A Lost Armada of the East Neuk

In the heart of the East Neuk of Fife, nestled along Scotland’s rugged eastern coastline, lies the quiet town of Cellardyke. Today, it may seem like a sleepy coastal village, but dig beneath the surface—or rather, dive beneath the waves of time—and you’ll uncover the story of a lost armada. Yes, an armada—not of warships, but of fishing boats, once numbering in the hundreds, and forming one of the most bustling maritime scenes in all of Scotland.

In the early to mid-18th century, Cellardyke—then more commonly known as Nether Kilrenny—was the throbbing heart of a mighty fishing industry. According to Rev. Mr. Beat, a local minister and chronicler born in the early 1700s, there were upwards of 50 large fishing boats belonging to Cellardyke alone, each requiring a crew of six men. These boats primarily targeted herring during the summer season, but the winter fishing scene was just as vibrant, if not more brutal.

What makes the story of Cellardyke’s fishing fleet so extraordinary is not merely its size, but the sheer scale of the convergence that would take place along this jagged strip of coast. Mr. Beat recounted with awe how hundreds of boats—up to 500 at one time—would descend on the shore. This wasn’t poetic exaggeration. The customs collector of Anstruther himself kept count and confirmed the figure. It was a seaborne community that rivalled some of the great fleets of Europe in activity, if not in firepower.