The Pittenweem Arts Festival is a total joy to behold.
A jewel in Scotland’s cultural crown. Forget the Edinburgh Festival, Fife does it best.
Community led, brilliantly organised with people opening the doors of their homes to welcome you in.
Somehow the location of the festival and the venues within it makes art itself so much more accessible.
I know next to nothing about art.
I’ll visit galleries in European capitals when I’m on holiday because that’s what you do, but I always feel like a bit of an imposter.
As if I’m taking in the pictures on the most basic level whilst those around me have so much more knowledge and understanding about the form or the history.
It makes me a rare visitor to Scotland’s national galleries. Somehow I still think they’re for people other than me.
The Pittenweem Festival however is so much more relatable.
‘Community’
Local artists coming together and with the local community providing much of the supporting infrastructure.
What a stark contrast to the likes of the Edinburgh Festival which feels like London rolls in for a month-long takeover, bringing its pace and prices before rolling out again with much of the profit.
There was a time in my life when I couldn’t have imagined living anywhere other than Edinburgh, and August saw the city at its best.
Now I’ll do my level best to avoid Edinburgh whilst the festival is on, with one or two exceptions.
It’s just too much in every sense. Too busy, too expensive, and too hard to get home from.
Back in Pittenweem we were welcomed into the overflow car park by signs which basically said it was free to park but a £3 donation would be nice to help cover costs.
What a stark contrast to the capital where you’d struggle to find a bottle of water for the same price.
Pittenweem also offered a free shuttle from the car park to the harbour for folk who may find the steep inclines too much.
Meanwhile, many Edinburgh Festival venues remain completely inaccessible to wheelchair users.
I know I’m not comparing like for like here, and it’s also important to acknowledge that there’s space for both and so much more in Scotland’s rich cultural life.
It has just got me thinking about how much attention Edinburgh gets in tourist terms compared to the rest of the country and how much of that is by accident or design?
‘Families stressed’
I remember, years ago, as an MSP receiving a presentation about Edinburgh and international inward tourism.
The gist of it was most tourists in Scotland arrived in Edinburgh and stayed there.
Therefore, the capital was maxed out and the only way Scotland could continue to grow its tourism industry was if we invested in means to get people out of the capital.
The plan for Saturday’s adventure, post-Pittenweem, was to dip into the wonderful, monthly food market at Bowhouse to pick up something fancy for tea, a late lunch in Elie and then home for an afternoon of garden duties.
As Bowhouse came into view we decided to give it a miss.
Hundreds of cars lined up threw up images of families completely stressed out by the pressure of trying to have a nice time.
We’ll come back in September when Edinburgh has left.
Onwards to Elie where we rammed ourselves into a corner of the Ship Inn with our two spaniels and it was lovely, as ever.
Just as every moment spent in the East Neuk is, come rain or come shine.
Yet it is so dominated by cars. Cars, cars, cars everywhere and so inaccessible as a result.
Inaccessible to people without one and also all those tourists who don’t know what they’re missing out on.
Infrastructure challenges
Even where there are train tracks, the service is a particular joke right now.
Whilst I completely understand the point of Scotrail’s “temporary” timetable, to give us a higher degree of certainty and protection from last-minute cancellations, it does starkly highlight what matters and who doesn’t.
One reason I’m particularly grumpy with the festival this year is how hard it is to get home to Markinch.
There are only two trains after 9pm. One at 9.30pm and the last train at 11.18pm.
That means if you want to see a show that starts at 8pm you have to accept you won’t get in till after half past midnight.
It’s pretty dismal and sends a strong message: the festival isn’t for Fifers.
Scotland’s tourism industry desperately needs a much more creative approach to the transport infrastructure that supports it.
Conversation