The Fife Coastal Path - Crail to Kingsbarns

Nov 26

3 min read

Distance - 6 miles (9.5 km)

Estimated Time - 3 hours

Parking - on the high street or shoregate

Travel - the 95 stagecoach bus connects most of this section of the route

Route - Fife Coastal Path 8: Crail to Kingsbarns

A little more demanding than previous sections but equally as beautiful, with long sandy beaches and a route that takes you to Fife Ness - the most Easternly point of Fife. The route is remote and rugged and there are warnings that some sections cannot be passed easily on a high tide - so consider this in your planning.

Upon arrival, whether by car or bus, I would highly recommend making a detour to Crail harbour - one of the most picturesque fishing villages and still very much a working harbour with jolly fishermen returning with their catches of lobsters and crabs. From here the trail leads you through the village with very unique architecture from the other villages in Fife with many of the houses having red tiled roofs - an unusual sight but a result of the historic market trading with the Netherlands.

Before the path leads you towards the beach, you will pass by the priory doocot - a 16th century preserved building. This was used to house pigeons that provided meat and eggs for the local community. It might not look much from the outside but if it's unlocked then you should definitely pop in to have a quick look, but be prepared as there are interactive pigeons in there and the noise is enough to startle you (speaking from my own experience😅).

The trail continues through Sauchope links caravan park which has some beautiful lodges and static homes, but this makes for a bit of a boring walk so we opted to leave the path and walk down onto the beach until we reached the end of the caravan park. A short while after re-joining the path, you will pass Kilminning Wildlife Reserve - where you may be lucky enough to spot some nesting birds or sea birds.

After around an hours walking, you will reach Fife Ness - the most easternly point of Fife and an extremely popular spot for bird watching. If you look out into the water you may be able to spot metallic remnants of a beacon, where they had tried and failed to build a lighthouse on the rocks in 1821, the sea proved too powerful for the structure to stand and it was destructed and washed away leaving a few metal prongs in its departure. There is now a lighthouse on shore which has been there since 1975.

You will pass by Constantine's Cave, which according to legend states that this is where King Constantine was killed in battle with the Danes in 874. Bones, tools and roman pottery have been found here suggesting that this cave has been used on and off since the prehistoric period.

On the approach to Kingsbarns you will pass a few more golf courses and if you choose to stray from the path for a beach walk you should keep your eyes peeled for fossilised shells & fossilised tree ferns present in the rocks. The best place to spot these is just before you reach Cambo Estate - if you have time I would recommend walking around here as the gardens are lovely, especially in the spring when the bulbs are out.

The route finishes off at Kingsbarns where you can have a swim in the sea, grab a bite from harbour burger, take a sauna with Wild Scottish Saunas or simply just enjoy the beach.

Some people may choose to continue the walk on to St Andrews which adds on another 8.5 miles (13.5k).

This section took 2.5 hours in total.

Sections of the Fife Coastal Path

1. Kincardine to North Queensferry

2. N Queensferry to Burntisland

3. Burntisland to East Wemyss

4. East Wemyss to Lower Largo

5. Lower Largo to St Monans

6. St Monans to Anstruther

7. Anstruther to Crail

8. Crail to Kingsbarns

9. Kingsbarns to St Andrews