Walking the Fife Coastal Path - Pittenweem to Shell Bay

June 29, 2009 on 11:27 am | In Walking |

I spent a delightful weekend walking a section of the Fife Coastal Path. The first day was Pittenweem to Shell Bay which shouldn’t take that long to walk but took us ages as we stopped off along the way to take in the sights and flavours of this part.

We were walking with Tony Wilson from the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust and he was incredibly knowledgeable about the area - he pointed out edible herbs that are available form nature’s larder including scurvy weed which was eaten by sailors.

It is a nature lovers paradise and we spotted buzzards, kites, wildflowers and teaming rockpools. Offshore we could see Bass Rock with its famous gannet and puffin colonies and the Isle of Mey which was once the base of early Christian missionaries.

Our lunch stop was at Sangsters in Elie which has recently obtained a Michelin star and is honestly one of the best places I have ever eaten at.

The walk after lunch saw us heading towards Shell Bay which takes in the Chain Walk - it saw us clinging to a series of eight steel chains, climbing over rocky points and cliffs.

What a perfect day!

Gillian Thompson
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Works with adventure sports in Scotland and has a keen interest in keeping fit and walking and a new passion for surfing.