Day 232: Leven to Pittenweem

A beautiful morning for a beach walk round Largo Bay, leaving behind my last industrial skyline until Dundee.

A bizarre wooden sculpture rises from the earth in Lower Largo. The garden and house opposite belong to artist Alan Faulds. Malagan is named after sculptures from Papua New Guinea, commonly used in funeral rituals as a representation of the life force that produced and animated the deceased person. Unfortunately, I can’t get close enough to examine the intricate carvings without stepping into his garden.

The garden gate is equally fascinating — so much detail. The faces remind me of those old Punch and Judy puppets with scary eyes. There are other examples of his distinctive work spread through the village.

I can’t resist stopping for a late breakfast roll at The Aurrie, an attractive arts centre and cafe in a converted church. The noticeboard mentions live music performances. This must be a lovely village to live in. I suspect it’s full of artists as everything is a little quirky. On opening the door to the cafe toilet, facing a beautiful stained glass window, a speaker blasts out the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah. I’ve not laughed so much in a toilet in my life — actually, I’ve never laughed in a public toilet before.

The village deserves a longer visit.

Back on the beach, approaching Ruddons Point, Cocklemill Burn is too deep to cross without stripping off, so there’s a pleasant short detour inland to cross a couple of wooden bridges.

The path climbs up the tall cliffs at Kingraig Point, with Earlsferry, Elie and a golden beach spread out far below.

I’d hoped to climb along the Elie Chain Walk, which I’d understood to be in this area, but I’ve not seen a sign for it nor any chains across the rocks. How could I have missed it?

The beach is wonderful. The rocks at the bottom of the cliff look a likely spot for the Chain Walk, but I clambered down to the sea at the other end of the rocks and the water was up against the sheer cliff face. It looks like the tide was too high.

Lady’s Tower in Elie was built in 1770 for Lady Janet Anstruther, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant and a regular swimmer. It was believed she often bathed nude and used the tower afterwards to recover. To ensure there were no unwelcome interruptions, a servant would ring a bell in town to warn residents that it was time for her daily dip.

The ruins of the 15th-century Newark Castle stand on a dramatic approach to St Monans. Several walkers pass in the opposite direction, including a group with a white poodle. There’s a loud squeal as the dog somehow tumbles off the edge of the path, dropping a few feet to the beach. Several people cluster round the distressed animal. It seems to recover.

The coast path passes along the base of a protective wall sheltering St Monans Church from the sea. A wild place to be in a stormy sea.

I’ve not seen a puffin yet on my coast walk, so this will have to do for now.

Everyone says the Fife coastal villages are pretty and I’d agree, rather like North Yorkshire.

The harbour at Pittenweem is the main focus of the village.

It’s been a lovely walk, and there’s time to relax on the bus to St Andrews, where I’m staying with my friend, Duncan, for three nights. He last joined me in May 2021 when I started the South West Coast Path from Poole. It’s taken over two years for him to recover from sleeping in the back of the Viano!

We enjoy a few beers in the excellent Criterion pub, followed by a couple of rounds of fine double malt whiskies, which should make for an interesting start to the hiking tomorrow morning.

Walk distance: 14 miles.

Total distance: 3,897 miles.