St. Ninian’s, mining artifacts

A surreal sort of day spent walking around the site of the former opencast coal mine at St. Ninian’s in Fife with a large group of local walkers. Cold and dull, such a difference to the two previous sparkling days.

It seems like grand plans to turn the site into a country park have fallen on hard times. Some landscaping has been carried out, mounds sculptured out of spoil, one of which looked distinctly feminine. The Paps of St. Ninian perhaps?

Atop of another mound was a sort of museum to the mining that went on here. Huge old tyres, assorted metalwork such as buckets and wheels and rather bizarrely, a map of Europe created from blocks which gave the impression of the Giants Causeway. Oh, and a plaque to indicate the site of a former volcano 350 metres below the surface. Today’s blip was taken somewhere near Iceland looking south east with the north west coast of Scotland nearest to the camera.

We retired to Dobbies nearby for restorative victuals giving s brief respite from the cold. Only a brief respite as the store was none too warm. Cheese scones were OK, the coffee quite weak.