The complete guide to the Fife Coastal Path

Main image: The Lady's Tower along the Fife Coastal Path at dusk (Welcome to Fife)

There is simply no coastal walking route in Scotland longer, as spectacular, or as richly varied and rewarding as the Fife Coastal Path. This is a life-affirming adventure nourishing mind, body and soul, whether you tackle its entirety or savour a bite-sized chunk of a route alive with world-class wildlife, great food and sustainable experiences.

The route

The Fife Coastal Path stretches for 188km around the dramatic peninsula of Fife, betwixt the Forth and Tay estuaries, flanked to the east by North Sea beaches. All are welcome: walkers, runners and cyclists, of all ages and abilities, whether you are eight, eighteen or eighty; some sections are wheelchair accessible. Sweeping east from the Kincardine Bridge is the timewarp of Culross, one of a sprinkling of historic West Fife villages. Then come the mighty Forth Bridges. Here North Queensferry Light Tower (the world’s smallest) beams, before the Wemyss Caves tempt en route to Levenmouth. A new railway station opens this year, one of numerous handy stations along the Path.

Lower Largo, birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, leads to the ‘Chain Walk’, a testing hands-on challenge – there is an easier workaround. The reward is the East Neuk and its necklace of whitewashed postcard-pretty fishing villages. Walk between sandy Elie, St Monans (with its famous windmill), Pittenweem (whose fishing cottages sit right on the beach), Anstruther (with St Monans Kirk Scotland’s closest church to the sea) and Crail, home of one of the UK's most Instagrammed harbours.

Fife Ness leads northwards to a wild stretch bursting with beaches and wildlife, before the tourist hub of St Andrews, Home of Golf and so much more. Nature beckons in Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve, before the finish line west along the mighty River Tay at Newburgh. We’ve not even mentioned historic, beach-kissed Kinghorn, nor Rosyth Castle, nor charming Aberdour. On the Fife Coastal Path there is always more.

The experiences

As if walking, running and cycling on the Fife Coastal Path were not enough, this innovative artery opens up a wealth of experiences, from wild swimming and canoeing, through to e-foil and stand up paddleboarding, that all come bathed in nature. We’re talking big Fife skies, sweeping sea and estuary, and everything from deer and otters, through to whales and dolphins. Sustainability thrives in Fife too with many experiences low environmental impact. Wild swimming is popular and there are impressive outdoor tidal pools at Cellardyke, Pittenweem and St Monans. Warm up afterwards at the beachside Wild Scottish Sauna in Kingsbarns or Elie Seaside Sauna.

As well as paddleboarding, family-run East Neuk Outdoors offer archery, axe-throwing, kayaking and mountain biking. Their bushcraft and firemaking sessions reconnect people with traditional skills. The infectious enthusiasm of the effervescent twin brothers at Blown Away in St Andrews meanwhile makes surfing, paddleboarding and land yachting a joy. At Och Aye Canoe at Lochore Meadows it’s all about sustainable, life-affirming paddling, whether it’s paddleboarding, canoeing or kayaking. Never one to rest on its hard-won laurels, the Fife Coastal Path also has the newest watersports in the form of Burntisland-based E-Foil Scotland. More traditional pastimes also star, with myriad opportunities to play golf on some of the world’s best courses and hillwalk in the hinterland for those enjoying slow travel on the Fife Coastal Path.

The refuelling spots

The Fife Coastal Path is a fine treat for foodies with tangible, delicious links from sea and land to plate, with fresh local produce culled from the bountiful coast and the fertile countryside. Agritourism is huge with a smorgasbord of independent businesses. Ardross Farm Shop now offer farm tours showcasing how passionate they are about produce and minimising waste. Bowhouse, with their East Neuk monthly markets, join up missing links in the food chain, while Balcaskie Estate educate with ‘Grass to Grill’ Estate tours.

East Neuk Salt have rekindled Fife’s salt industry, with East Neuk Seaweed illuminating Fife’s foraging riches. Dining highlights include The Ship Inn in Elie – savour East Neuk produce while you watch the UK’s only cricket team whose home ground is a beach. The same people run the superb The Crusoe in Lower Largo, recently voted the Romantic Hotel of the Year: savour delicious produce with sea views and the spirit of Robinson Crusoe. Home-smoked seafood stars at the East Pier Smokehouse, with plump crustaceans right by the harbour at the seasonal Lobster Shed in Crail. For comfort food The Cheesy Toast Shack in St Andrews and Kingsbarns is divine.

For fine dining, Room with a View in Aberdour pairs delicious dishes with spectacular panoramas of Edinburgh and the River Forth, MasterChefs: the Professionals finalist Dean Banks works creative wonders at Haar in St Andrews. The cosy Wee Restaurant in North Queensferry is run by a lovely, welcoming couple. Low-key, local and delicious. Very Fife.

The places to stay

Fife has some of Scotland’s finest large hotels, but the Fife Coastal Path also has accommodation that chimes more intimately with its overriding sustainable ethos and allows you to extend your adventures covering more of the route. Off the Track at Crail are a low-impact luxury lodge experience. Think a wood-fired hot tub and a welcome pack with local Barnett’s Bakery bread, Pittenweem Preserves jam and local milk. Green Tourism Gold winner Off Grid Travel on the Cambo Estate strive to be as sustainable as possible. Choose from the HideAway, a 100% sustainable building, or the Bothy, which reclines away from the modern world in ancient woodland.

Fife’s hotels are making impressive green strides too. The new Woodland Suites – designed by Blackdown Shepherd Huts - at Rufflets on the fringes of St Andrews hide in the leafy grounds. Each bespoke suite is self-contained within a double brace shepherd hut, with a private deck bringing the beauty of the natural landscape to you after a hard day's hiking. In Elie relax at the end of your adventurous day looking out for dolphins from your sumptuous, but still sustainable, safari tent at Catchpenny. This off-grid experience is an ideal overnight on Scotland’s longest coastal adventure. Peer out from the covered deck as the Forth’s islands blink back, safe in the knowledge the next day a world of world-class adventures await on the Fife Coastal Path.

Want to hear more about the Fife Coastal Path?

Tune into the Wanderlust: Off the Page episode about the Fife Coastal Path, featuring local travel writer Robin McKelvie and Sarah-Jane Latto from the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.

Feeling inspired?

To start planning your own memorable adventure along the Fife Coastal Path, head to the official Welcome to Fife website.

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