Coastwalk , Fife Coastal Path

Queensferry → Aberdour

Distance: 11.5 miles
Ascent: 155 metres
Duration: 3 hours 56 minutes

Over the Firth to Fife
« Leith | Kirkcaldy Harbour »

We've travelled further than ever before for just one walk. After disembarking the overnight train at Edinburgh Waverley just after seven, we caught a local service to Dalmeny so that we would see the sun rise over the Forth Bridge as we crossed the adjacent road bridge. Unfortunately unbroken cloud frustrated our plans, but it's still been a unique walk to round out a great year of coastwalking.

The Bridge has been in the news this week, with the completion of its latest coat of paint. It's wonderful to see the scaffolding down and the bridge in all its glory.

Having crossed, the remainder of the walk was on the Fife Coastal Path. It seems to be a well signposted trail, although we had some difficulty finding its starting point in North Queensferry.

Towards the end we passed behind Dalgety Bay, which has been the subject of a recent adjournment debate in the House of Commons. Radioactive waste from dismantled second world war aeroplane dials has been found here, and a political tangle has emerged as to who is responsible for the cleanup.

Across the water we could make out Edinburgh and Leith. This vantage point made clear the relative height of Arthur's Seat compared to the rest of the town. Initially I wasn't convinced we were even looking at Edinburgh since the castle rock didn't dominate the skyline as I'd expected.

We reached Aberdour at lunchtime. It was tempting to walk further, but the cold day and the knowledge of a waiting warm hotel room led us to the railway station and a return to Edinburgh. In the distance the snow-topped Pentland Hills nodded their approval.