Route: Elie (Ruby Bay) – Crail (Julia’s Café)
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 5 hours (at a nice leisurely pace)
On Saturday we ventured out on our second CRF group walk, this time taking on a section of the Fife Coastal Path.
We met in Elie for 10am at the Ruby Bay car park and set off along the path, the weather couldn’t have been better! Blue skies and beautiful sunshine, it wasn’t long before we were stopping to take off jackets and jumpers.
The coastal path is very accessible with a straightforward route to follow with well-worn path underfoot. We set off from Ruby Bay heading for St Monans, passing the ruins of Ardross and Newark Castles, the old outdoor swimming pool and eventually arriving at the St Monans windmill, which was once used to pump seawater into the adjacent salt pans.
Next up was Pittenweem; we followed the path along the shore until we arrived at this picturesque fishing village. We took a detour into the village to buy some of their famous Pittenweem oatcakes before setting off again towards our lunch stop – Anstruther.
As we left Pittenweem, we skirted around the Anstruther golf course and along the coast around Billow Ness. The weather was still fine and dry and we had lunch on our minds… we had brought sandwiches with us for lunch so we didn’t stop to sample to famous Anstruther fish & chips, however we did take a break at the Boathouse, a dog friendly pub with a lovely beer garden!
After a leisurely lunch and with the sun still shining, we decided to continue on to Crail. We left Anstruther and re-joined the coastal path; this section of the route was close to beach and had excellent views across to the Isle of May and the Bass Rock. We also passed by The Coves, a rocky formation of distinctive natural arches, one of the many interesting sights to see along the route. Crail harbour was soon in sight and we made our way into the village. We stopped off to visit the Crail Pottery, and there was even time for coffee and scones before we hopped on the bus back to Elie.
This was a great route and we were so lucky to have such fantastic weather. The path is easy to follow and is nice and flat, it was muddy in a few sections and there are a couple of stiles to cross but otherwise it is very accessible. There are some sections where you need to be aware of the high tide, but there are high tide paths to follow and these are well signposted, it is worth checking out the route information before you set off.
You can find out more about the Fife Coastal Path here –
https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk/walks/fife-coastal-path/
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fife-stirling/fife-coastal-path.shtml
If you are interested in joining us on future walks, you can join our walking group mailing list. You don’t have to come along to every walk and you don’t need to be an experienced walker – all abilities are welcome! If you would like to join the mailing list please contact Marie.Leslie@ed.ac.uk or Joanne.Douglas@ed.ac.uk and we will add you to the list.
