The West Sands – A Dog Walk and a Deli Sandwich
About 3 miles on foot.
The West Sands is almost two miles of open sand on the edge of St Andrews, with dunes behind and the sea rolling in, and it's a wonderful place to let a dog run.
It's a short walk from the town centre, so there's no car to move. Finish at Dook, a little café by the beach that welcomes dogs and fills you up with big deli sandwiches.
- Time
- About an hour on the sand, and 12 minutes each way on foot from the bus station.
- The path
- Sand and marked paths through the dunes.
- Where to start
- Come on foot: it is a 12-minute walk from St Andrews bus station by Windmill Road and Grannie Clark's Wynd.
- When to go
- The beach is open ground for daylight; from 1 May to 30 September dogs are kept off the stretch nearest the town. Dook opens every day from 9am.
- Dogs
- Dogs may run the whole beach from October to April; from 1 May to 30 September they are kept off the stretch nearest the town. Keep them on a lead on the roads and across the Old Course. Dook, the café by the beach, welcomes dogs.
- Children
- Open sea and no lifeguard outside summer.
- Toilets
- The West Sands toilets, on the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust's own hours.
- Before you set out
- From 1 May to 30 September dogs are kept off the stretch nearest the town; follow the signs at the beach. The dunes are protected and being rebuilt in places, so reach the sand only by the marked paths. The beach is zoned to keep sand yachts and walkers apart, and lifeguards patrol in the summer months only. Grannie Clark's Wynd crosses two fairways of the Old Course: when golf is being played, wait for the players.
The walk
It's a 12-minute walk from the bus station to the West Sands, down Windmill Road and across the Old Course on Grannie Clark's Wynd, a public lane over its first and last fairways. Keep the dog on the lead until you're on the beach, and wait for any golfers to play before you cross. Go onto the sand by the marked paths through the dunes, which are protected.
From October to April a dog may run the whole beach. From 1 May to 30 September dogs are kept off the stretch nearest the town, so follow the signs and head north. The beach runs for almost two miles to the mouth of the Eden.
A mile up the sand and back takes about three-quarters of an hour, and the whole beach there and back is about an hour and a half. Sand yachts use their own zone, and there are no lifeguards outside summer, so watch the dog in the water.
If it rains
The West Sands is wild in a gale: on a wet, windy morning keep to a short loop on the sand at the town end, where the dog may run from October to April, and go early to Dook for a hot drink.
Afterwards
12 min on foot
Dook
Lunch
Come off the sand by the first beach path, and Dook is 2 minutes on, a little café on West Sands Road right by the beach. It opens every day from 9am and is known for big stuffed deli sandwiches and good coffee, so it does for lunch or a mid-morning stop. Dogs are welcome, with treats for them too. There's nothing to book. From the café it's a 12-minute walk back to the bus station.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Where to eat
Forgan's, a restaurant in St Andrews.
Spoiled Life, a café in St Andrews.