i meant to do a piece on the THATCHED roofs i saw in Danmark and now, especially here in the Kingdom of Fife (still on Scotland's east coast in Crail), i am struck by the beauty of the red pan tile roofs (or pantile, as some would have it). they dot the horizon in the small coastal villages. also significant is a roof-related feature, what might be called a roofing accessory - the CROW-STEP GABLES which are ubiquitous.
i don't want to harp on it but IT'S RAINING. again.
yesterday we were meant to go on an adventure to the Isle of May to visit with the PUFFINS but the wind was so high, the white-caps (our Scottish friend, Ann, calls them "white horses") so fierce, the boat would not have been able to land and the captain called off the journey.
plus, it was raining (but i'm not harping).
we took a walk around the town and got reasonably wet and felt EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to have a warm, dry, well-roofed cottage, though neither thatched nor pantiled, to which we could return. Ann said we could COURRIE DOON which means "COZY DOWN" and we agreed and that's what we did. none of us had seen The King's Speech and the dvd was here so we watched and some of us cried. Andrew and i made baked eggplant with cumin and turmeric and all-in-all it was a lovely day.
the danish thatch is called stråtag (stro tay) which means, literally, "straw roof"
thatch
thatch eaves, moss on roof, super close 
thatch dormer! 
atypical low-hanging thatch 
possible vanity thatch (applied over tile roof?)
skip the thatch, plant the roofa long LONG time ago, the towns in Fife had important trading relationships with the low countries - like Belgium and the Netherlands - and ships would go out carrying scottish goods (like coal, wool, linen) and come back filled with RED PAN TILES as BALLAST. this ballast roofed so many of the ancient cottages along this part of the coast.
and CROW-STEP gables created easy access to chimneys for maintenance.
pan tile roof, Crail harbor 
pan tile roof
pan tile roof
crow-step gable
i hope that life in fife if that's where you still are is delishki. the joy of seeing these pictures and imagining that i might in some way be there brings me to joyous maximus. moss and red tiles.... not much gets more delightful to these eyes. keep posting. love this, love you.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pics, Lori xx
ReplyDeleteif only ONE of them contained... YOU!
Deletebut alas, bonny Scotland is FAR Far north of bonny Val Bonney so we will need to meet up, in person, some other time.
sending love from Dunkeld. xo
I know, sweet friend ... it will happen when the time is right. Happy to share your adventure vicariously, though xxx
DeleteI, too, am fascinated by thatched roofs. I took pictures of slews of them in the Netherlands and more in Denmark (including those with dormer windows, which I had never seen before). A fantastic collection of photos, Lori. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat text, great pictures. I am not just saying it: I wish I were there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing those wonders, Lori. I think that is an old roofing method that has been generally used in early England. And I must say that those thatched roofs are really beautiful. It won't only give your home a rustic look, but it can shed the water away from your inner roof as well.
ReplyDeleteRichard Boles