Elie and Earlsferry is a wonderful seaside destination for all the family. At low tide the beach at Elie Harbour links to Earlsferry Beach giving almost a mile of uninterrupted golden sand. The long sandy beach at Elie offers excellent watersport activities, for beginners and those more experienced. With a wide range of facilities and activities available this is an ideal family venue. Facilities include toilets, lifeguards, first aid, disabled access, parking and a cafe.
Ruby Bay, a glorious Blue Flag beach is sheltered and sandy, located to the east of the village of Elie with a backdrop of dunes and overlooking the Firth of Forth. Ruby Bay is a part of the Fife Coastal Path and provides access to beautiful walks in the surrounding countryside. This a great spot for rock pooling at low tide.
Lady’s Tower is a notable landmark on the Elie horizon seen from Ruby Bay. It was built in 1760 for Lady Janet Anstruther to use as a changing room prior to her morning bathing routine. Prior to her skinny dipping she sent out one of her servants into the town of Elie to advise local residents of her imminent skinny dipping so they would stay away from her private tower.
Fife Coastal Path is a huge attraction in this area for walkers and nature lovers. You can chose to tackle any section of the 117 mile long path, long or short, steep or flat, challenging or not, so it can cater for all abilities - for detailed information about each section head to the website link and pick your route. All sections can be cut into shorter walks but here are the two main sections by Elie.
The Lower Largo to Elie section of the Fife Coastal Path takes in the quaint and historic villages and stunning beaches of the East Neuk. Good portions of the path from Lower Largo to Elie are bordered by carpets of wildflowers in spring and early summer and is excellent for bird watchers with the Dumbarnie Links Wildlife Reserve en route. For the more adventurous, the Chain Walk offers a scramble around Kincraig Point using a series of chains and footholds. Not for the faint-hearted! It also offers dramatic views of Elie and the Shell Bay coastline.
The Elie to Anstruther section takes you by the Lighthouse and Lady’s Tower, built as a summerhouse for Lady Anstruther in the 1760’s and onto the ruins of both Adross and Newark Castles. The picturesque village of St. Monans offers much to see from the restored windmill to the pretty St Monans Kirk then onto more quaint little fishing villages including Pittenweem and Anstruther. Any walkers requiring sustenance at this point could do worse than visiting the Anstruther Fish Bar, once voted the UK’s best.
"We had a wonderful stay at Catchpenny last Summer. Such a fantastic Scottish beach location with the luxury of an African safari tent - the perfect combination for a holiday. We can't wait to go back"
Elie chain walk has to be firmly on the Fife ‘to do list.’ One of the most unique walks in Fife, it is fun for all the family, if a little more adventurous than a leisurely stroll along the beach. Along the base of the towering cliff are chains built into sections of the cliff walls. The chains allow the more adventurous walkers to scramble across the rock face, and inspect the pools below.
The walk is about a third of a mile long and dates back to around 1929, when residents commissioned a local blacksmith to put the chains and posts in to access the once-inaccessible part of the coastline.