A text from Graham Nash had five of us arrive a Lower Largo in Fife at 0900 today for a jaunt around the Fife Coastal Path to St Andrews as the hill forecast was pretty poor and there looked like a weather window over East Fife, even if a bit windy. The sun shone to start and after a few miles and a muddy farm track heading inland and through a load of cows, we realised that we weren’t actually on the coastal path at all. We diverted south and hit a lovely windy path along the edge of the beach on Largo Bay in the sunshine. We ran on the beach, again missing the path diversion and were confronted by the Cocklemill Burn. Graham Nash and Jim Hardie figured they could keep dry feet if they ran far enough down the beach while Mark Hartree, Craig Mattocks and Kate Jenkins and dog Jess figured we would have wet feet at some point, so it might as well be now, and waded the burn to cross Ruddons Point to get to shell bay. At Earlsferry, Kate and Jess decided to return to the car and drive to St A’s and run back along the path to meet the four who continued on via the lovely Fife coastal villages of Elie, ST Monans, Pittenween, Anstruther and on to Crail. The sign of people buying up holiday homes and not living in them was clear as most of the towns were empty.
Refreshment was taken for 20 mins in a nice wee Crail pub at 18 miles before the second half tf the route ot turn Fife Ness and on NW towards St Andrews with the wind now behind us. The odd spot of rain fell, the path wandered up and down the cliffs and along beach edges, and here and there timing of waves was needed to get past the to bits (nearly) impassable at the high tide and sometimes strewn with rocks and flotsum from the recent storms. Jim followed instructions to wade into waist deep foam, and Craig mis-timed the waves at the bottom of one of the cliff pass making for some entertainment to me and Graham. We waited for Jim with the video camera ready till we noticed that he had headed up and over to avoid a soaking, damn. The route then basically fringes golf courses for miles but by Kingsbarns, Jim’s bodily functions dictated a bus to St A’s leaving Mark, Craig and Graham to finish the 8 miles to the finish. We soon met Kate and Jess and continued together along a nice section with an old sea wall with spouting waves past Boarhills and the final stretch on tired legs. The rain was on and off and the path now got really muddy in places particulary from Buddo Ness to Kinkell Braes just to take a bit more out of us. But, St A’s was now in sight and in the bag and we hit East Sands with waves crashing against the sea wall, past the old Cathedral Ruin and into town. Jim had found the Central Bar so we me there and had a wee refreshment. Thankfully, Kate and Craig taxied us back to Lower Largo in 30 mins saving an 1hr 20min bus ride. 32.5 miles done in 6hr 50mins.
Mark Hartree