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.