279. Tentsmuir

I can’t leave the Kingdom of Fife without visiting the Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve north of St Andrews. This looks like my sort of walking habitat and I’m excited to be ending my day here. I head out of busy St Andrews, through the military town of Leuchars and down a few miles of minor roads to reach the fairly extensive Tentsmuir car park. I’m assuming from my map that it’s a ten minute stroll over the dune network to the wide sandy beach. But oh no. I emerge through one set of dunes only to have my path blocked by a rather wide inland water channel with no end in sight on either side. The only way to the beach is to go left or right to the end of the channel. I’m OK with that, and just as well, as I walk for a good mile before the water fades and I can make my way across a makeshift bridge to another set of low dunes and finally onto the massive beach. I can see St Andrews from here and I wonder if it’s possible to walk as far as West Sands (you can’t, as the River Eden dissects the two). To make the walk circular, I head back along the beach, over the dunes and wait for the path on the southern end to lead me back to the car park. With that, it’s time to change my boots, settle down and prepare for the long drive home with the happy memories of 17 Fife beaches visited on a beautiful Spring day.