Lower Largo to Elie ~ A Pause for Reflection on the Fife Coastal Path

Elie ~ Fife

The walk between Lower Largo and Elie is at first wild and wonderful; a long sandy rock strewn beach, a nature reserve, shell bay and the hill you see in the photo above, where we looked back and reflected on ‘life ~ past, present and future’ as we gazed back over the coastal path already traversed from The Forth Bridge. (We could see as far as Pettycur)

There is an option to take the challenge of the Elie Chain Link Walk. Here James Carron takes you step by step. For me the daunting prospect was of the mind rather than of a physical nature in The Healing Paths of Fife but was a satisfying achievement nonetheless.

Earlsferry

It was at Earlsferry, where travellers from the south, maybe even from the Holy Island (Lindisfarne)  in Northumberland, once ferried from North Berwick across the mouth of the Forth to the Fife coast on their way to St Andrews, maybe. It was walking here that I began to be aware of a presence alongside me quite, different from the many characters who talked to me along the way. They didn’t speak to me but I knew that they were there, every step of the way.

Elie is a lovely spot. A sandy harbour where they play cricket in the summer, so I’ve been told.

Volcanic lava leaves geological signs of Fife’s ancient past, when the land was not as peaceful and hospitable as it is today.

What does Elie have to offer the weary walker? Well there’s the Ship Inn with a decking beside the harbour for idyllic sunny days; The Station Pub in the wee main street, a memento of a time when a railway actually ran to Elie, and a Deli which makes rolls up for you to order for a delicious picnic at one of the many beauty spots near the harbour. There’s even a small harbour cafe for ices and beach fare.

Elie is certainly well worth a visit, to while away a few hours, and it is the beginning of the region on Fife called East Neuk, renowned for its quaint fishing villages.