The East Neuk of Fife is a string of small fishing villages along the north shore of the Forth, each one a working harbour with a few hundred residents and, increasingly, a strong community of makers, galleries and food producers. St Andrews at the top of the coast brings the golf crowds and a university; the villages below it stay quiet.

The Fife Coastal Path links the whole lot on foot. Here's what to look for, and who's open.

Local businesses

Independent businesses in Fife

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We're still building out this region.

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Map

Map of Fife

The towns and landmarks of this region. Business pins appear here as listings are added.

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Towns & villages

Where to look in Fife

Places worth slowing down for in this region. We don't have listings in any of them yet — if you trade in one, you can be the first.

  • St Andrews

    The Home of Golf, a ruined cathedral and castle, and Scotland's oldest university.

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  • Anstruther

    The largest East Neuk harbour town, and the boat out to the Isle of May.

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  • Crail

    A tiny, much-painted harbour with a cobbled slipway and creel boats.

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  • Pittenweem

    Fife's main working fishing port, and home to a well-established arts festival.

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  • Elie

    A sandy bay, a watersports centre and a coastal walk to the ruined chain walk.

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  • Falkland

    An inland village beneath the Lomond Hills with a Renaissance royal palace.

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Landmarks

The famous bits

Worth seeing in their own right, and a good way to get your bearings in the region.

The ruined walls and windows of St Andrews Cathedral

St Andrews Cathedral

Once the largest building in Scotland and the centre of the medieval Scottish church, stripped and abandoned after the Reformation. The tower gives the best view over the town and the links.

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The Swilcan Bridge on the Old Course at St Andrews

The Old Course, St Andrews

Golf has been played here since the 15th century, making it the oldest course in the world. It's a public course — anyone can enter the daily ballot — and the Swilcan Bridge is free to walk to on a Sunday when play stops.

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The clifftop ruins of St Andrews Castle

St Andrews Castle

A ruined bishops' castle on the cliff edge, with a bottle dungeon cut into the rock and a siege mine and counter-mine you can still crawl through from the Reformation-era conflict.

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The Renaissance frontage of Falkland Palace

Falkland Palace

A Renaissance hunting palace of the Stuart monarchs in a village beneath the Lomond Hills. Its royal tennis court, built in 1541, is the oldest still in use anywhere in the world.

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Puffins on the cliffs of the Isle of May

The Isle of May

A national nature reserve an hour by boat from Anstruther, home to tens of thousands of puffins in early summer along with guillemots, razorbills and a large grey seal colony.

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The Fife Coastal Path running along the shore of the East Neuk

The Fife Coastal Path

117 miles from the Forth to the Tay, but the East Neuk stretch between Elie and Crail is the best of it — harbour to harbour, beach to beach, and easy to walk in sections.

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