Pitteweem Fishing Village in the Kingdom of Fife
Primary industries are fishing, farming, tourism and, recently, arts and crafts. In former times, Pittenweem had two coal mines, one inland at Easter Grangemuir, the other at Pathhead, on the coast between Pittenweem and St Monans. A spin-off from the Pathhead mine was salt production. Receptacles below the tideline collected water that could be pumped up to salt-pans, the pans then being heated by coal fires fed from the mine to extract the salt. Evidence of the ash produced can still be seen on the coast. The white houses with red roofsillustrate the classic East Neuk building style, influenced by trade with the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands). The East Neuk offered natural trading ports for Dutch and Belgian captains as they sailed up past the East coast of England. These ships brought red pan-tiles as ballast and the locals soon found them to be excellent roofing material. It is just possible to make out the "crow step gable", where the gable ends rise in steps rather than the more normal smooth angled line - an architectural feature imported from the Low Countries. These and other vernacular features are common throughout the small town, which has one of Scotland's best-preserved and most attractive townscapes, with many historic buildings (some restored by the National Trust for Scotland). The 'organic' layout of the town centre, which grew up piece-meal over several centuries, with numerous winding streets and alleys, is one of its particular charms. Few Scottish towns have so well preserved their ancient character. At the shore end of the outer harbour wall, some of the paving stones have numbers engraved in them. The numbers are now randomly scattered, but once were vital to the smooth operation of the fish market. Before the pier was re-surfaced, the stones were placed in numerical order at the quayside running outwards from the shore. The first fishing boat to return with its catch placed its haul alongside stone number one etc.
Size: 3572px × 5380px
Location: Pitteweem Kingdom of Fife Region Scotland UK
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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