The Ship Inn, Elie

On a summer afternoon its beer garden and beach bar fill with people watching the sea, and on Saturdays they may be watching cricket.

The Ship has its own cricket team, and it plays on the beach itself, at low tide, on a pitch carefully rolled out on the sand. It is said to be the only pub in Britain with a pitch of its own on the shore, and touring sides come every summer to take it on.

The kitchen serves Scottish fish and meat, from Fife beef to lobster landed along the East Neuk, with lunch by the fire in winter and barbecues by the beach in summer, and there are ales from local brewers. Upstairs there are six rooms, four of them with views across the bay, and a courtesy bus runs to and from places near Elie.