2019-08-01_Country_Homes_&_Interiors.

Asa child,Billy

wouldgocrabbing

fromthewallof

Cellardyke harbour

My favourite view...

Cellardyke harbour

in fife, Scotland

ChefBillyBoytergrew uponthecoast ofFife,andstilllivesandworksnearhis

home town. He tells us why the view of this harbour is so special to him...

FEATURE

THEA

BABINGTON-STITT

PhoTogRAPh

(CEllAdykE HArBOur)

POrrIdGE PICTurE lIBrAry/AlAmy STOCk PHOTO

Myrestaurantis onlyfiveminutesaway

fromwhereI grewup,ina towncalled

CellardykeinFife.ThehouseI livedin

asa childhadviewsfromtheliving

roomontothewater.Ona niceday

whentheseawasflat,therewas

nothingbetterthanlookingoutand

seeingtheIsleofMayjustoffthecoast.

Andona blusteryday,I’dsitbyour

coalfire,feelingcosy,watchingthe

wavessmashingovertheharbourwall.

ThispartofFifeis a goodspotfor

fishing,soaswellasanglerscasting

theirlinesfromtheharbourwall,

therearea lotofsmallpeelboats.

Growingup,weusedtogodownin

thesummerwitha littlecrabline,

dropit offtheedgeoftheharbour

andpullupcrabsforfunbefore

throwingthembackin.I’mfroma

familyoffishermen,soI dostilltryto

fish. It’s a bit harder now finding the

timewitha restaurantanda family,

butwhenI canI’llnipawayfora

morningandfishofftheharbourat

Cellardykeorjustofftherocksatlow

tide.ThelasttimeI wasoutI caught

apollock,whichI hadformyteathat

night,simplygrilledwithsomegarlic

anda bitofbutteronit.Perfection.

It’salsoa reallypopularareafor

seakayaks– a lotofpeoplepaddle

acrosstotheIsleofmaybutI’venot

beenbraveenoughtoventurethat

far!ButthisyearI wentouta few

hundredmetresofftheshorewitha

fishingline,thenjustdriftedalong

withthetidetryingtocatchsome

fish.Therewasa yachta lotfurther

outthanmeandI couldhearpeople

cheeringandclappingandI turned

aroundandtherewasa podof

dolphinsinbetweenus– theymust

have been out trying to catch the fish

aswell!Thatwasquiteamazing.

duringthesummeryougeta lotof

dolphinsandporpoisescomingin

and,if you’relucky,you’llgeta wee

glimpse,andthiswasdefinitelythe

bestviewI’veevergotofthem.

Ina way,thecoastmeans

everythingtome.I’vealwayslivedby

theseaandit’sanimportantpartof

mylife;I couldn’treallyimagine

beingawayfromit.I’msoluckytobe

basedwhereI am.I canbasicallygo

frombeinginthekitchen– a really

busy,stressfulenvironment– and

withintwominutesI canbeoutalong

thecoastawayfromeverything.It’s

sucha relaxingplacetobe.I loveit

inallconditions;it’sforeverchanging

andthat’swhatI loveaboutit.

Billyis thechefpatronofMichelin-

starredrestaurantTheCellar.

thecellaranstruther.co.uk

my FAvoURiTE viEw