We chose the most amazing weekend to visit the East Neuk of Fife. As they say in Scotland “what a belter” To say I was mesmerised by the nooks and crannies in this area is an understatement. My previous experience of Fife was Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and driving through the throng of tourists, students and golfers in St Andrews. For that reason alone, I have never lingered. A few hazy memories in Kinross after T-the park also don’t really count. I love a coastline and have spent many hours in the Aberdeenshire coast but the difference here is you can walk right along the coast taking in all the pretty villages along the way. There is 117 miles of unadulterated walking paths, which are non strenuous (well the few miles I had time for) The path stretches from the Firth of Tay in the North to the Firth of Forth in the South.
Heading south from Aberdeen we crossed the Tay bridge and headed to St Andrews. The lure of the pristine greens was enough to lure the avid Golfer in my husband to gaze longingly at the 18th hole and beyond. He was smartly snapped out of his reverie by wails of displeasure from the daughter and I who regularly share our weekends with 18 holes. No golf indulgence for today! We parked up for a couple of hours and took to the throngs enjoying the sunshine
I love a natural tidal pool and have come across a few beautiful ones along the North East Coast.
Postively alfresco, this doesn’t happen often! Great independent coffee stop and would recommend the bagels We Are Zest Cafe
Next stop Crail
This was my favourite spot. It had oozes of charm and quaintness and positively reminded me of the Cinque Terre, a coastal area within Liguria in Italy. Of course, it probably doesn’t always look like this, but today it shimmered at it’s best. The contrast of the orange and white against the blue were truly captivating.
The perfect day to sit and enjoy an ice cream outside Brodie’s Grannie’s at Crail harbour, followed by a dander through the wynds and alleys of the cobbled streets
Anstruther was home for a couple of nights. Being Easter weekend, it was super busy, but we managed a private family room at Murray Library Hostel
A fabulous find complete with comfy beds and binoculars. What more could you need. With it being Easter we needed access to a kitchen to prepare our eggs for decorating for Easter Sunday, family tradition!
Dinner this evening was fish and chips Anstruther Fish bar
The queue today was roughly an hour which left time to sink a few jars at the pub next door Ship Tavern Enjoying the sun and surveying the queue.
Walk after tea to burn off the excesses along the coast to Cellardykes and back for Ice cream at Brattesani’s Beautiful blood red moon to finish a fab day
Pittenweem
We walked along the coast the following day to Pittenweem. The sun was hiding just behind a sea haar, but the sun managed to burn through. There were a collection of bikes left from a previous art festival doted along the harbour. Continuing along the path we headed towards St Monan’s.
St Monans
In search of lobster we headed to St Monan’s and in particular the East Pier smokehouse
Unfortunately it was so busy they had stopped serving food! No lobsters today!
A wander round town and we headed back to to the car via the windmill and saltpans
Kellie castle to find some Easter eggs
We are members of The National Trust for Scotland and normally do one of their Easter egg hunts locally in Aberdeenshire. So today we found a new place to explore, Kellie castle. Quick tour of the castle and then off to follow the clues for some Cadbury’s rewards
Quick stop to see Robinson Crusoe at Lower largo
Wander round the beach and lighthouse at Elie and refreshments at The Ship Inn
Finishing our trip at Craigtoun Park St Andrews.
Craigtoun Park has plenty of attractions for visitors of all ages!
Tickets can be purchased from the ticket office for the following amenities which open for the season each year. Boating on the lake was £1.60 each. The best £1.60 spent all day
- Rio Grande Railway
- Puffin’ Billy Tractor Rides
- The Boating Lake
- Crazy Golf
- Putting
- Bouncy Castles
- Pedal Cars (Under 7s only)
The following can be enjoyed for free, all year round:
- The park itself
- Adventure play area
- Zip lines
- Trim trail
- Trampolines
- The Fairy Glen
Well Fife, we had a blast. A fabulous few days away in the glorious sunshine. Note to self for next trip, sun-cream in the car!
