Please come and join me on a coastal walk in Fife, Scotland.  It is a straightforward, fairly level walk with good views of the Firth of Forth and its rail bridge.  Much of the walk is on the Fife Coastal Path which itself runs 117 miles from the Tay Estuary in the north to the Forth Estuary in the south, but our walk is only just over 3 miles long.

We will start at Inverkeithing, a short direct train ride from Edinburgh (12-25 minutes) and it sits close to the M90.  Coming out of the station, head into town where you’ll enjoy the parish church of St. Peter with its 14th century tower.  Not far beyond this you’ll see a fine mercat cross,  the core of which is said to date from the late 14th century with the octagonal shaft from the 16th century.

St Peter’s Church

Mercat Cross

The place is known in part for the Battle of Inverkeithing which was fought on 20 July 1651 during Oliver Cromwell’s invasion of the Kingdom of Scotland following the Third English Civil War.  The town is also recognised for its ship breaking until the 1970s, with the hull of the RMS Olympic being dismantled in 1937 and the second RMS Mauritania in 1965.

Continue to walk downhill and out of town, until you see the railway bridge just ahead of you.  Turn left onto Ferryhill Road and then Cruickshank Road, following the signs to the Forth Coastal Path.  You’ll pass a quarry and a scrapyard – featuring cars rather than ships.

At this point you reach the coast and head along the south side of the Inner Bay.

Once you walk beyond the Inner bay and turn south alongside Inverkeithing Bay, you will spy glimpses of the Forth Rail Bridge.  At Carlingnose Point there are great views, a welcome bench and plentiful wildlife.  Just off shore lies an abandoned World War I jetty that was built by the army for the landing of ammunition and supplies for the gun emplacements, but is now covered with gravel and tyres to promote the breeding of terns.

It is just a short walk from here into North Queensferry.  This small town offers great views of all three bridges, plus a good cafe, a couple of pubs and a charming restaurant.

View and election from Albert Hotel

North Queensway wide view

Albert Hotel and Rail Bridge

From here, you can walk uphill to the railway station and catch a train back to Inverkeithing or into Edinburgh.  If you still have energy, you can walk through North Queensferry to the road bridge, which you can walk across for stunning views of both the Rail Bridge to your left, and the new Queensferry Crossing to your right.

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Copyright Debbie Smyth, 17 July 2017

Posted as part of Monday Walk