Elie Harbour
Most people visiting Elie do so for the simple joys of being by the seaside. The harbour is now used primarily by pleasure craft and activity revolves around the converted granary out by the harbour wall. And both Elie and Earlsferry offer all the sand you could possibly want or need.
Despite this you don't have to stray very far east of the harbour to find a very different coastline. The rockpools and little inlets of Elie Ness provide a haven for those who enjoy the challenge of exploration and discovery as well as sandcastle building.
St. Andrews - Home of golf
Today's St Andrews is famous throughout the world as the home of golf. As originally played it had origins in a continental game a little like croquet. It was clearly well established here by 1457, for in that year King James II banned golf because it diverted too much time away from the much more useful pastime of archery practice. The ban seems to have been largely ignored.
There is more to St Andrews than its golf, its university, its castle, its cathedral, its medieval buildings and its Victorian streets. Visitors can also enjoy the sights and sounds of a traditional Scottish harbour, just to the east of the cathedral.
And beyond the harbour lies the attractive beach of East Sands. Other attractions include the St Andrews Aquarium, out towards the golf courses, and the Botanic Garden. St Andrews is also the finishing point for the Coast to Coast Walk from Oban, 128 miles to the west.
For one Saturday each September both golf and the university stand aside and this part of Fife becomes better known for an event on the north side of the estuary of the River Eden, beyond the golf courses. This is the day St Andrew's northerly neighbour RAF Leuchars holds its annual Airshow. One of the best in the UK, the next airshow takes place in September 2008.
Crail Harbour
Crail's beautiful harbour lies to the south of the High Street and is best reached on foot, having parked in the town. From the harbour the town appears to be a riot of reddish stone and white harled frontages intermingled with gray slate and red tiled roofs. All of this tumbles down the hill from the High Street to conclude on the side of the honey coloured stone lined harbour, complete with a few small fishing boats and occasional piles of lobster pots. It looks as if someone had designed a film set depicting an ideally pretty fishing harbour.
But what makes Crail so wonderful is that it is very much the real thing: and though not a film set, its harbour must be amongst the most photographed in Scotland.
