Elie, Earlsferry and Shell Bay

The walk begins in the tree-lined town square of Elie. The town's economy once thrived on fishing, boat building, and weaving, but its present prosperity stems from fine golf links and golden sands. The route heads inland through rhododendrons towards Elie House (ancestral home of the Anstruther family since 1366, featuring remnants of a tower built by Sir William Anstruther in 1697).

Returning to the town, you follow a narrow wynd down to Elie Harbour (established in 1586). In 1715, the Earl of Mar landed here to raise the Jacobite standard. The path continues along the deep golden bay to Earlsferry (a Royal Burgh founded by Alexander II in 1223) and past the ruins of the 18th-century Lady's Tower.

The route runs alongside a historic golf course associated with James Braid (five-time Open Champion between 1901 and 1910). Beyond the links, the fine basalt cliffs feature the Chain Walk (rock-cut steps and handrail chains, impassable at high tide) and a large cave that provided a hiding place for Macduff fleeing Macbeth.

Passing Shell Bay and the raised beach terraces left by retreating Ice Age glaciers, the return route leads past the ruins of the Old Grange (run by North Berwick nuns as a hospice for Forth ferry travellers) back to Elie's 1630s parish church.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.