year’s JOGLE virtual walk. He didn’t speak to me for several months after that. Result.

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Why don’t you stay there for the weekend and go and do the Elie Chainwalk? Right up the street of a mountaineering chappie like you. Two hours by bus - change at Kirkcaldy. See, I’ve done the hard planning bit for you… Or you could stay in the Earlsferry area overnight - probably cheaper than catching the train home.

See if you can make a better fist of it than Lego Marchbanks. I sent him there during last year’s JOGLE virtual walk. He didn’t speak to me for several months after that. Result.


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That looks fun, I'll see if I can get there sometime. Not this weekend, I've stuff to do at home and I don't have enough clothes here to stay another week without having to fart about I launderettes
Sorry to hear that, Steve. Hope it’s not a costly repair.
These things happen, it's a 15 year old 200k mile car. Some maintenance is to be expected. What is a pain is that until recently I have just been working locally and walking to work. Sod's Law says it couldn't have chosen to die when I was making local trips around Leeds and I could have got it to a local repairer, but no. Day 1 of a new contract, neatly halfway between home and client. Still, costs look reasonable. The pulley is £130, plus a new belt, maybe a tensioner, and 1.5- 2 hours labour. I *might* come in under £300, then VAT. It's still cheaper than running a newer car that hands you that in depreciation every month or two. I reckon on repair bills of £500ish every year or so, so I can swallow this one. I've only done front discs, a broken spring for the MoT and a new battery in the last year.
 
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That looks fun, I'll see if I can get there sometime. Not this weekend, I've stuff to do at home and I don't have enough clothes here to stay another week without having to fart about I launderettes
It’s great fun. Ive done it, as my mum used to live very close, in Largo.

From Cowdenbeath, you will get there in way less than 2 hours by bus. 30 minutes by car.

Cowdenbeath to kirkcaldy. Change for bus to St Andrews. Two bus options to St Andrews. Fast version which goes inland. Or slow, which goes via coastal fishing villages, including Elie. this 2nd route is lovely.

The split point for inland or coastal is Upper Largo.

So, if you want to do this north to south. get on the coastal bus to Elie.
If you want to do it south to north, get off the bus at Lundin Links, ( just before the route split) and a short walk down to the beach.

I would suggest the 2nd option, as it gives you two bus options from Kirkcaldy. ie both versions go through Lundin Links.

In addition, you would end up on Elie/ earlsferry beach. Walk down to harbour area. There is a lovely wee pub called the Ship Inn. Nice food and they have rooms too, if you fancied a nights break from lovely Cowdenbeath.

welcome to the “Kingdom of Fife”
 
If you fancy a wee treat
That's a bit of a hike but I will bear it in mind. I suspect that once I get the car sorted (it went to the garage today, repair over or possibly before the weekend) I will be staying outside the town itself, there's not much going on here. Dunfermline is reckoned to be a better place and i am scoping out flats that I can rent monthly. Once IO get my feet in this is a definite option.
 
If all else fails and your sanity is waning, get the train into Edinburgh for the day. As Mogwai says 'Don't believe the Fife'.
 
If all else fails and your sanity is waning, get the train into Edinburgh for the day. As Mogwai says 'Don't believe the Fife'.
Good scheme. I'm going home via Edinburgh tomorrow, back on Monday. But it's doable to Edin for an evening out. This place feels a million miles from Princes St instead of the actual 20 miles or so. I'm told Dunfermline is a better place to stay and that's only 6 or 7 miles away. I also have a lead on some flats that might be able to be let a month at a time, I've done that before and had good results.
 
Good scheme. I'm going home via Edinburgh tomorrow, back on Monday.
On the way you could drop in at a wee engineering gem for an unofficial cup of tea and become a Certified Keeper Of The Light. (This idea went down far better than the Chainwalk.)

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Edit: no you couldn’t, it doesn’t open until May 10. Another one for the future.
 
Sorry to hear that, Steve. Hope it’s not a costly repair.
Car now repaired! Cost £300. Now I think that's pretty damn fair given that the pulley is £130, the belt £30, labour and VAT. I've already bought the train tickets so I'll get the car back on Monday. The mechanic praised the state of the car, said it was in good order for 15 years/200k miles, which is good news. I'm hoping for another couple of years and 250k miles if possible. Certainly in France where they keep cars for longer and do the miles 400k km (250k miles) is reckoned to be a reasonable lifespan for the standard ~2L diesels that most people drive.
 


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