Cellardyke

Cellardyke, where I was raised in Scotland, was once called "Silverdyke." The name Silverdyke was given to the fishing village by the Dutch traders who used to visit these shores after crossing the North Sea. They saw the walls or "dykes" covered with the drying herring which had been caught by local fisherman. The herring were glinting in the sun which made the walls look silver - hence the name. The Scottish word for silver is "Siller" and mapmakers who heard the local name Sillerdyke spoken spelt it as Cellardyke.

People have fished from these shores for hundred of years. The village of Cellardyke was once inhabited by mainly fishing families where everyone had a job to do. The sons from each family would follow their fathers to the sea and the daughters would learn the skills neaded to be a fisherman's wife. When the industry was at its height the harbours at Cellardyke and Ansruther would be full of boats which all went out to catch the migrating herring. But due to overfishing the herring stopped coming here after the Second World War and many families had to find other jobs to do. From the recent photos you can see that the harbours are very quiet now and are used mainly for small "creel" boats and pleasure craft. The fishing industry is still carried out from nearby Pittenweem but to a much smaller scale.

The information above was written by pupils from Cellardyke Primary School.

If you would like to visit this area as part of a highly personalized small group tour of my native Scotland please e-mail me at;

sandystevenson@thefreesite.com

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