Fife Coastal Path: Anstruther to Crail

To celebrate six years of love, fun, adventure and life together, Andy and I headed to Fife in search of a feast worthy of it all. The meal at The Cellar was indeed incredible, but our weekend of us would not have been complete without a long walk.

The Fife Coast Path stretches for 117 miles from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Tay. The short sections we explored this weekend were the area around Anstruther where we stayed.

From Anstruther to Crail, the path is long and straight. But first we wind through the colourful homes of Anstruther and Cellardyke. The doors and windows of fishermen past and present are adorned with quaint memorabilia that often complements the colour of the windowsill paint.

The harbours are small, with powerful walls that have held to mark the place where generations of fishermen returned home to their quaint homes. Today the sea is calm but the breadth of those walls tells me it isn’t always so.

Outside the town the walk bounded by the shore and fields, is pleasant and quick, with time taken to just enjoy being together in the fresh sea breeze.

An outcrop of orange sandstone, an abandoned home, dancing starlings and fishing shorebirds accompany us on our way.

Soon we arrive in Crail – similar to Anstruther to our foreign eyes, but special all the same. A shack in the harbor promising fresh lobster and crab is closed – a summer visitor’s treat. The bright boats in the harbor tell of a sometimes busy little town, and we take our time exploring here and through the streets.

The Crail Pottery is a gem – we buy two mugs to remember our brief jaunt before jumping onto the local bus to take us to St Monans for phase two of the walk.