Tentsmuir: part two

Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve, 5 October

If you saw the first part of our trip to Tentsmuir, you’ll know that we started this walk in the forest, winding along the woodland paths to the historic ice house that stands near the edge, where the treeline meets the grassland that in turn leads to the dunes beyond.

And this post begins at this point, just past the Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve information pavilion. Whenever we think about visiting Tentsmuir, we’re always drawn by the forest. Tentsmuir has a scale where it’s easy to lose people, and there’s no distant sound of cars to disturb the birdsong that envelops you as you wander along the paths below the pines. It’s always felt like a really magical and immersive walk.

So you might imagine that the second half of our route - winding through the grassland towards the dunes, and then back to the woods - would be the less interesting one, compared to the forest that is, but not for me. Again, there’s the size of this area, which is vast compared to the likes of Yellowcraig or Belhaven, while, in terms of photos, I prefer the second half of this walk as I’m always drawn to the simplicity of these scenes with their subtle textures and big skies.

There are a few things to be conscious of when walking here with a canine companion - certainly over the summer months. As you come through the gate that leads from the forest, passing the information pavilion, you might notice a sign about cows wandering the grassland, and then, just on your right past the pavilion, tucked into the lower level trees, you might also notice a metal sculpture of a Highland cow.

A small herd of Limousin cattle graze the grassland and dunes here over summer. These open dune areas can be invaded by seedling trees, and you can see this happening outside the designated (and fenced off) nature reserve. A programme of tree and scrub removal was carried out here some time ago, restoring 95% of the reserve to mainly dune grassland and heathland, and the cattle were introduced to help keep this area free of new tree growth.

While we’ve spotted cattle here on previous walks, on this visit in early October the only evidence of their presence was found underfoot, in the dried cow pats scattered across the grassland.

Also, if you’re heading north towards Tentsmuir Point, look out for the seals. We spotted them in the distance, out on a sandbank, so care is needed if walking along the shoreline here.

Whenever we’ve visited Tentsmuir in the past, we’ve tended to walk south, looping across the grassland and back to the forest, but on this Saturday we walked north first, gaining a different perspective of this familiar place. And on that route, we came to this long line of concrete blocks. These anti-tank defences were positioned along the east coast during WW2 in areas that were vulnerable to sea landings - we see them on our coastal walks in East Lothian too.

Here, a line of concrete anti-tank blocks and pillboxes was installed along the shore in 1941, and were constructed on site by Polish forces, who both built and manned these defences. As well as defending the shoreline against invasion, these structures were also built to protect the nearby Leuchars airfield, and this area is listed as a scheduled monument called Tentsmuir Coastal Defences due to its historical importance. (You can read more about this on The Story of Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve).

Remarkably, when considering this scene today, these blocks were placed along what was the high water mark back in the 1940s. Tentsmuir is the fastest growing natural land mass in Scotland (source: Tentsmuir Time Line Trail by the Scottish Geology Trust) and this stretch of coastline is constantly changing as the sea moves and deposits sand. This is something I’ve become fascinated by since Storm Arwen changed our local coastline last year, when dunes were pushed back dramatically in places, as at Yellowcraig, while some sandy beaches were stripped to rock, as seen at Eyebroughy and along parts of the shoreline at Gullane and North Berwick.

As the PDF I’ve linked above shows, this stretch of Fife coastline has shifted substantially when viewed over a much longer timeframe. I quote: ‘9,000 years ago the shoreline lay about three miles further inland, close to Morton Lochs. As sand gradually built up, the shoreline extended eastwards over the centuries. 1,000 years ago the sea would still have reached deep within the present-day forest. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the shore finally reached the point where the forest’s eastern edge is found today.’

The document goes on to say that due to these dynamic shifts, Tentsmuir is an important site for studying how beaches and coasts develop and change. Some of these concrete blocks from the 1940s are now under water while others, as seen above, are now far from the sea.

Having soaked in the views from the dunes, and spotted the distant seals, we headed back, leaving the nature reserve for the grassland beyond. Here, you can see the young trees that I mentioned earlier. I don’t recall seeing as many when looking back a few years - further evidence of this constantly shifting landscape.

I’m not sure of the history of this structure below. It looks like a hide, albeit with a tin, brick and concrete form that’s not exactly sympathetic to this landscape, and it’s locked. Perhaps it was originally placed here for seal spotting?

In my previous post, I shared about how this walk is so rich in memories of adventures with Harris and Bracken over the years, and these photos above take me back to our last walk here as a four in April 2023. Then, with spring upon us, this landscape was dotted with the vibrant ochre of gorse bushes along the edge closest to the treeline, and as we walked below a cloudy, moody sky, we were hit by a squall of hail. Although we were well into April, it felt like one of those spring walks where the weather is still holding onto winter.

This bench above is also a memory. We used to pause here with the lads, both of them on the bench beside their Dad; Harris, always engaged, while Bracken would probably have been giving me a judgemental glare.

And so we paused here with Raf, who perched alongside Richard, completely alert, taking it all in. A significant part of our enjoyment of these walks over the years - not just at Tentsmuir, but anywhere - has been seeing the lads’ engagement with these adventures. Their enjoyment was always infectious, whatever the weather, as they would shrug off the cold and the wind - and the occasional hail - and so we did too. And we feel this with Raf now, when watching him explore with such enthusiasm.

From here, we returned to the forest, passing more concrete relics, including the pillbox above. Many of these photos also trigger memories for me, like the second photo above, only with Harris just ahead, looking back at me. I wonder how my memory alone would have held these moments, without photos. For me, it isn’t simply about recording a scene; it’s about recording the experiences within and around that scene, where I can look at a photo of a woodland path and remember how it felt to walk it. How grounding it felt to walk it together.

And perhaps that’s why Tentsmuir has always held such a draw for us over the years. Yes, it’s a beautiful forest and the grassland area is impressive in its scale, but it’s more than that. It’s a place where you can feel enveloped and gently reset; a place where you can walk below big skies and escape people for a few hours. And I’m realising more and more that this is what I’m yearning for the rest of life to feel like.

Tentsmuir Forest, Fife, 5 October 2024.

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