A Day Around The East Neuk Of Fife

Elie & Ruby Bay

Starting at the most southern point of the East Neuk, Elie is blessed with some of the best beaches in the area. In the summer, a local cricket team even takes to the sand for their games and a horsebox sauna is available for private hire! Another stretch of coastline just next door is known as Ruby Bay due to red garnets that have sometimes turned up there. It’s also where you’ll find the short walk to Lady’s Tower, a stone folly that was built in the 1770s for Janet Anstruther. She liked to skinny dip in the bay and then sit here to dry off while admiring the view across the Forth to the Bass Rock & North Berwick Law.

Bowhouse Market

A short drive north takes you to a new addition to the East Neuk – Bowhouse Market. It allows growers and producers to bring the amazing natural larder of this corner of Fife to the general public. On market weekends, the place is packed with stalls, but on regular days there are often a few traders open including the butchery and a café called Baern.

St Monans

The next village along is St Monans, one of the most picturesque harbours anywhere in Scotland. It’s characteristic of the East Neuk, with pretty coloured buildings and orange pantiles on the roofs. After exploring the harbour, head up to the old church that claims to be the closest to the sea in Scotland. It’s over 650 years old, founded by King David II after he arrived to pray at the shrine here in the mid-1300s. The King had lived for 10 years with an arrowhead lodged in his face, but upon praying to St Monan, the barb miraculously worked its way free. The church was built in thanks and it’s barely changed in all that time!

Pittenweem

Keep travelling north along the coast and you’ll come to Pittenweem. It’s just as idyllic as St Monans, but as well as a wander around the busy harbour, this fishing village has a secret. The clue is in the name – Pittenweem means “Place of the Cave”. Dedicated to another local Celtic saint, St Fillan’s Cave can be found down Cove Wynd. It’s dark and damp in the cave, with a steep slope down to the more modern altar. This is where Fillan lived as a hermit and to ensure he could still study the scripture, his arm would miraculously glow in the dark! The key that provides access to the cave can be picked up at the Cocoa Tree Café for a small cost and deposit.

Cocoa Tree Cafe

Once returning the key for St Fillan’s Cave, the Cocoa Tree makes the perfect stop for lunch! As well as cooked rolls and homemade cakes, they produce their own delicious chocolates on site with a truly staggering selection.

Kellie Castle & Garden

Moving briefly away from the coast but staying in the East Neuk, it’s well worth visiting Kellie Castle. Run by the National Trust for Scotland, it’s a real hidden gem with the oldest tower dating back to the 14th century. As well as the early history of the castle, you’ll discover about the Lorimer family who brought the building back from ruin in the 1900s. Plant lovers will enjoy this place as much as history fans with a walk around the huge walled garden.

Anstruther

The next village on our route is one of the best known and the largest - Anstruther. On sunny days, there can be a queue down the street of people waiting for fish & chips from the famous Anstruther Fish Bar! Many don’t realise that just next door is the fantastic Scottish Fisheries Museum. Impossibly big on the inside, it covers the history of fishing in Scotland from the earliest days to the modern vessels bobbing on the waves outside.

Crail

Crail is the final stop on this East Neuk itinerary and it’s one of the most historic spots in all of Fife. The market here was once the second largest in the country and the cobbled streets are lined with houses dating from the 1600s and earlier. In the summer months, a lobster shack provides shellfish to enjoy by the water, but it’s a beautiful spot at all times of the year. It’s a place packed full of character and a fitting end to a day around the East Neuk of Fife!