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The wide golden sand of Kingsbarns Beach at low tide under a blue sky with big white clouds, the dunes and woods curving away along the shore.
St Andrews

Kingsbarns Beach

Two miles of golden sand backed by dunes at Kingsbarns, between St Andrews and Crail, known locally as Cambo Sands, with the Fife Coastal Path along it.

Welcome

Kingsbarns Beach is a gorgeous stretch of golden sand on the Fife coast, two miles long and backed by rolling dunes, a short walk from the village of Kingsbarns between St Andrews and Crail.

Locally it's known as Cambo Sands. It's a lovely place for a long walk, with rocky ledges at the water's edge, and the Fife Coastal Path runs right along it, so you can carry on north towards St Andrews or south to Crail. Behind the dunes there's a food outlet, a sauna for warming up after a cold dip, public toilets and a car park, and the woodland walks and walled garden of Cambo Estate are just along the shore. The beach holds a Keep Scotland Beautiful Beach Award for 2026. Parking is free for the first two hours and £2 for the day, by cash or card, and disabled parking is free. If the car park is full, please don't park in the village or in the passing places.

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Before you go

Open at all times; the car park is free for the first two hours.

Where
Off the A917 between St Andrews and Crail, about ten minutes on foot from Kingsbarns village, KY16 8TN.
Parking
Free for under two hours, £2 for the day, by cash or card; disabled parking free by day. If it is full, move on rather than park in the village or the passing places.
Overnight
£10, for eight vehicles only.
Behind the dunes
Public toilets, a food outlet and a sauna.
Swimming
For experienced swimmers rather than beginners.
Award
A Keep Scotland Beautiful Scotland's Beach Award for 2026.

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Where it is

On the coast east of Kingsbarns, off the A917 between St Andrews and Crail, KY16 8TN.

Close byThe coast between St Andrews and Crail.
  1. Aerial view of a walled garden with circular hedge maze and vegetable plotsCambo GardensA walled garden and woodland estate near Kingsbarns in Fife, in the same family for over 300 years, famous for its snowdrops and its borders.1 mile as the crow flies
  2. CrailCrailThe most easterly village of the East Neuk of Fife, an ancient royal burgh with a tiny stone harbour, a Dutch-style tolbooth and fresh lobster in season.3 miles as the crow flies
  3. Military green truck towing a missile launcher on a grass vergeScotland's Secret BunkerA Cold War nuclear command centre hidden 100 feet beneath an innocent-looking farmhouse near St Andrews, open to visitors from February to November.3 miles as the crow flies
  4. Cooked lobster halves on a white plate atop a wooden picnic tableReilly and Sons Lobster HutA family lobster hut at Crail harbour, cooking locally caught crab and lobster, open on summer weekend afternoons.3 miles as the crow flies
  5. Weathered face carved into red sandstone rock, surrounded by autumn woodlandDunino DenA wooded glen behind Dunino church, south of St Andrews, with a stair cut into the rock, carvings in the rock faces and ribbons tied in the trees.4 miles as the crow flies
  6. The Cheesy Toast Shack on the boardwalk at East Sands, its painted name on a pink wall beside the serving hatch and the menu of toasties above.The Cheesy Toast ShackA toastie shack on the boardwalk at East Sands in St Andrews, toasting grilled cheese sandwiches to order beside the beach since 2015.6 miles as the crow flies
  7. AnstrutherAnstrutherThe biggest village of the East Neuk of Fife, once Scotland's busiest fishing port, with a harbour, the Scottish Fisheries Museum and boats to the Isle of May.6 miles as the crow flies
  8. St AndrewsSt AndrewsA town on the Fife coast with Scotland's first university, the home of golf, and the ruins of a great cathedral and a bishops' castle.6 miles as the crow flies
Directions
Flags fly above Balcomie golf course, coastline stretching towards the seaAttractionsCrail Golfing Society2.5 miles
Wooden ladder rises through a stone dovecote's spiralling nesting boxes to daylight aboveAttractionsThe Priory Doocot, Crail3.0 miles
Woman in red dress stands beneath "The Beehive Crail" shop signShoppingThe Beehive, Crail3.1 miles
Whitewashed cottage with blue door, steps up to Crail Pottery, sign reading "OpenShoppingCrail Pottery3.1 miles
The dining room at the Shoregate in Crail, with wooden tables and wishbone chairs on a herringbone floor and big windows onto the street.RestaurantsThe Shoregate3.1 miles
Coffee, a cappuccino and a square of tablet on a wooden table in the tearoom's courtyard, with blue fencing, pot plants and the sea beyond.CafeCrail Harbour Gallery and Tearoom3.2 miles
Timber lodge with covered veranda and hanging flower baskets overlooking open fieldsRestaurantsSt Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company5.7 miles
St Rule's Tower and cathedral ruins overlooking a walled graveyard in St AndrewsAttractionsSt Rule’s Tower6.0 miles
The Wee Chippy on Shore Street, Anstruther, on a sunny day, with people eating at the tables outside its front.RestaurantsThe Wee Chippy6.0 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the beach, and when each is next free.

A stone cottage with red pantiled roofs and a gabled dormer sits behind a gravel courtyard, an apple tree in the foreground.Maybell Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pittenweem
  • 7 miles from Kingsbarns Beach
Check datesAn orange leather sofa draped with a sheepskin faces a stone fireplace beneath a timber ceiling, a staircase rising behind.The Old Stable
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pittenweem
  • 7 miles from Kingsbarns Beach
Free 14–16 NovThe Crow’s Nest, FifeThe Crow’s Nest
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Pittenweem
  • 7 miles from Kingsbarns Beach
Free 16–19 NovFifies, FifeFifies
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pittenweem
  • 7 miles from Kingsbarns Beach
Free 15–17 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in St AndrewsAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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