Fife Coastal Path

Feeding the seals at Sea Life at St Andrews.

The sea cliffs at St Andrews. At the other end of the town from the famous golf course.

Crail is a picturesque fishing village on the east coast.

Finding the start of the Fife Coastal Path is quite easy. Head downhill as if going to Deep Sea World. The Forth Bridge will be overhead.

This is the start. A short cobbled stretch heads uphill and under the north end of the rail bridge.

Passing under the bridge. If trains pass overhead you will hear a deep rumbling noise. This is a substantial bridge, built to last. Much of the stone was quarried from nearby. The walk passes several such quarries.

If you've been searching North Queensferry for a public toilet then this isn't it - but it may have to serve you if you can stand the broken glass and other crap in this brick built hut.

Looking back at the bridge. The route is so convoluted there'll be much looking back without necessarily having to turn round.

Of the 3 main sections of the bridge, this is the only one which is free of the white protective covering used while applying the new long lasting hi-tech paint. Continuous repainting should be a thing of the past now.

The picturesque north east corner of a peninsula that juts out into the Firth of Forth. The sea is very calm today but recently there were waves flooding many coastal roads and depositing debris on grass verges.

A wider view of the same scene shows the bridge and Deep Sea World in front of the rock face.

A little further along the path gives this view across to the Rosebery Estate between South Queensferry and Cramond.

Carlingnose Quarry. I have no information about the white building on the clifftop. Google Earth's April 2010 image shows what looks like foundations - so perhaps it's a new house with stunning views...

A closer view of the cliff and the house perched on the cliff edge. The rock I'm standing is shown in the next picture.

(Size 9 boot shown for scale) Strange geology with rounded boulders embedded in surrounding layers which crumble away.

Looking back at the bridge from the top of the big rock. There's a steep little path up the rock in Carlingnose Quarry.

The path is high up here and affords good views. The white buildings are at Dalgety Bay.

This wide view shows the familiar outline of Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat in the distance behind the Hound Point Marine Terminal on the south side of the Firth of Forth.

Zoomed in on the terminal. Arthur's Seat is clearly recognizable now.

Zoomed in even more and it's possible to read No Smoking on the ship. Behind, the remains of Granton Gasworks can be seen. Part of Cramond Island can also be seen.

The camera panned slightly to the right here shows Hound Point and the barrier which connects Cramond Island to the shore. Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat are surrounded by the buildings of Edinburgh.

A wide letterbox shape picture of Dalgety Bay.

Looking back at the central section of the Forth Bridge getting its paint job.

The southern end of the bridge. Part of South Queensferry can be seen through the arch.

Abandoned by industry, this pier will provide a resting place for birds and other sea life for some time.

Zoomed in to reveal rusty rail tracks amongst the grass. Ladders appear to have been sawn through to prevent boarders.

The sand on the beach is coloured by coal from seams below the Forth. This view is north; once past this bay the coastal path turns west and heads into Inverkeithing Bay.

From Google Earth I've deduced that these houses are at the north end of Port Laing Wynd on the edge of North Queensferry.

Looking back (south) at the housing development called after Carlingnose Point.

There's a short walk through a wooded area before turning west. The notice at the gate reads 'Animals Ahead - Do Not Disturb - Keep Dogs on Lead'.

This is where we round the corner. The view here is to the north east, across the bay to another quarry and a disused pier.

Looking more east north east shows Dalgety Bay again.

Zoomed in for a closer look at the old quarry and its loading pier.

A wide letterbox shot of the view across to Edinburgh from here.

Looking north west at the town of Inverkeithing.

These signs appear occasionally to give reassurance that you're on the right road. Unfortunately it's not possible to hug the water's edge all the way because of industry, mostly.

A little further on and the scene becomes more industrial. It soon becomes apparent that the path has to skirt round scrapyards etc.

Zoomed in a little on the same scene showing a crow perched on the railing and old factory buildings across the bay.

The path wends its way around scrapyards and strange blue plumbing.

A look backwards is useful to get your bearings.

The blue plumbing is off to the right behind the security fences. Walkers are guided round large piles of scrap metal.

The narrow path emerges here. This is a look back - the path was to the left of the Tarmac building at the entrance to Cruiks Quarry.

Painted on the blue lorry is its address: THE BAY-INVERKEITHING. The bay is just out of sight behind the 3 yellow grabbers and the piles of scrap metal.

A last look at the scrapyard before the path leads you into a fairly boring stretch of street and footpath.

After a few minutes walk the familiar red painted ironwork associated with the Forth Bridge comes into view. This point is just over 1.5km north of the start of the walk. Continue straight on to Hope Street.

To continue the walk from here it's necessary to follow the main street for 870m (in the opposite direction to this photograph). Go to the top of the hill and down the other side until you see a marker post on the right...

... or you can cut down Port Street as shown in this photo saving 250m of walking. The bridge at the bottom crosses a branch rail line taking you to Commercial Road then Preston Crescent where a running track separates you from the sea.

After about 700m walking past the running track the path rejoins the water's edge near this pier - which was seen from a distance in Inverkeithing06 and 09 back a few pictures.

The path past the quarry is smooth tarmac. The pier has a big slab of metal through it to stop people trying to get out over the water.

Looking into the quarry.

Behind the wooden pier, across the Firth of Forth, is the silhouette of Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh.

A backwards look at the path and quarry before the approach to Dalgety Bay.

Dalgety Bay's appearance is in stark contrast to the preceding working town of Inverkeithing. Some of it looks like it was rendered by a computer graphics program.

A look back at the path and the houses on Spinnaker Way and Halyard Rise. The sea wasn't quite so calm recently (April 2010) and a lot of debris and rubbish (especially plastic bottles) was thrown onto promenades.

ALL DOG WALKERS MUST BAG and BIN THEIR DOG'S MESS from GRASS AREAS, THE PATH and GRAVEL VERGES into BINS PROVIDED COASTAL PATHWAY IS A FIFE COUNCIL DOG WARDEN MONITORED WALKWAY

A look along to the other end of the bay from Downing Point. Inchcolm Island is to the right of the oil terminal.

Downing Point. A good place to stop for a picnic before quite a long walk past bungalows and boats.

One of the few older buildings in this area. Once round the point at the right, the coast cuts back on itself and there's a bit of a detour round a flat area with trees on the left.

St Bridget's Kirk. The official path seems to leave the coast here - but the walk along the water's edge looked too interesting...

Photographed from the top of the beach.

Looking back along the rocky beach. The going gets a bit rough here; boots are advised - there is no real path.

A wider view showing the Forth Bridge and the road bridge beside it.

It gets more interesting here because it's just nature: woods on the left, sea on the right.

Clambering over rocks and ducking under branches is needed at high tide.

A big, heavy piece of driftwood, maybe from a pier. It shows signs of having been burnt.

A good place to stop for a while is this little pier which has a tiny disused harbour at its end.

Beyond the pier the path ahead looks uncertain past the old wartime building and the oil terminal.

The little harbour and the Forth bridges in the background.

Looking back along the pier.

Too close to shore to be used for tying up oil tankers.

'BW HUGIN - OSLO' it says on the stern of the ship.

Zoomed in on the structure to get an idea of its scale. It's big.

For more information see Boat Trips to Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth or Maid of the Forth.

A view across the Forth to East Lothian. A boat has docked in the little harbour on the right.

Inchkeith is the larger island with the lighthouse on top. It's 11.26km away in this telephoto picture.

As well as Inchcolm, this picture shows Edinburgh in the distance and the damaged steps at the little harbour.

Looking back at the land - where the official path is somewhere behind those trees. There is a narrow path through the gorse which takes you a bit further.

Unfortunately there's no point in continuing along this beach. There is high security electric fencing and CCTV around the oil terminal. Our route from here continues on the next page.

If you head uphill and inland there's a dilapidated stile over the fence and this path up the steep ridge through the trees.

The trees, though small, are quite thick but there are gaps where you can look over the Forth from higher up.

Here you can see just how high it's necessary to climb to get around the fenced off area.

As well as 2 fences (one of them electrified) there are CCTV cameras and plenty warning notices like this one.

Up here there are more mature trees which have had over 60 years to grow since the moss-covered WW2 'pillbox' was built.

Burntisland town can be seen in the distance. The noise from the oil terminal adds to the unpleasant high-security environment.

Eventually you'll reach the end of the fence and the terminal entrance. Behind the trees is a golf course.

Opposite the entrance to the oil terminal is this roadway which, after a bit of a climb, rejoins the official path. Across the Firth of Forth are the Pentland Hills.

Back on the official path, facing back the way towards Dalgety Bay. The tunnel passes underneath the road from the oil terminal. I've added an arrow pointing to Aberdour.

A more pleasant prospect on the last stretch to Aberdour. Daffodils grace this tree-lined avenue alongside the golf course on the right.

Zoomed in here to show people strolling along.

Near Aberdour village now, looking back the way we came.

Aberdour High Street lies just ahead. The railway station is a short walk along to the right.

Historic Scotland has information about Aberdour Castle, pictured here.

A slightly closer view of Aberdour Castle.

The view from the courtyard showing the entrance on the left.

From the High Street, Shore Road leads down to the sea...

On the way down to the beach we pass Seaside Place on the right.

At the bottom of Shore Road a group of very young children are playing on the beach, carefully supervised by adults. Some beach maintenance is going on further to the right.

Facing west from the same spot for a view of the harbour and the old wooden pier at the end of the peninsula.

Edinburgh is 8 km across the Firth of Forth to the south. There's no mistaking the characteristic profile of Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh Castle.

Leith's Western Harbour is 9.7 km away. Dotted faintly along the horizon are the masts of a windfarm.

Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags across the water.

Edinburgh Castle seen across the sparkling waves. The two white-topped objects near the right edge of the picture are temporary protection for Edinburgh's Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill.

The artificial ski slope 19 km away at Hillend on the Pentlands can be seen in this view.

Panning to the right reveals Caerketton Hill and nearer the shore at Silverknowes is the tall block of flats called Martello Court.

Inchcolm Island and Abbey.

Maximum zoom in for a closer look at the abbey.

Last of the long looks over the water meantime - Barnbougle Castle west of Cramond.

A short walk along Shore Road takes you to Aberdour Harbour. Follow the path to the left to explore the wooded peninsula.

The path starts to climb. There are benches and views from the clifftops.

Looking back at the harbour and Shore Road.

There are lots of paths and it's easy to miss these stone steps which lead up to the top of the cliffs for spectacular views.

Dappled sunshine on the woodland floor.

Some of the paths are like tunnels through the greenery.

The signs point the way to Hawkcraig Point and Hawkcraig House - Room with a View.

This old wooden pier was once used for docking when low tide prevented access to the harbour.

Beyond this garden are these cliffs.

From this very rocky shore there are clear views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh - and there are two climbers half way up the cliff face.

The view over the rocky shore and wooden pier back to Aberdour.

Forthview Hotel.

Having retraced our steps back up the hill we found this path with views to Burntisland and an odd cylindrical construction further down the path.

Closer inspection reveals a grille at the top and an access panel half way up.

Down at the end of the rocky promontory. The Craigkelly TV transmitter mast stands on a hill (a remnant of the same volcano as Arthur's Seat) overlooking Burntisland 3 km to the east across the bay

Looking back to the near shore we can see Aberdour's famous Silver Sands not far away.

On the way to Silver Sands more views across the Forth to Edinburgh's classic skyline.

Zoomed in for a look at Edinburgh's Salisbury Crags. The yachts are probably from a regatta at Cramond.

Turning the camera in Burntisland's direction reveals two transmitter masts. Craigkelly is the pylon shaped one on top of the hill but there's another one in a field beside a big house...

There's another big house nestling in the woods to the left of the Craigkelly transmitter. You can also see the railway line just above the shore. The path to Burntisland runs beside the train tracks.

Burntisland's industry in recent times was partly the refining of bauxite (aluminium ore).

Getting closer to Silver Sands beach...

Across to the left the path to Burntisland is coming into view. The railway line is behind the stone wall and the trees.

A warning notice about the instability of the sand at low tide.

They're understandably proud of their beaches here so anglers must dig for their fishing bait elsewhere.

The path out of Aberdour is smooth tarmac across neat lawns. A little stream has its own channel lined with blocks of stone.

About to leave Aberdour and head along the path to Burntisland.

Having left Aberdour we're now following the shore to Burntisland. The railway line is always nearby and trains pass quite frequently.

It's very rocky away from the path. There are many interesting geological samples.

Some of the rocks are full of holes, presumably once bubbles in volcanic lava.

We brought this rock home. A £1 coin gives an indication of scale.

There was a path between Aberdour and Burntisland long before the Fife Coastal Path was completed. The stonework on the railway underpasses reflects this.

We ventured out onto the rocks again for another look towards Burntisland.

Not quite so rocky here - there's some sandy patches.

Back on the path having crossed under the railway line. Looking back towards the underpass.

A train whizzes by, a blur through the trees.

An old, mossy stone bridge crosses in front of a waterfall.

Looking up at the waterfall from the stone bridge.

A vertical shot of the falls. A camera exposure of a twentieth of a second has allowed the water to blur slightly as it cascades down.

The scenery changes as we emerge from the woods. The path continues at the edge of a big field but still quite close to the railway line. A tall transmitter mast comes into view, supported by guy lines.

At the other end of the field looking back at the transmitter mast. The path has descended some steps next to a big house (which we'll see later from further away).

Along the path a few paces, looking back. The path and the nearby stone walls look quite new here (July 2010). A stray flower on the left caught my eye...

...and here is a closeup of that flower. To my non-botanist's eye it resembles a poppy on the outside at least.

Looking back again to show the stone wall - which must have been expensive to construct as it continues for some distance round what is presumably a private estate.

Another backward look to show a new housing development underway in 2010. At the back of the area the wall previously referred to climbs the hill towards the main coast road.

The coast is now nearly 500m away but the blue Fife Coastal Path sign directs you through this railway underpass.

On the other side of the railway there's this body of water. The path goes right up Haugh Road then left up Melville Gardens. Follow the road over a bridge over the railway.

We took a diversion here across the edge of these playing fields and walked back 400m to the rocks closer to shore.

The next 8 photographs are all from this spot. This wide shot shows a straight sea wall behind which are the playing fields, and the railway line and transmitter mast.

I switched to a long lens. This is the big house and private estate we passed earlier. A train passes by the end of the sea wall referred to in the previous picture.

I turned round and pointed my camera at Edinburgh again. Arthur's Seat looks very clear considering it's 13km distant.

A double decker bus heads down the steep hill into Burntisland. The Craigkelly transmitter towers overhead on the hill, and is clearly visible from Edinburgh.

A train passes by close to the sea.

12 seconds later and the train passes by the transmitter mast.

Another 4 seconds and it passes the big house only 5 minutes after the last train. It is quite a busy line but not every train stops at every station.

Showing the path back to the official route. Turn right at the end then up Haugh Road then left up Melville Gardens. Follow the road over a bridge over the railway.

Melville Gardens changes its name to West Broomhill Road at this old stone arch. At the bridge just ahead you can see the railway.

Looking down on the railway. The station is just round the curve to the left.

At the junction of High Street and Links Place is where you'll find the fairground. A young lad has half of a pair of agressive inline skates on and doesn't look at all cool. Maybe he'd have been better with regular inline skates if he's only half agressive! These tiny wheels are OK for skate parks but don't smooth out bumps in pavements.

I ONLY COUNT THE SUNNY HOURS says the text on this vertical sundial set into the building at the corner of High Street and Rose Street.

Down below the sundials Fine Ales are on offer to quench the thirst of local and visitors.

We crossed the links beside the fairground and walked through a railway underpass for this look back at Burntisland's beach before heading east to Kinghorn.

The Coastal Path signs directed us along Kinghorn Road which wasn't very satisfactory as we preferred to stay beside the sea. This first underpass didn't seem to provide a route.

Arthur's Seat is visible through this underpass - plus the tide had gone out so the flat expanse of sand looked more inviting than the main road.

Looking back at Burntisland on our way to Kinghorn.

The underpass we just came through. The main road to Kinghorn is just the other side of the railway embankment / sea wall. We'd noticed someone walking east ahead of us, so we guessed there must be a way along the shore as long as the tide was out.

Obviously an official route couldn't be along here as an incoming tide could force people to try to cross a busy train line.

Looking out to sea across the flat expanse of wet sand. Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags and the Pentland Hills are in view across the Firth of Forth.

Zoomed in on Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags.

Big rocks are piled up against the sea defences along the edge of the railway embankment.

Pettycur Bay Holiday Park overlooks this stretch of coast and is visible with the naked eye from Edinburgh. More information from their website.

The Leisure Centre photographed from the beach.

This image is 1920 x 1080 and is offered as widescreen wallpaper.

Wide open space at low tide. Both Forth Bridges are visible in the distance over 14km away.

The two walkers visible in Kinghorn 16 are zoomed in on in this shot and it can be seen that they're two women walking their dogs along the water's edge.

Already zoomed to the maximum, I cropped the image to zoom in yet further. The dogs' legs have all but disappeared in the windblown sand.

A train passes by the holiday park.

Kinghorn Harbour lies across the bay. On the horizon North Berwick Law is visible.

A closer look at the harbour mouth. The triangular shape of North Berwick Law is quite obvious.

Down on the beach someone is flying a kite. A man in a wet suit is approaching on foot.

Inchkeith Island is 4 km from Kinghorn and 6 km from Leith.

A look back across the sand to Burntisland.

The two walkers and their dogs are but a few pixels in size now, a speck in the distance.

A train passes by Pettycur on the way to Edinburgh.

These kites are large; they'll do more than just fly in the sky for fun...

Meanwhile we're getting closer to Kinghorn having walked along the beach instead of following the official safe route. There was a rough path on a grassy patch over the rocks higher up.

A last look over the waves to Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills.

From the rocky shelf shown in Kinghorn 28 a view down to the flat sand shows men with kites making preparations...

Looking across the bay to the harbour wall. The road up to the town and train station is beside a white house near the steps at the end of the beach.

The rocks frame a kitesurfer hurtling across the silvery waves at tremendous speed.

The Forth Bridge provides the backdrop for this picture of a kitesurfer.

The sea was quite choppy with the brisk south west wind and the surfers kicked up a lot of spray as they crashed through some large waves.

Muirhouse and Corstorphine Hill are the background for the kitesurfer in this picture. The flat topped hill in the distance is East Cairn Hill in the Pentlands.

The kite surfers seemed to be at ease in the wind and were able to tack to and fro.

Before walking up the road to the railway station a look back at the bay.

The white house mentioned above in Kinghorn 31 boasts a decorative anchor.

Signs point to public toilets and the town centre.

DANGER - UNSAFE STRUCTURE - KEEP AWAY warns a notice on this pier. Meanwhile a resident attends to her washing. The opposite shore suffered in recent storms. High tides and rising sea levels must be a risk to some properties.

The name of this street was partly why I photographed it. More information about Alexander the Third of Scotland from Wikipedia.

To catch a train back to Edinburgh you should be on platform 1 at the sea side of the tracks. You have to go up the metal steps and down again even although you're not crossing the footbridge. The platform is only just wide enough for the bridge.

The view in the opposite direction from the same spot on the bridge.

Down on platform 1 waiting on a train back to Edinburgh.

A last look to the far horizon and North Berwick Law.

Our route home - along these tracks and over the Forth Bridge.