Poetic Writing of ROBBIE KENNEDY BENNETT © www.rkbpoetry.co.uk Born in Wolverhampton of English and Scottish parentage. He grew up on the Rough Hills Estate area of the town and his Scottish ancestral roots are in the Kingdom of Fife and Dundee. The author is now residing in Codsall, Staffordshire. Drawings, pictures and writing are copyright of the author Robbie Kennedy Bennett. Poems and pictures related to walking the Fife Coastal Path between May 2007 and May 2008. Not only a coastal walk but the experience of treading where ancestors before have worked, lived and breathed. WHEN I WALKED TO LEVEN. THE FORTH RAIL BRIDGE. THOMAS JOSEPH HARRIS. WHAT DO I REALLY SEE? ABERDOUR GREETS ME KINDLY. A FRIENDLY FIFER SAID "HELLO." DID ALEXANDER KENNEDY WALK THIS WAY? STEPPING INTO A SCOTTISH STRATHSPEY. IAN UNDERSTANDS. A GLIMPSE OF GOLD IN KIRKCALDY. THE SILVER TRAIL TO CRAIL. ST ANDREWS I'M ON MY WAY. THE COURAGE OF THE RNLI. FROM THIS WINDOW FIFE I SEE.
The picture that interested the 'Tay' shirt manufacturer.
Property of RKB
WHEN I WALKED TO LEVEN ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
I arrived at the Forth Bridge at the break of dawn,
On May 14th on an early morn.
By the 15th I had walked into Leven,
On paths and beaches and trails uneven.
No dismal clouds were brewing a wee shower,
I saw silver sands at Aberdour.
Edinburgh I viewed from Lammerlaws,
Castle ruins by rocky shores.
The bluest sky I had ever seen,
Over Burntisland way beyond Aberdeen.
In the Lang Toun of Kirkcaldy,
Links Street I was conscious of a kindred stroll.
West and East Wemyss were peacefully quiet,
Also Michaels Colliery of coal.
There is no more working mine I found,
Silent shafts are underground.
No coal soot faces in lantern light,
In miners hands to aid their sight.
I observed a memorial for Methil and Buckhaven,
They sailed from these shores washed and clean-shaven.
Taking time to respect the gallant who fell.
And died for this land in wars of bloody hell.
I imagined them all as I walked to Bayview.
Fishermen, Weavers and Miners too,
Were they shattered and buried in a far foreign soil?
In the mills and the fields did their widows still toil?
Onwards from the Parish of Methil I strode,
The thought of kilted soldiers lessoned my load.
I felt rays of the sun tanning my skin,
How do I start, how can I begin.
To explain my emotions by all of those shores,
That fantastic view from Lammerlaws.
Those paths and beaches and trails uneven,
The Bawbee Bridge when I walked into Leven.
With a small piece of stone that fit in my hand,
That I had picked from the beach at Pathhead sand.
Another two days fascinated by Fife,
My ancestral Kingdom is alive in my life.
.JPG)
THE KINGDOM GREETS ME A SCOTTISH ‘GUID MORNIN’,
‘OW BIN YER?
CAME THE BLACK COUNTRY REPLY.
In the early spring of 2007 I was feeling the desire of a new challenge while there was still enough life left in me having past my 53rd birthday. My football and marathon running days were well past because of dodgy aging knees. A medical verdict a few years back described the problem as ‘excessive wear and tear’. By now life had moved on from my sporting competitive days and my wife and I were now grandparents for the first time.
All my sporting years had been based in the midlands and I prided myself on running many of the local marathons in the mid 1980’s. The Wolverhampton Marathon was on my calendar a few times as were Sandwell and Birmingham. Many roads around the Black Country were in my training programme and my A-Z at the time was well marked out with mile marks for my reference. The Black Country Bugle has printed many poems of mine over the years portraying my affiliation to the midlands. The last poem that was printed was called a Wulfrunian Way which describes in verse my family roots on my moms side. Carl Chinn also featured this poem in the Express and Star during Christmas 2006 calling it a ‘cracking poem Rob’. He was true to his E mail by printing it with a picture of St Peters church overlooking the old outside market. Carl described it has capturing Wolverhampton how he and his family feel about Birmingham. Kind words from a man who is passionate about local history.
I had recently regretted not going to my dad’s birthplace when in my sporting days. This resulted in a poem of mine I Should Have Played For Ladybank Violet. Ladybank is a village in the Kingdom of Fife where my dad grew up and the Violets are a local amateur football team. Often when visiting my roots in Fife I had noticed the Coastal Path stretching the 82 miles from the Forth and Tay bridges. I began to believe this could be an opportunity of a suitable challenge and to balance the books of my parental divide. The walk can be done in stages so I started to make plans for at least 2 days.
On the evening of Sunday 13 May at 7.45pm I set out from my home in Codsall for a leisurely night time journey, resting on route to Scotland. The weather through the night was poor until I had got past the Lake District. I eventually arrived in Fife driving over the Forth Road Bridge at 5.00am on Monday morning. The magnificent sight of the Forth Rail Bridge in North Queensferry greeted me not long after dawn.
I parked my car at the railway station and at 5.30am and searched for the start of the Fife Coastal Path. My plan was to get to Burtisland, 13 miles along the coast where I had booked 2 evenings bed and breakfast.
To be completely honest I struggled to find the start of the path and at 5.30am in the morning there wasn’t anybody in sight to help. When in the middle of a short panic attack the sign of the coastal path was there before me, as if to say, ‘here I am, open your eyes’. Well I was a bit tired having not slept a wink but off I went, into the unknown. I had talked about doing the walk for weeks so there was no going back.
When I walked To Leven © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Within a short while of walking the coastal path there was many a magnificent view when I looked back to the bridge.
THE FORTH RAIL BRIDGE ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Fifty-seven men or more were killed
They paid with their life,
For this bridge to build.
In the year of 1879
Construction began of this railway line,
But word from the Tay spread faster,
A large loss of life
An engineering disaster.
So in 1883 came the new design,
Three cantilevers tower out of this water
They stand so tall and refine.
This legacy of the Victorian age,
Is on many a picture, on many a page.
It doesn’t glisten nor does it shine.
With it's colour so deep like red claret wine,
Over the Forth is this miraculous sight
Visible for miles each morning and night,
Pronounced ‘as a testament to robust hard men’
It carries people and cargo time and again.
With an overall length of 8000 feet
This engineering phenomenon
Brings two lands to meet.
For this 54,000 tons of steel
Folk stand and admire
And impressed they should feel.
But fifty-seven men or more who died
Their families somewhere
Must have suffered and cried.
Is there a plaque of remembrance or faces in frames?
On this bridge so imposing
Is there a scroll of their names?
A great Scottish landmark impressive when seen,
Man gave her his life some as young as sixteen.
The Forth Rail Bridge © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
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Property of RKB
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Thomas Joseph Harris © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
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The view of the south coast of Fife from Edinburgh Castle that I walked along on the way to Leven.
WHAT DO I REALLY SEE? ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
How many miles can I see?
From the castle standing on high.
I see the coast of the Kingdom,
And the Lomonds in a cloudy blue sky.
I see the Isle of Inchkeith,
And the sun shining down on Pettycur Bay.
The green hills near Aberdour,
Clouds in all shades of grey.
As I'm looking north across the Firth of the Forth,
What do I really see?
I see the road to the Tay this cloudy bright day,
I see Fife that's inside of me.
What Do I Really See? © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Aberdour Greets Me Kindly © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
A FRIENDLY FIFER SAID "HELLO." ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Mid-day in May in Burntisland,
Absorbing the warmth of the weather,
Fife and I were alone together.
The sun made it all worthwhile,
After a treacherous journey,
Many a lonely rainy wet mile.
The preceding eve I had said my farewell,
To my comfortable abode of family personnel.
Sky was quite clear and the Forth was near,
Sand was gold dust in my hand.
The Isle of Inchkeith I cast my eyes,
I listened inside to homecoming cries.
I’m soon to rise and stride out some more,
Into the unknown by the shore.
Absorbing the warmth of the weather,
Fife and I were alone together.
As I was lost in what time I should go,
A friendly Fifer said “hello.”
A Friendly Fifer Said "Hello."© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
The Isle of Inchkeith from the Beach House, Burntisland.
www.thebeachhouse.org.uk/index.html
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Did Alexander Kennedy Walk This Way? © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Raith Rovers FC
© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Stepping Into a Scottish Strathspey © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
When walking into Buckhaven on Tuesday lunchtime approaching 30 miles of the Coastal Path I noticed a war memorial. As always I took time to read the names of those who fell for our freedom. On top of the monument that stood at least 25 feet high was a statue of a kilted soldier standing proud with the Firth of Forth in the background. I couldn’t help but notice the surname of Anderson a few times. This a name that is on both lines of my Bennet and Kennedy Fife roots.
In the Bull public house in Codsall is a customer named Ian Jenkins. Although not ever been a serviceman himself he is from a military family. His father served in the X11 Royal Lancers, and he had uncles in the Royal Engineers and the Staffords to name just a few. Ian’s ability to recite chapter and verse of regiment accounts and battles staggers me.
As I spent a few minutes on route to my next stop at Bayview, East Fife Football Cub, I read the names and regiments of the fallen. I thought of Ian as I was doing so and imagined he would do the same. As I walked away I thought of a poetic verse and put pen to paper.
Property of RKB
Ian Understands © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Bayview home of East Fife Football Club.
© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
A Glimpse of Gold in Kirkcaldy © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
The Trail From Leven to Crail
I instantly noticed the view of the sunrise in Kirkcaldy and pulled my car over to stop and take some pictures. It was just past 6.30am and what a magnificent scene, it was then that I knew it had been worth the long night drive from my home in Codsall, just outside Wolverhampton.
It was early on Sunday morning 16th March 2008 when I arrived back in the Kingdom of Fife to walk the second stage of the Coastal Path. The previous May I had walked for 2 days starting at the Forth Rail Bridge and ending at Leven bus station about 30 miles around the coast.
I had decided to walk the path around the coast of Fife because this is where my Scottish ancestry lies and I feel a strong connection there. With every passing year I learn a little bit more about Fife and after today I will have seen and learned even more.
It seemed strange driving through Burntisland where I had stayed on my last visit. I was familiar with the roads and the area and coastal memories came flooding back. When I passed near to the Beach House, the guesthouse where I had stayed, I looked for the Saltire flag that flew from the roof that had caught my attention on my first visit.
I had a good idea where my guesthouse was in Leven and headed there to park my car in the street near by. When I arrived there I stopped outside the church over the road. Then I noticed there was a church almost next door then another one down the road, mighty religious around Leven I thought.
I headed for the beach down by the power station at 7.20am and was soon walking. The question was could I get to Crail by mid afternoon? It was just over 20 miles away but what kind of terrain would it be and how is my fitness. I had not walked a good distance in many months.
The dark coastline sweeped away to my right and it looked a long way away to be walking. The sky was changing every other minute as the morning was unfolding into what would become a fine day.
Property of RKB
THE SILVER TRAIL TO CRAIL ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Silver shone o’er the Forth from under a blanket of grey,
This morn in March, the last time I was here it was May.
Early once more by the sensuous shore
Onward I gather my trail,
Twenty so miles over sand steps and styles
Walking from Leven to Crail.
In the Kingdom am I and silver is mine,
In a dawning that’s so divine.
Unnoticed by the lazy eye,
In the Kingdom, so proud I could cry.
Impressed by viaducts at Largo
Mount Pleasant a rainbow’s apparent,
Beaming and gleaming beyond where I had been
Sadly becoming transparent.
Navigating the climb around Ruddons Point,
Testing my muscles and an aging joint.
Ruins near St Monans the chapel at the edge,
My footsteps were careful along the ledge.
Beneath the headstones as they lay in rest,
Respectful am I in my quest.
Who faces the sea and the Isle of May,
As I link the two bridges of the Forth and Tay,
Dwellings near seawalls in Pittenween
Oh how active it must have been,
Along the East Neuk coastal places
The excitement and fear in fishermen’s faces.
Portraying there worth in a museum display,
Mans challenge of survival of yesterday.
The harbour walk to Anstruther
Pittenweem a desire to quench my thirst,
In the Larachmhor with a glass of ale
Then onward once more on the trail to Crail.
Stepping on stones and footprints in sand,
Walking my walk on this land.
It will be for every ancestral life,
That was born and toiled in the Kingdom of Fife.
Blue sky o’er the Forth from under pillows of white,
This March afternoon Crail became in sight.
Unnoticed by the lazy eye,
In the Kingdom, so proud I could cry.
Property of RKB
I passed through Lower Largo, the birthplace of mariner Andrew Selkirk who inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe.
Property of RKB
The following day before breakfast in my B&B in Leven I strolled down to the sea front where 24 hours earlier I had arrived and started to walk. I noticed the offices of East Fife Mail and visited them later in the morning. Reporter Scott Inglis and I conversed via e-mail that week. The day previous to my arrival East Fife FC had became 3rd Division champions. Scott had included my poem Fifers Day 1938 in his story about me. See that poem on page Footie Poems and on the website Football Poets.
EAST FIFE MAIL, April 2008.
Read the report at the link below.
www.fifetoday.co.uk/east-fife-mail-news/Wolverhampton-wanderer-muses-on-coastal.3926209.jp
The Silver Trail To Crail © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
ST ANDREWS I'M ON MY WAY ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Sleepy eyed and satisfied
East Neuk at early morn,
As an April day is born.
St Andrews I’m on my way,
I shall be with you later today.
This Great Grandson in Shorehead by the East Sand,
She did nae know I’d be striding out in this land.
Isabella, imagine yesteryear that someday
I’d come walking ower th’ brae,
The Forth is a picture as the sun begins to rise,
Birth of day arrives before my eyes.
This joyous man it does impress,
Heading for the naval point at Fife Ness.
St Andrews I’m on my way,
I shall be with you later today.
Afore then there is many a sight to see,
Breeding, feeding and satisfying me.
Cambo Sands a solitary feel,
Serenity, it all seems so unreal.
The rugged coastline then challenged my resistance,
Posts and walls they aided my assistance.
Isabella, where you’re frae, for thine and thee,
My blood, body and mind is what I gie.
St Andrews I’m on my way,
I shall be with you later today.
One more set of steps to climb,
Fortifying on foretime.
This Great Grandson in Shorehead by the East Sand,
With you in mind and Fife in my heart and hand.
Isabella, imagine yesteryear that someday,
I’d come walking ower th’ brae.
Property of RKB
View of the East Sands and Shorehead, St Andrews, the birthplace of Isabella as I came walking ower th' brae.
The main pilgrim route to St Andrews is along the East Coast, this I did not know when walking this stage of the coastal path. I was treading in age-old footsteps of thousands of pilgrims preceding me.
On my mind was that I am a Great Grandson of Isabella Cramond Traill born in Shorehead, St Andrews. On the East Sands she must have played many times and here am I ‘walking ower the brae’.
St Andrews I'm On My Way © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
The Crail to St Abdrew's stage really was peaceful and not until 4 hours into the walk did I pass someone to speak to. At the Naval point at Fife Ness the officers waved to me as they were heading for home after finishing their nightshift. The coast there changes direction and heads north past golf courses and deserted beaches. The path passes Constantine’s Cave where the King was killed c874. It then becomes rugged and challenging and getting to St Andrews was like trying to pull in a great white shark with a 2-bob fishing rod brought from a second hand stall on Bilston Market.
I stayed at the Craws Nest in Anstruther on the third stage of my walk. After returning from St Andrews I visited the RNLI shop. I was kindly shown the duty lifeboat in the boathouse. Unfortunately the Kingdom of Fife lifeboat was away in Poole, Dorset for maintenance and not due back until the next day. There was a model and a picture on display. I recalled a poem I wrote about the courage of the RNLI when in Llandudno.
Picture displayed with permission of Roger Grundy, Anstruther Lifeboat Station.
Here is the poem that you can find on page WELSH FLAVOUR and links to the RNLI if you wish to support their work and Anstruther Lifeboat Station.
www.rnli.org.uk/
www.anstrutherlifeboat.org.uk/
.jpg)
Property of RKB
The Courage of The RNLI © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
In May 2008 while walking through Tayport on the north coast of Fife I suddenly noticed a Lifeboat named ‘The Duke of Kent’. It was positioned out of the water at the harbour on a grass bank. I could see that it had been in service for years and I wondered why it was there. A few days later I searched and found photographs on the Internet of Eastbourne’s Eighth lifeboat ‘’The Duke of Kent’’ being launched in 1979. I studied the picture closely with the photograph that I had taken and they look remarkably the same. I couldn’t help but think that I had seen a piece of naval history and what is to become of her?
You can see the pictures of that launch in 1979 on the link below.
eastbournernli.org.uk/Stationhistory.html
Almost 12 months to the day that I had first started walking the coastal path I drove away from my home in Codsall. It was 11.15pm on a Tuesday evening and I wanted to be in St Andrews at dawn to start the fourth and final stage. As I pulled away from my house I felt a strong presence of my Dad knowing what I was doing.
Property of RKB
Bang on 6.00am I arrived at St Andrews East Sands. There was a cold brisk breeze as I laced my boots, locked my car and headed for the Tay Bridge 19 or so miles away. I passed the Cathedral and Castle ruins and down to the famous Old Coarse where the groundsmen were busy. This stage I found was less coastal than the others. I followed a homemade coastal path sign and got lost having to backtrack and pick up the route. This put another hour and extra unnecessary miles onto my already blistered feet. I watched as planes were taking off at Leuchars Airfield. You could hear them for half a minute before seeing them appear from out of the trees and into the air.
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Walking across the Tay Road Bridge with Dundee in the background.
In 1878 my Great Grandfather Hector Bennet was born in Dundee.
You may think that the sign above my head is my age, but as you can tell I am older than that.
My Scottish ancestry walk was over and I hobbled painfully along the streets of Dundee to the bus station. I now needed to get back to my car at St Andrews and drive to Sandilands, my Guest House at Lundin Links in the East Neuk. I was to realise later that my story started last year with mentioning our first Grandchild. Since then we have had another Grandson. They were on my mind on my journey back to St Andrews. I wondered if one day they would read my story or perhaps want to see Fife for themselves. If they don’t ever come to Fife where they have an ancestry connection they will at least be able to look at a map and see where the Forth and Tay Bridges are and know where I have walked.
The window in the poem is the view from room number 3 at Sandilands in Lundin Links. If you are looking for a guest house in the East Neuk I highly recommend this establishment. Brian and Bronwyn's 'high standards of traditional hospitality' were true to their words.
www.sandilandsfife.co.uk
From This Window Fife I see © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
I finally achieved what I wanted to do, walk the coast of Fife. My pencil drawing of Fife shows the Forth Rail Bridge on the south coast to my finish on the north coast at the Tay Road Bridge.
Kingdom of Fife
For further information of the Fife Coastal Path, here is the link to the official site. www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk/main.asp
Property of RKB
WHEN I WALKED TO LEVEN ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
I arrived at the Forth Bridge at the break of dawn,
On May 14th on an early morn.
By the 15th I had walked into Leven,
On paths and beaches and trails uneven.
No dismal clouds were brewing a wee shower,
I saw silver sands at Aberdour.
Edinburgh I viewed from Lammerlaws,
Castle ruins by rocky shores.
The bluest sky I had ever seen,
Over Burntisland way beyond Aberdeen.
In the Lang Toun of Kirkcaldy,
Links Street I was conscious of a kindred stroll.
West and East Wemyss were peacefully quiet,
Also Michaels Colliery of coal.
There is no more working mine I found,
Silent shafts are underground.
No coal soot faces in lantern light,
In miners hands to aid their sight.
I observed a memorial for Methil and Buckhaven,
They sailed from these shores washed and clean-shaven.
Taking time to respect the gallant who fell.
And died for this land in wars of bloody hell.
I imagined them all as I walked to Bayview.
Fishermen, Weavers and Miners too,
Were they shattered and buried in a far foreign soil?
In the mills and the fields did their widows still toil?
Onwards from the Parish of Methil I strode,
The thought of kilted soldiers lessoned my load.
I felt rays of the sun tanning my skin,
How do I start, how can I begin.
To explain my emotions by all of those shores,
That fantastic view from Lammerlaws.
Those paths and beaches and trails uneven,
The Bawbee Bridge when I walked into Leven.
With a small piece of stone that fit in my hand,
That I had picked from the beach at Pathhead sand.
Another two days fascinated by Fife,
My ancestral Kingdom is alive in my life.
THE KINGDOM GREETS ME A SCOTTISH ‘GUID MORNIN’,
‘OW BIN YER?
CAME THE BLACK COUNTRY REPLY.
In the early spring of 2007 I was feeling the desire of a new challenge while there was still enough life left in me having past my 53rd birthday. My football and marathon running days were well past because of dodgy aging knees. A medical verdict a few years back described the problem as ‘excessive wear and tear’. By now life had moved on from my sporting competitive days and my wife and I were now grandparents for the first time.
All my sporting years had been based in the midlands and I prided myself on running many of the local marathons in the mid 1980’s. The Wolverhampton Marathon was on my calendar a few times as were Sandwell and Birmingham. Many roads around the Black Country were in my training programme and my A-Z at the time was well marked out with mile marks for my reference. The Black Country Bugle has printed many poems of mine over the years portraying my affiliation to the midlands. The last poem that was printed was called a Wulfrunian Way which describes in verse my family roots on my moms side. Carl Chinn also featured this poem in the Express and Star during Christmas 2006 calling it a ‘cracking poem Rob’. He was true to his E mail by printing it with a picture of St Peters church overlooking the old outside market. Carl described it has capturing Wolverhampton how he and his family feel about Birmingham. Kind words from a man who is passionate about local history.
I had recently regretted not going to my dad’s birthplace when in my sporting days. This resulted in a poem of mine I Should Have Played For Ladybank Violet. Ladybank is a village in the Kingdom of Fife where my dad grew up and the Violets are a local amateur football team. Often when visiting my roots in Fife I had noticed the Coastal Path stretching the 82 miles from the Forth and Tay bridges. I began to believe this could be an opportunity of a suitable challenge and to balance the books of my parental divide. The walk can be done in stages so I started to make plans for at least 2 days.
On the evening of Sunday 13 May at 7.45pm I set out from my home in Codsall for a leisurely night time journey, resting on route to Scotland. The weather through the night was poor until I had got past the Lake District. I eventually arrived in Fife driving over the Forth Road Bridge at 5.00am on Monday morning. The magnificent sight of the Forth Rail Bridge in North Queensferry greeted me not long after dawn.
I parked my car at the railway station and at 5.30am and searched for the start of the Fife Coastal Path. My plan was to get to Burtisland, 13 miles along the coast where I had booked 2 evenings bed and breakfast.
To be completely honest I struggled to find the start of the path and at 5.30am in the morning there wasn’t anybody in sight to help. When in the middle of a short panic attack the sign of the coastal path was there before me, as if to say, ‘here I am, open your eyes’. Well I was a bit tired having not slept a wink but off I went, into the unknown. I had talked about doing the walk for weeks so there was no going back.
When I walked To Leven © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Within a short while of walking the coastal path there was many a magnificent view when I looked back to the bridge.
THE FORTH RAIL BRIDGE ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Fifty-seven men or more were killed
They paid with their life,
For this bridge to build.
In the year of 1879
Construction began of this railway line,
But word from the Tay spread faster,
A large loss of life
An engineering disaster.
So in 1883 came the new design,
Three cantilevers tower out of this water
They stand so tall and refine.
This legacy of the Victorian age,
Is on many a picture, on many a page.
It doesn’t glisten nor does it shine.
With it's colour so deep like red claret wine,
Over the Forth is this miraculous sight
Visible for miles each morning and night,
Pronounced ‘as a testament to robust hard men’
It carries people and cargo time and again.
With an overall length of 8000 feet
This engineering phenomenon
Brings two lands to meet.
For this 54,000 tons of steel
Folk stand and admire
And impressed they should feel.
But fifty-seven men or more who died
Their families somewhere
Must have suffered and cried.
Is there a plaque of remembrance or faces in frames?
On this bridge so imposing
Is there a scroll of their names?
A great Scottish landmark impressive when seen,
Man gave her his life some as young as sixteen.
The Forth Rail Bridge © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Thomas Joseph Harris © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
The view of the south coast of Fife from Edinburgh Castle that I walked along on the way to Leven.
WHAT DO I REALLY SEE? ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
How many miles can I see?
From the castle standing on high.
I see the coast of the Kingdom,
And the Lomonds in a cloudy blue sky.
I see the Isle of Inchkeith,
And the sun shining down on Pettycur Bay.
The green hills near Aberdour,
Clouds in all shades of grey.
As I'm looking north across the Firth of the Forth,
What do I really see?
I see the road to the Tay this cloudy bright day,
I see Fife that's inside of me.
What Do I Really See? © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Aberdour Greets Me Kindly © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
A FRIENDLY FIFER SAID "HELLO." ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Mid-day in May in Burntisland,
Absorbing the warmth of the weather,
Fife and I were alone together.
The sun made it all worthwhile,
After a treacherous journey,
Many a lonely rainy wet mile.
The preceding eve I had said my farewell,
To my comfortable abode of family personnel.
Sky was quite clear and the Forth was near,
Sand was gold dust in my hand.
The Isle of Inchkeith I cast my eyes,
I listened inside to homecoming cries.
I’m soon to rise and stride out some more,
Into the unknown by the shore.
Absorbing the warmth of the weather,
Fife and I were alone together.
As I was lost in what time I should go,
A friendly Fifer said “hello.”
A Friendly Fifer Said "Hello."© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
The Isle of Inchkeith from the Beach House, Burntisland.
www.thebeachhouse.org.uk/index.html
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Did Alexander Kennedy Walk This Way? © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Raith Rovers FC
© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
Property of RKB
Stepping Into a Scottish Strathspey © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
When walking into Buckhaven on Tuesday lunchtime approaching 30 miles of the Coastal Path I noticed a war memorial. As always I took time to read the names of those who fell for our freedom. On top of the monument that stood at least 25 feet high was a statue of a kilted soldier standing proud with the Firth of Forth in the background. I couldn’t help but notice the surname of Anderson a few times. This a name that is on both lines of my Bennet and Kennedy Fife roots.
In the Bull public house in Codsall is a customer named Ian Jenkins. Although not ever been a serviceman himself he is from a military family. His father served in the X11 Royal Lancers, and he had uncles in the Royal Engineers and the Staffords to name just a few. Ian’s ability to recite chapter and verse of regiment accounts and battles staggers me.
As I spent a few minutes on route to my next stop at Bayview, East Fife Football Cub, I read the names and regiments of the fallen. I thought of Ian as I was doing so and imagined he would do the same. As I walked away I thought of a poetic verse and put pen to paper.
Property of RKB
Ian Understands © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Bayview home of East Fife Football Club.
© Robbie Kennedy Bennett
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A Glimpse of Gold in Kirkcaldy © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
The Trail From Leven to Crail
I instantly noticed the view of the sunrise in Kirkcaldy and pulled my car over to stop and take some pictures. It was just past 6.30am and what a magnificent scene, it was then that I knew it had been worth the long night drive from my home in Codsall, just outside Wolverhampton.
It was early on Sunday morning 16th March 2008 when I arrived back in the Kingdom of Fife to walk the second stage of the Coastal Path. The previous May I had walked for 2 days starting at the Forth Rail Bridge and ending at Leven bus station about 30 miles around the coast.
I had decided to walk the path around the coast of Fife because this is where my Scottish ancestry lies and I feel a strong connection there. With every passing year I learn a little bit more about Fife and after today I will have seen and learned even more.
It seemed strange driving through Burntisland where I had stayed on my last visit. I was familiar with the roads and the area and coastal memories came flooding back. When I passed near to the Beach House, the guesthouse where I had stayed, I looked for the Saltire flag that flew from the roof that had caught my attention on my first visit.
I had a good idea where my guesthouse was in Leven and headed there to park my car in the street near by. When I arrived there I stopped outside the church over the road. Then I noticed there was a church almost next door then another one down the road, mighty religious around Leven I thought.
I headed for the beach down by the power station at 7.20am and was soon walking. The question was could I get to Crail by mid afternoon? It was just over 20 miles away but what kind of terrain would it be and how is my fitness. I had not walked a good distance in many months.
The dark coastline sweeped away to my right and it looked a long way away to be walking. The sky was changing every other minute as the morning was unfolding into what would become a fine day.
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THE SILVER TRAIL TO CRAIL ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Silver shone o’er the Forth from under a blanket of grey,
This morn in March, the last time I was here it was May.
Early once more by the sensuous shore
Onward I gather my trail,
Twenty so miles over sand steps and styles
Walking from Leven to Crail.
In the Kingdom am I and silver is mine,
In a dawning that’s so divine.
Unnoticed by the lazy eye,
In the Kingdom, so proud I could cry.
Impressed by viaducts at Largo
Mount Pleasant a rainbow’s apparent,
Beaming and gleaming beyond where I had been
Sadly becoming transparent.
Navigating the climb around Ruddons Point,
Testing my muscles and an aging joint.
Ruins near St Monans the chapel at the edge,
My footsteps were careful along the ledge.
Beneath the headstones as they lay in rest,
Respectful am I in my quest.
Who faces the sea and the Isle of May,
As I link the two bridges of the Forth and Tay,
Dwellings near seawalls in Pittenween
Oh how active it must have been,
Along the East Neuk coastal places
The excitement and fear in fishermen’s faces.
Portraying there worth in a museum display,
Mans challenge of survival of yesterday.
The harbour walk to Anstruther
Pittenweem a desire to quench my thirst,
In the Larachmhor with a glass of ale
Then onward once more on the trail to Crail.
Stepping on stones and footprints in sand,
Walking my walk on this land.
It will be for every ancestral life,
That was born and toiled in the Kingdom of Fife.
Blue sky o’er the Forth from under pillows of white,
This March afternoon Crail became in sight.
Unnoticed by the lazy eye,
In the Kingdom, so proud I could cry.
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I passed through Lower Largo, the birthplace of mariner Andrew Selkirk who inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe.
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The following day before breakfast in my B&B in Leven I strolled down to the sea front where 24 hours earlier I had arrived and started to walk. I noticed the offices of East Fife Mail and visited them later in the morning. Reporter Scott Inglis and I conversed via e-mail that week. The day previous to my arrival East Fife FC had became 3rd Division champions. Scott had included my poem Fifers Day 1938 in his story about me. See that poem on page Footie Poems and on the website Football Poets.
EAST FIFE MAIL, April 2008.
Read the report at the link below.
www.fifetoday.co.uk/east-fife-mail-news/Wolverhampton-wanderer-muses-on-coastal.3926209.jp
The Silver Trail To Crail © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Property of RKB
ST ANDREWS I'M ON MY WAY ©
by Robbie Kennedy Bennett
Sleepy eyed and satisfied
East Neuk at early morn,
As an April day is born.
St Andrews I’m on my way,
I shall be with you later today.
This Great Grandson in Shorehead by the East Sand,
She did nae know I’d be striding out in this land.
Isabella, imagine yesteryear that someday
I’d come walking ower th’ brae,
The Forth is a picture as the sun begins to rise,
Birth of day arrives before my eyes.
This joyous man it does impress,
Heading for the naval point at Fife Ness.
St Andrews I’m on my way,
I shall be with you later today.
Afore then there is many a sight to see,
Breeding, feeding and satisfying me.
Cambo Sands a solitary feel,
Serenity, it all seems so unreal.
The rugged coastline then challenged my resistance,
Posts and walls they aided my assistance.
Isabella, where you’re frae, for thine and thee,
My blood, body and mind is what I gie.
St Andrews I’m on my way,
I shall be with you later today.
One more set of steps to climb,
Fortifying on foretime.
This Great Grandson in Shorehead by the East Sand,
With you in mind and Fife in my heart and hand.
Isabella, imagine yesteryear that someday,
I’d come walking ower th’ brae.
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View of the East Sands and Shorehead, St Andrews, the birthplace of Isabella as I came walking ower th' brae.
The main pilgrim route to St Andrews is along the East Coast, this I did not know when walking this stage of the coastal path. I was treading in age-old footsteps of thousands of pilgrims preceding me.
On my mind was that I am a Great Grandson of Isabella Cramond Traill born in Shorehead, St Andrews. On the East Sands she must have played many times and here am I ‘walking ower the brae’.
St Andrews I'm On My Way © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
The Crail to St Abdrew's stage really was peaceful and not until 4 hours into the walk did I pass someone to speak to. At the Naval point at Fife Ness the officers waved to me as they were heading for home after finishing their nightshift. The coast there changes direction and heads north past golf courses and deserted beaches. The path passes Constantine’s Cave where the King was killed c874. It then becomes rugged and challenging and getting to St Andrews was like trying to pull in a great white shark with a 2-bob fishing rod brought from a second hand stall on Bilston Market.
I stayed at the Craws Nest in Anstruther on the third stage of my walk. After returning from St Andrews I visited the RNLI shop. I was kindly shown the duty lifeboat in the boathouse. Unfortunately the Kingdom of Fife lifeboat was away in Poole, Dorset for maintenance and not due back until the next day. There was a model and a picture on display. I recalled a poem I wrote about the courage of the RNLI when in Llandudno.
Picture displayed with permission of Roger Grundy, Anstruther Lifeboat Station.
Here is the poem that you can find on page WELSH FLAVOUR and links to the RNLI if you wish to support their work and Anstruther Lifeboat Station.
www.rnli.org.uk/
www.anstrutherlifeboat.org.uk/
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The Courage of The RNLI © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
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In May 2008 while walking through Tayport on the north coast of Fife I suddenly noticed a Lifeboat named ‘The Duke of Kent’. It was positioned out of the water at the harbour on a grass bank. I could see that it had been in service for years and I wondered why it was there. A few days later I searched and found photographs on the Internet of Eastbourne’s Eighth lifeboat ‘’The Duke of Kent’’ being launched in 1979. I studied the picture closely with the photograph that I had taken and they look remarkably the same. I couldn’t help but think that I had seen a piece of naval history and what is to become of her?
You can see the pictures of that launch in 1979 on the link below.
eastbournernli.org.uk/Stationhistory.html
Almost 12 months to the day that I had first started walking the coastal path I drove away from my home in Codsall. It was 11.15pm on a Tuesday evening and I wanted to be in St Andrews at dawn to start the fourth and final stage. As I pulled away from my house I felt a strong presence of my Dad knowing what I was doing.
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Bang on 6.00am I arrived at St Andrews East Sands. There was a cold brisk breeze as I laced my boots, locked my car and headed for the Tay Bridge 19 or so miles away. I passed the Cathedral and Castle ruins and down to the famous Old Coarse where the groundsmen were busy. This stage I found was less coastal than the others. I followed a homemade coastal path sign and got lost having to backtrack and pick up the route. This put another hour and extra unnecessary miles onto my already blistered feet. I watched as planes were taking off at Leuchars Airfield. You could hear them for half a minute before seeing them appear from out of the trees and into the air.
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Property of RKB
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Walking across the Tay Road Bridge with Dundee in the background.
In 1878 my Great Grandfather Hector Bennet was born in Dundee.
You may think that the sign above my head is my age, but as you can tell I am older than that.
My Scottish ancestry walk was over and I hobbled painfully along the streets of Dundee to the bus station. I now needed to get back to my car at St Andrews and drive to Sandilands, my Guest House at Lundin Links in the East Neuk. I was to realise later that my story started last year with mentioning our first Grandchild. Since then we have had another Grandson. They were on my mind on my journey back to St Andrews. I wondered if one day they would read my story or perhaps want to see Fife for themselves. If they don’t ever come to Fife where they have an ancestry connection they will at least be able to look at a map and see where the Forth and Tay Bridges are and know where I have walked.
The window in the poem is the view from room number 3 at Sandilands in Lundin Links. If you are looking for a guest house in the East Neuk I highly recommend this establishment. Brian and Bronwyn's 'high standards of traditional hospitality' were true to their words.
www.sandilandsfife.co.uk
From This Window Fife I see © Robbie Kennedy Bennett
I finally achieved what I wanted to do, walk the coast of Fife. My pencil drawing of Fife shows the Forth Rail Bridge on the south coast to my finish on the north coast at the Tay Road Bridge.
Kingdom of Fife
For further information of the Fife Coastal Path, here is the link to the official site. www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk/main.asp