Fife Coastal Path

Elie to Pittenweem

This walk is approximately 6 miles (10 km) and should take approximately 2 to 3 hours.  There are buses between Elie and Pittenweem every hour or so. Starting at Ruby Bay, Elie, this walk takes you through St Monans and then on to picturesque Pittenweem.

The path from Elie leads through the jumbled ruin of Ardross Castle built in 1370 out of local sandstone by the resident sheriff of Fife.  look out for the colourful waymarkers.

Following the line of a disused railway another ruined castle comes into view - this is Newark castle built in the 15th Century for the Sandilands family.  It was bought in 1649 by David Lesley who became Earl of Newark after defeating Montrose.  Walking up the step to the castle you can see the rock itself has been worked to form part of the structure.  The castle now provides a habitat for the attractive yellow wallflower, a plant often grown on castle walls so that the scent could waft into the windows of the bed chambers.  Another common flower in these parts is the majestic poppy.

Close by us a 16th Century "beehive doocot" was originally built to keep pigeons as a valuable source of winter food.  By now you are approaching the historic Kirk of St Monans, over 600 years old and closer to the sea than any other in Scotland.  This is fitting since many of its attendees were sailors and they are still well represented in the kirkyard's collection of headstones.  There are very good display boards inside the church describing the people and events connected with the building.  On the shore you can see the "Boiling Cauldron" a towering rugged volcanic rock.  It gets its name from the noise the sea makes inside its hollow shape.

St Monans is an attractive fishing village which is unusual, in that it has no high street, but other streets all winding through and past each other in almost a maze.  There is an attractive harbour with many houses restored by the NTS and showing the common crowstep gables.  As you reach the far end of the town you will notice another prominent feature - the St Monans Windmill, which was used to pump water into the nearby salt pans some 200 years ago.  This was not a particularly efficient way of getting salt (compared to the mines of Cheshire), approximately 30 tons of water was needed to produce one tone of salt.  The windmill  ceased to work in 1823.

As you follow the path to Pittenweem look out across the sea. If the day is clear you should see Berwick Law, and the island offshore have changed again to The Bass Rock and May Island.  The latter was home to St. Ethernan (aka St Adrian) in the 9th Century.

"Pittenweem, Pittenweem, every fisher laddies dream, she guts the herrin' doon by the sea, and saves her kisses just for me" as the words of the old song go.  The Pittenweem of modern times still has its strong fishing associations with its sturdy harbour and beautiful new fish market being well worth a tour on arrival.  Arrive early if you want to see the place in action.  An annual fish festival takes place in the harbour area each summer and offers a good opportunity to taste a wide selection of fish fresh from the Pittenweem boats, whose nets adorn the quayside.  A fine selection of east coast buildings adorn the harbour too - can you see the influence of our long established trade links with the Low Countries of Europe ?  The Customs House is well worth a closer look.

• The magnificently restored windmill at the St Monans salt pans

• The ingenious salt pans themselves and nearby information boards

• The ancient kirks (churches) at both St Monans and Pittenweem

• the beautifully kept working harbour area at Pittenweem and the nearby fisherman's cottages

• Saint Fillan's Cave just up from Pittenweem Harbour