Day 9 A journey around Andrew’s Ancestors

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We spent our last day in Scotland in Fife mostly visiting local places of Andrew’s family history. We started the day driving to Kirkcaldy where we visited Ravencraig Park and of course Ravenscraig Castle before travelling to the train station and then to the now closed Forth Park Hospital where Andrew drew his first ever breath here on Planet Earth. We then made orur way to Burntisland where a number of Andrew’s ancestors lived. Fist stop was the old Kirkton Church where Andrew’s great great great grandfather and grandmother (farm serve ts) died in the 1800’s. The partially restored church has some history with an association with the writing of the King James Version of the Bible.

We then made our way up to the Burntisland golf course car park and climbed the hill to the abandoned mining village of Binnend. Another set of Andrew’s great great great grandparents lived and died here (in House No 23) in the late 1800’s but the buildings are overgrown with vegetation and we never did find out the location if house No 23 from the old plans on-line But it was good to get a sense of where they lived. They were both shale oil miners who worked in the adjacent mine. It was then off to Beath Cemetery in Cowdenbeath where we tried to track down the grave of Euphemia Graham but the headstone was nowhere to be seen so we are guessing that the grave has been reused. We did visit the location where the website show it to be located.

From Beath Cemetery, we made our way to Uncle Robbie and Aunty Evelyn’s House in Lochore and caught up with the last 9 years since we had seen them last. Both of them haven’t changed a bit since 2009 and Tish couldn’t get over how much Uncle Robbie remained her of Andrew’s dad. From there we visited Andrew’s first ever house he lived in and then the last ever house he lived in at 13 Park Street where we recreated some photo’s of Andrew as a 2 year old. We then continued our journey into Lochgelly stopping at 13 Hill Street to recreate another photo of Andrew and then around the corner to the former Baptist church where Andre’s parents were married. We then said our goodbyes to Eleanor and Ricky, sending the drone up over Lochgelly to get a Birdseye view and visited 11 Mid Street and the hedge where a number of Andrew’s Mum’s street photo’s were taken.

We then began our journey onto Newcastle stopping about midway from some well earned sleep.

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Photos

Kirkcaldy
Ravenscraig Castle

Kirkcaldy
The train platform at Kirkcaldy Station where Andrew left from

Kirkcaldy
Forth Park Hospital where Andrew made his first appearance on Planet Earth.

Kirkcaldy
Andrew outside the hospital where it all began

Burntisland
Kirkton Church Ruin from 1200’s

Burthisland
The lost mining village of Binnend

Lumphinans
3 Sycamore Crescent where Andrew’s mum was born

Lochore
Uncle Robbie and Aunty Evelyn

Lochore
The first house Andrew lived in

Lochore
The first house Andrew lived in

Lochgelly
Mid Street hedge where all of Andrews’s mum’s street photos were taken

Crosshill
13 Park Street - photo recreation

Lochgelly
13 Hill Street - photo recreation

Lochgelly
Baptist Church - photo recreation

Crosshill
13 Park Street - photo recreation

Crosshill
13 Park Street - photo recreation

Crosshill
13 Park Street - photo recreation

Crosshill
13 Park Street - original photo

Crosshill
13 Park Street - original photo

Lochgelly
13 Hill Street - original photo

Crosshill
13 Park Street - original photo

Crosshill
13 Park Street - original photo

Lochgelly
Baptist Church - original photo

Comments

[Barbara]

hi
Silly tablet lost your email re blog so managed to retrieve again on my laptop. can't believe all you've managed to see in Fife, not much you haven't seen but you missed my house in Harriet st just next to Ravenscraig park. Andrew you actually lived at no15. Betty was number13. Think I was feeling a wee bit emotional seeing all your photo's. Park st, mid st, Hill st, Lochore etc. The Baptist church, what memories for me. Thanks for the photo's.