Local Villages

The East Neuk of Fife has many delightful fishing villages such as Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem and St. Monans, each with its own distinctive charm and character. For example at Crail, only 6 miles from St Andrews, you will find the Crail Pottery where a fine range of hand-crafted gifts are available.

The Fife Coastal Path, completed in 2002, starts at the Forth Bridge, runs eastward through the many and varied Fife coastal towns and picturesque villages on its way to St Andrews. It then turns north eastwards past the Royal Air Force air base at Leuchars, and continues through the Tentsmuir Forrest to the Tay Bridge. Many people make the cycle journey in two stages - which can be covered in 2 days - with a good night's rest in between.

The Elie Chain Walk, is a unique experience to be found on the Fife coast and is one of only a few 'via ferratas' in the UK. It offers a reasonable challenge to the adventurous, where you traverse a magnificent and varied selection of steep rocks.

The West Sands St AndrewsClose to St Andrews are two other visitor attractions - The Secret Bunker, which was to be home to Britain's leaders in the event of a nuclear war, and the award-winning Scottish Fisheries Museum - located at the picturesque Anstruther harbour. The museum chronicles the history of the fishing industry in the East Neuk of Fife. While in Anstruther you could also take a boat trip from the harbour to the Isle of May Nature Reserve out in the Firth of Forth.

Not far from St Andrews is the Royal Burgh of Pittenweem which holds an annual Arts Festival in August and the list of Events, Visiting Artists, Exhibitions and the Children’s Festival is well worth a visit.

Around the Fife coast are many excellent sandy beaches, for example the East and West Sands in St. Andrews, Elie, Roome Bay in Crail or Kinshaldy (NE of Leuchars), each one having its own particular attractions.

The Kingdom of Fife is bounded by two main rivers - to the south is the River Forth and to the north is the River Tay.