Levpit one

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Agree with the previous reviewer. Great, varied and not overly demanding coastal walking. We did this slow way at a leisurely pace in mid March, staying overnight part way along, and enjoyed it hugely. Highly recommended. It is agreeably wilder than it looks on the OS map - and most of it is quite exposed to wind and weather. It offers a fine mix of views over the Firth of Forth; fishing villages; castle-y ruins; dune systems (several with golf courses on); tidal pools (people were swimming in them, including my walking companion, despite it being cold enough for thermal underwear, hats and gloves!). There is plenty of wildlife too. We saw lots of wading birds and dolphins out in the firth. Bits of the route are clearly popular with locals and, I’m guessing, busy with holidaymakers in summer. It is a friendly area and we had plenty of chats along the way. Navigation is basically easy as the walk uses the well-signed Fife coastal path but the access may vary (see below). There are plenty of places to stop/eat. The route is well connected by bus and will soon also be served by a new branch railway line to Leven.

Expect the access and routing to be a bit variable. Usually, if a Slow Way can’t be walked as mapped, I’d probably flag it for access problems, but, for this one, it would be impossible to map one single reliable line anyway. Firstly, the coast path has various stretches with two separate inland and coastal/beach path options to cater for high tides covering beaches. Secondly, and more problematically, the coastline here is eroding and path collapses do occur. When we passed through, there were a couple of signed diversions up to the main road to get around winter storm damage, one of which was easily avoidable just by walking along the beach because it was low tide.The main thing is to check the tides, use judgement, and ask other walkers about current conditions. Those who manage the coast path clearly make a lot of effort to keep it open in one way or another and keep walkers informed.

NB - not part of the Slow Way - but if you like the idea of doing the Elie chain walk, suggest you look it up online first to get an idea of what it entails! And you can absolutely only do it when the tide is low. As we had dodgy weather, loaded backpacks, and a high tide, it wasn't a question we were even considering but it looks like it would be an enjoyable challenge for some in the right conditions. It is not at all obviously marked at either end where it joins the coast path, presumably to limit visitors to those who know what they are doing and less likely to need rescuing!.

An easy route with few ups and downs and plenty of amenities along the way, and choices of surface, for instance, you can walk Largo Bay round on the dunes or across the enormous sand crescent of the beach. There are plenty of cafes and snack shacks along the route as it winds along the picturesque villages of the East Neuk with the Firth of Forth stretching out to the right, studded by Bass Rock and the Isle of May. The only steep bit is up Kincraig Point with its remnants of a World War II battery, and for the adventurous this can be accessed by a chain walk along the base of the cliff instead. Bus route links are excellent and regular.

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