The Fife Coastal Path: Newport-on-Tay to Newburgh

Sunday 29th August 2021

I started my trek along the Fife Coastal Path on the Monday before this walk, and at the end of the sixth day on the trail I had reached the village of Newport-on-Tay. After walking ninety-eight miles, I had just over eighteen miles left to go, but first I had to get back to Newport-on-Tay and since it was a Sunday morning I was not going to get there early. The only way I could do it was to catch a bus from Leven to Dundee on the far side of the Firth of Tay and then catch another bus back across the Tay Road Bridge to Newport-on-Tay where I was finally able to begin my last stage on the Fife Coastal Path. Unfortunately, this initially involved simply walking along the pavement beside the B946 road out of the village, which is something I seem to have done a lot on the Fife Coastal Path, though the other bits had more than make up for it. Eventually, I came to the end of the road beside Wormit Bay, soon after passing underneath the Tay Rail Bridge, where there is a memorial to the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 when the original bridge collapsed killing all on board the train that was passing over it.

From my vantage point beside Wormit Bay, I had good views of the replacement bridge and of the piers for the original bridge alongside. Beyond this point the trail continues beside the Firth of Tay on an interesting path that undulates beside thick hedges before crossing a small ravine near Jock’s Hole to enter Scurr Wood and reach the tiny community of Balmerino. Beyond there the path enters Oak Wood, which is a fabulous place that I loved immensely. It was full of vegetation that made the whole place seem like a sea of green, while the path weaved up and down through the delightful surroundings. This was such a wonderful woodland walk that I almost forgot I was supposed to doing a coastal walk until the path briefly dropped down to the shore before climbing back up the side of the hill and I would not be back beside the shore for many hours. The gorgeous scenery was eventually left behind, much to my distress, as I slowly climbed the hillside to rise far higher than the trail had ever done previously. Relentlessly I continued to climb along a gravel track until I reached a quiet road where I decided to stop to catch my breath and to have my lunch before proceeding along the road for several miles of tedious walking.

The lovely green-overload of Oak Wood was a brief respite from the grey, overcast skies overhead and now that I had moved away from the coast there was no incentive for me to take any more pictures until Newburgh was in sight. The views while walking on the road were not exciting as I passed beside green fields until eventually I turned off the road onto a track that climbs towards Norman’s Law, but before I reached the top I turned right onto a track that skirts around the hill passing the highest point on the Fife Coastal Path before gradually descending through conifer woodland as the sun finally began to break through the clouds. After the tracks had taken me down the hill, I passed through farmland before climbing once again around the eastern slopes of Glenduckie Hill and up the grassy slopes of Higham Hill to the top where the view opened up across the Firth of Tay and I was rewarded with a stunning sight. Before me was the wide estuary of the Firth of Tay where various mud banks and the reed-filled Mugdrum Island could be seen looking splendid in the sunlight as I made my final descent into Newburgh beside Lindores Hill.

Once I was at the bottom of the hill, I came up to the shore of the Firth of Tay for a final, celebratory walk beside the estuary that provided me with a taste of coastal walking that I had been missing for many miles on the Fife Coastal Path before finally I reached Mugdrum Park where I passed under the arch that marks the end of the trail. The last two days on the Fife Coastal Path were not great, though Oak Wood is a fabulous example of ancient woodland that was a joy to walk through and the descent into Newburgh with the wide views over the estuary also made up for the earlier road walking. Looking at the whole trail and there were some fantastic moments that justify the acclaim that is given to the Fife Coastal Path though these are mainly beside Aberdour and St. Andrews while outside of those areas there is not enough coastal walking and too much tarmac. Originally the trail ran from North Queensferry to Tayport and I don’t think anything has been gained by extending it to the borders of the county in Kincardine and Newburgh. I am most astonished by my fortune in the weather during my seven days on the trail during which it never rained, which is rare in Scotland. It was a very tiring walk with high mileages each day, but it was a very enjoyable even at its most tedious when it was still very relaxing.

The Fife Coastal Path: St. Andrews to Newport-on-Tay

Saturday 28th August 2021

After the challenges of the rough and remote coastline between Crail and St. Andrews, the Fife Coastal Path now deteriorated to become more like the abundant tarmac of the start of the trail. I had reached the golfing town of St. Andrews on the previous day, so now I caught a bus back there to resume my walk along the Fife Coastal Path that started with me passing the Old Course, which is the oldest golf course in the world, before settling down to walk along a cyclepath beside the A91 road. I was already finding this walk rather tedious as this part goes on for several miles, though for some of the way there was a line of trees between the path and the road, but this deteriorated to become a low hawthorn hedge, later a low wall, then a wire fence and eventually an unprotected path beside the road. All of this while crossing flat, open expanses of grassland with little or no view until finally I came to Guardbridge and crossed the fifteen century bridge where I had views across the supporting piers of the old railway viaduct over the River Eden.

The Fife Coastal Path makes use of the course of the old railway for its route through Guardbridge and provided me with me with a good off-road path, but all too soon I was back beside the road and branched off to take a minor road into the small town of Leuchars, which is dominated by the military base of Leuchars Station. This seemed rather intimidating with tall fences topped with barbed wire either side of the road and manned entrances, though the jet plane parked behind the entrance was very impressive. I followed the road around the base turning to the east to come out of Leuchars, until I eventually came to the end of the road and with one last look at the airfield I continued on a track that heads into Tents Muir. When the trail comes off the track I took to a delight path through extensive dunelands where there was a mixture of trees and grass with many marshland plants. This was an interesting terrain that compensated for the flat gradients on a path that took me across the wild landscape on boardwalks until I reached the much less diverse conifer plantation of Tentsmuir Forest.

I was now on wide forestry tracks and this wasn’t helped when I turned right onto a road where many cars seemed to pass me as I headed along the road to the busy car park for Kinshaldy Beach. Coming off the coastal path, I headed across the dunes and onto the beach, which was vast enough to provide plenty of space despite the large numbers of people, so I was able to find somewhere to sit and have my lunch. After eating, I headed up the sands enjoying the expansive views and slowly drifted towards the sea where I took in the gently lapping waters and took many photographs before heading back across the sands. Crossing the dunes again, I re-entered the forest, but I was not back at the car park or on the Fife Coastal Path. However, soon after entering the forest I found a red-topped post marking a trail that was much more interesting than the coastal path. While that follows wide forestry tracks, this trail takes an interesting route weaving through the trees and I thoroughly enjoyed following it until beside a Second World War observation post it takes a sharp left turn. At that point I headed back out of the forest to have a look across the dunes towards the distant sea, before taking the path back onto the coastal path beside an old ice house.

Now, I followed the trail along tedious wide tracks through the commercial forest, though never far from the edge up to Tentsmuir Point where I couldn’t resist the temptation to head out onto the sands once more where I was greeted by the sight of the wide expanse of Headwell Sands that incongruously had a herd of cows on it and was lined by concrete anti-tank blocks. Across the Firth of Tay, I could see the coastline of the county of Angus that seems heavily populated compared with the coastline of Fife that I had been enjoying all week. Resuming my walk along the trail I finally headed out of Tentsmuir Forest, to walk beside the coast with wide views across the estuary and with more concrete blocks lining the route. This took me into Tayport where the coastal path keeps to the edge of the coast passing through Tayport Links Caravan Park and along the Promenade to the harbour. I had considered ending the walk this day in Tayport, but since it was only three o’clock, I decided it would be best to keep going, so I headed out of Tayport on the route of an old railway line.

In something reminiscent of the start of the day, this later led to my walking beside a road, but now with the heavily developed coastline of the city of Dundee across the Firth of Tay. I continued beside this road under the Tay Road Bridge and into Newport-on Tay where I had decided to end the walk for the day leaving me with the same distance to walk on my final day as I had just walked on this day. However, first I had to find a bus, but that proved difficult especially after seeing a bus I should have caught but not realising until after it had passed me, which left me with an hour to wait for the next one. This was a very tedious walk with hardly any changes in gradient and the only highlight on the trail was while passing through the moorland of Tents Muir. Off-trail, the highlight was the Ice House Trail through Tentsmuir Forest that is marked with red-topped posts, but elsewhere the Fife Coastal Path keeps to wide tracks and pavements which is a great deterioration since its heights of my previous few days along the trail and I wasn’t hopeful about the last stage.

The Fife Coastal Path: Crail to St. Andrews

Friday 27th August 2021

To resume my trek along the Fife Coastal Path, I caught a bus from Leven, where I had been staying at Silverburn Park, to reach the village of Crail, where I had left the trail the previous day. Unfortunately, the bus schedule in that part of Fife is so infrequent that I had to catch a relatively late bus which meant I didn’t reach Crail until half ten, halfway through the morning. I had some confusion about the route of the Fife Coastal Path through Crail with some maps indicating that it heads towards the harbour, however the Footprint map that I was using directed me to the parish church and then down the narrow lane of Kirkwynd to the coast at a viewpoint that looks out to the North Sea. Passing through Sauchope Links Caravan Park there was a very cold wind coming off the sea that prompted me to wrap up and even to put on my gloves for the first (and only) time on this holiday. Beyond the caravan park, the trail passes through Kilminning Coast Wildlife Reserve before reaching Fife Ness where the coastline turns its back on the Firth of Forth, and the cold winds, to head towards St. Andrews Bay and the Firth of Tay, but on the way I had to negotiate a lot of golf courses. I had already encountered many courses on the trail before this day and now I came across many more with the two courses of the Crail Golfing Society the first that I had to avoid.

Immediately after Fife Ness, the coastal path passes perilously close to Balcomie Links, though it also passes Constantine’s Cave, which is close to the fourteenth hole. To avoid the golf balls, I came off the trail and onto Balcomie Sands, though I was soon back on the path and having to keep a constant look out for anyone who might be teeing off as I was passing. This section between Crail and St. Andrews is very challenging with several places where it is impossible to pass at high tide and there are no facilities near the route, which was in stark contrast to the earlier sections of the trail that for long stretches was on tarmac. Near Randerston Castle, I descended onto the beach on the first stretch of the trail that would be impassable at high tide, but was not a problem for me as the tides were perfectly timed for me on this holiday. When the Fife Coastal Path finally came back off the seaweed-filled beach, I had another golf course to negotiate, Kingsbarns Golf Links, but this time I was diverted around the golf course heading inland before passing through the delightful wooded valley of Cambo Burn. Beyond this point I could have kept away from the golfers by descending onto Cambo Sands, but instead I decided to keep to the clear path between the golf course and the sands that brought me to a car park beside the old Kingsbarn harbour.

The overcast skies that had stubbornly refused to clear during the morning now broke to reveal clear blue skies and bright sunshine that made the golden sands at Airbow Point look particularly stunning. The whole coastline now looked fabulous with the craggy foreshore that I had admired the day before now repeated along the coast all the way to St. Andrews. Upon reaching Kenly Water, I turned inland to follow the stream along a delightful path through a wooded valley that was more keenly appreciated because woodland had been rare on the coastal path since before Leven. After climbing away from Kenly Water, the trail could have been tedious as it passes over Chesterhill, but this was compensated by the warm sunshine before descending back down to the coast near Buddo Rock. This prominent stack has a wide crack that I explored thinking that it would be easy way to get up to the top of the rock, but I soon stopped myself attempting the climb for fear that might I get into difficulty, so I hastily retreated and continued along what is a sensational section of the Fife Coastal Path.

Although there are three golf courses beside this stretch of the coast, the path is safely away from danger partly down the steep escarpment and negotiates an interesting route through a wild landscape climbing up and down the steep terrain on well-weathered steps. This was an absolute delight to traverse with many wildflowers at my feet and great views across the rocky coastline including the tantalising view of the University town of St. Andrews in the distance. The constant movement of the path up and down provided me with good exercise that got my heart pumping and my excitement jumping. When I finally came back down to the coast I passed the curious rock feature of the Rock and Spindle and was now so close to St. Andrews that I eagerly made my way along the path and into the town. After enjoying the view across East Sands, I crossed Kinness Burn and passed the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral and the castle. This was a short walk compared with the previous few days, but the late start and the rugged nature of the path had compensated for that. I thoroughly enjoyed this walk that passes through fabulously remote and rugged scenery and I now appreciated why the Fife Coastal Path is so highly acclaimed, but I wasn’t optimistic about the next two days as I suspected the best of the trail was now past.

The Fife Coastal Path: Leven to Crail

Thursday 26th August 2021

To continue my trek along the Fife Coastal Path on this day I didn’t need to catch a bus anywhere since on the previous day I had finished the walk in Leven, which is where I stayed for the whole of my time in the Kingdom of Fife. Therefore, all I needed to do was to return to the seafront and I would immediately be able to continue along the coastal path. Earlier in the week the days had started misty and foggy and only cleared later, but on this walk there was no fog and just a little cloud that eventually cleared to reveal a gorgeous sunny day with clear blue skies to accompany the fabulous scenery on this stretch of the coast. When I had reached Leven the previous day the tide had been in, but now the tide was on its way out so I was able to walk out onto the sands for a lovely walk along the sandy beach, before eventually coming off back onto the footpath and across a golf course into the small village of Lundin Links that merges into the village of Lower Largo. After passing a statue of Alexander Selkirk who was the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe and was born in Lower Largo, I left the village on the course of the Fife Coastal Railway until I reached Dumbarnie Links Wildlife Reserve. There I dropped back down onto the beach and was unable to resist the opportunity to cross the sands right up to the gently lapping sea thereby cutting the corner, slightly, of the wide sweep of Largo Bay.

I had tremendous views across the sands and thoroughly enjoyed my walk beside the sea, but eventually crossed the sands again to take a path that crosses Cocklemill Burn and through a line of trees to pass through Elie Holiday Park. On the far side of the caravan park the path continues around Shell Bay to Kincraig Point where I had an awesome view before me of a complex, rocky coastline. The path climbs above the crags to the top of Kincraig Hill, but there is an alternative route through the rocky inlets, though at first I missed the steep path down. When I spotted the chains on the route far below me, I retraced my steps and slithered down the eroded path to the start of the Elie Chainwalk. This unique scramble crosses the craggy coastline with the aid of large chains that have been anchored to the rocks and provided me with some exhilarating adventure. The rocky terrain was very grippy and has steps cut into it, but I could not have easily got over the vertical rock faces without the help of the chains. I had never come across this sort of thing before, though they are common in the Alps where they are known as via ferrata, though this chainwalk is relatively easy and does not require the usual equipment (lanyards, helmet, and harness).

I found the Elie Chainwalk exciting, though scary in places and nerve-wracking, but utterly thrilling. It seemed to go on for a long time with no sign of where the route went next, so it was always reassuring when I discovered the next set of chains and towards the end I was wondering how much further it had to go. Eventually the sands of West Bay came into view and I was able to walk away from the Elie Chainwalk having survived the challenge. After crossing the sands of West Bay I climbed up off the beach and around the headland of Chapel Ness into Earlsferry where a prolonged section of road walking took me through the popular harbour town of Elie. Branching off the coastal path I walked around Elie Ness passing a lighthouse and the ruin of Lady’s Tower before continuing along the trail past Sauchar Point. The coast was now very complex and craggy, which I found utterly spellbinding. The sun was bright overhead lighting the stunning scenery of the craggy shoreline perfectly as I made my way beside the coast and this mesmerising landscape would continue for the rest of the day as with every turn more delights opened up before me.

The stunning coastline was punctuated by the occasional village and St. Monans came after Elie and after that was Pittenweem and Anstruther. This last village was slightly larger and more crowded where another prolonged section of road walking was required before I eventually left the narrow streets behind and was back beside the same rocky coastline. The inland scenery was now less wild and more agricultural, or to put it another way: it was more bland. This detracted from the craggy coastline to my right and even this was becoming tedious as it was more of the same that I had been seeing for many miles. The only relief from the monotony was the Cailplie Caves, which are made of red sandstone reminiscent of Wemyss Caves that I had seen earlier in the trail. Eventually I entered the village of Crail and since I had now walked at least twenty miles I decided it was time to head back to Leven. When I checked the time of the next bus I discovered that it wasn’t for another twenty minutes, so I descended to the harbour to have a moment looking out over the sea before climbing back up to the main road to wait for the bus back to Leven.

This was the Fife Coastal Path at its best and fully justified my devoting a whole week of my holiday to walking its length. I was fortunate to have stunning weather and to have the tides falling perfectly that enabled me to explore the sands throughout. The constant tarmac of my first couple of days on the trail was now a distant memory as the delights of the coastal path continued to enthral me. The highlight of this walk was clearly the Elie Chainwalk, which I found to be exciting, terrifying and utterly thrilling. Significantly I was now more than half way along the Fife Coastal Path and I had little more than fifty miles left to go.