Wednesday 25th August 2021
I woke up at the start of this day to, once again, foggy, overcast conditions in the Kingdom of Fife as I caught a bus from Leven to Aberdour where I had previously left the Fife Coastal Path. I was unable to immediately set off along the route of the trail because of damage to the Dour Bridge that necessitated a diversion alongside the railway line and down Hawkcraig Road to the sea where I finally found a path that has enough dramatic scenery to deserve the title of a coastal path. Previously on the trail there had been rather too much inland walking around industrial developments with far too much tarmac and was not wild enough for my liking. The path around Hawk Craig was much better with tall crags rising above me and many wildflowers at my feet. I was finally seeing why the Fife Coastal Path is so highly praised and why it had attracted my notice. I enjoyed the walk around Hawkcraig Point and after passing a lighthouse joined a road that took me to Silversands Bay and at the far end I came alongside the railway line.
The poor, foggy conditions did nothing to spoil my enjoyment as I walked between the railway line and the shore with trees towering above my head and thick woodland climbing steeply above the railway. The delights continued after I crossed the line sandwiched next to the steep wooded terrain as I continued beside the railway line until I reached the outskirts of Burntisland. Soon after reaching a road I felt my backside getting wet and was reminded of my first day on the Fife Coastal Path when a similar thing happened, so I stopped and thoroughly examined my drinking vessel, but I could find no source of a leak so I put it back in my rucksack and as the day progressed the pressure of the water on the bladder lessened and the leak stopped. Following the streets through Burntisland I headed out to the beach and after a short spell on the promenade I descended onto the wide beach to take advantage of the low tide by walking between the breakwater stones and the wet sands. At the northern end of the beach I came across drier sand where I was able to move away from the coast and enjoy the walk across the sands taking in the views across Burntisland Beach.
Eventually I came off the sands and climbed up to the road around Pettycur and into Kinghorn where there were stunning views across the bay towards a tall viaduct that looms over the small harbour. The spectacular coastal scenery continued with many colourful wildflowers lining the path above a rocky shoreline with the railway line keeping to my right until it finally leaves the coast and I walked up past Seafield Tower and approached Kirkcaldy. With a hopeful glimmer of sunshine I stopped beside Seafield Car Park to have my lunch before resuming my walk into Kirkcaldy and along the wide Esplanade between the beach and the road. Unfortunately by the time I reached the harbour the sun had disappeared again and the fog remained as I passed a flour mill on my way to Pathhead Sands where another low tide option took me across the beach to Ravenscraig Park. I was fortunate that the timings of the low tide during the week of my walk were ideal to enable me to always take the low tide options when presented and I relished the opportunity given.
Ravenscraig Park is largely wooded with distinctive red sandstone and provided me with tranquil surroundings until after I passed through a low tunnel and suddenly emerged in Dysart Harbour. I was in awe of the complexity of this harbour as I made my way around and past the distinctive red-tiled buildings that look out to sea. Another excellent coastline took me to West Wemyss while the sun slowly started to win its battle with the clouds and afforded me with some sunshine as I walked along the coast past a section of the path that has suffered some erosion and into East Wemyss. Just beyond this village is Wemyss Caves, which is made from the locally common red sandstone and is greatly acclaimed. I stopped for a short exploration of Court Cave and Doo Cave before climbing up to MacDuff Castle but then turned around and came back down to look for Well Cave and Jonathon’s Cave. There didn’t seem much to see in these latter and I soon climbed back up away from the coast and onto an old railway line that took me into Buckhaven.
My map indicated that I would now be stuck on roads all the way into Leven, however soon after reaching Buckhaven I discovered a green path that took me around the settlement beside the coast and saved me from some tedious pavement walking, but was only temporary. Soon, I came out of the park and onto roads that took me into Methil and on until I eventually passed over the River Leven and into the town where I was staying. On this walk I finally saw that everything I had heard about the Fife Coastal Path was true and I felt fortunate to be walking it in such dry and warm weather. It may have been very misty for much of the day, but this didn’t detract from the delights of the walk and I thoroughly enjoyed it despite walking over twenty miles. My original plan for doing the Fife Coastal Path had been for much shorter walks, but I had not planned to end my first day after only eight miles. Instead I had planned to stop at North Queensferry after sixteen miles and the next day to do another sixteen miles as far as Kinghorn leaving a shorter day into Leven. To still end a stage in Leven, I had added seven miles to this stage and just one to the previous day, but such was the quality of the coastline and the good weather I hardly felt the distance and I could hardly wait to keep going.
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