Elie is the quintessential East Neuk seaside town, its tile-roofed stone cottages hugging around the wide sweep of award-winning Elie Harbour Beach. Elie was once two villages, joined as a burgh by Earlsferry in 1930. Just 10 miles south of St Andrews, golf has been played here since the 15th century, with an excellent local course. Elie boomed when its harbour expanded in 1850 and the railway arrived in 1863, with Victorian tourists putting Elie on the map.
Beeching closed the line in the 60s and Elie dipped. But in recent years, it has re-emerged as a tourist escape for savvy Scottish city dwellers, water sports enthusiasts, foodies and artists. For more, see welcometofife.com.
When to go
Spring and summer bring the beach weather, while tourism slows in winter. Elie’s Toll Green Hall stages regular events, including craft fairs and art exhibitions, while Elie Fayre Day takes place on 13 July. The Largo Arts Week (13-21 July) in the next village west brings open studios, galleries and gigs.
How to get there
Leven’s new railway station is less than 10 miles from Elie, with Scotrail trains from Edinburgh taking as little as 75 minutes. Caledonian Sleeper overnight trains run to Edinburgh from London Euston. Stagecoach buses run regularly from Leven to Elie in less than 20 minutes. Elie itself is walkable and the 116-mile Fife Coastal Path runs through, connecting it to nearby villages such as Lower Largo and Pittenweem.
Where to stay
The six-bedroom Ship Inn peers over Elie Harbour Beach, so book one of the four Forth-view rooms. Local beers await in the pub downstairs; breakfast comes complete with local produce. Doubles from £140, including breakfast.
For a real treat, base yourself five miles inland at The Peat Inn, which offers plush rooms as well as a Michelin-starred restaurant. Rooms peer over the Fife’s fertile hinterland. Doubles from £295, including in-room breakfast. The restaurant is on level ground and there is level access, with a wheelchair-accessible toilet.
Day one
Up with the sun
Start the day walking east past the harbour to the Ruby Bay lighthouse, opened in 1908. You might catch sight of an otter or seal, and certainly seabirds. These are historic waters, once trammelled by the Romans, the Vikings and Cromwell. Drink in the views over towards Edinburgh.
Nearby lies Lady’s Tower. Lady Janet Anstruther had this sturdy stone redoubt built as her summerhouse. Local legend has it that she used to have a bell rung when bathing to ward off villagers.
If you continue wandering east, the time travel continues. Ardross Castle, which has a farm shop for snacks, guards the Forth approaches, as does Newark Castle. Push on as far as St Monans for a bus back, which takes only 10 minutes.
Souvenir hunting
Take a wander into the village. The fulcrum is Toll Green. The cast-iron “fountain” here was once a water pump designed by Glasgow’s George Smith & Co in the 19th century. Old-school Appleton’s sells everything from spades to souvenirs. Over the years, Elie has inspired numerous artists. Get in touch with Wade Gallery to arrange a viewing. Studio Elie showcases artists and hosts painters, too. To continue on the art trail, nip on the bus for 15 minutes and check out the Weem Gallery in Pittenweem.
Don’t miss
The most dramatic part of the Fife Coastal Path is the Elie Chain Walk. This is as close as Scotland gets to an Alpine-style via ferrata, as you soar from the coast up and down rugged rocks and cliffs using steps, footholds and metal chains. Care should always be taken to check tides. There is a walkaround across the clifftops that opens up Second World War fortifications; together, it’s a superb circular walk.
Time for a sundowner
It has to be the terrace at The Ship Inn. Sup a pint of local St Andrews Brewing Company ale watching the beach cricket, or just scan the waters for seals and cetaceans. If it’s chilly, retreat inside and gaze out the window by the roaring fire. Sunsets tend to be spectacular here.
Dinner reservation
The Ship Inn is a hotel restaurant worth staying in for. Tuck into locally landed haddock and chips (£18.95) or sweet Pittenweem lobster (market price). Or warm your cockles with a bowl of seriously comforting seafood chowder-esque Cullen skink (£10.95).
Day two
Hit the beach
Fife’s East Neuk brims with sweeping, clean sandy beaches. Elie’s Harbour Beach is among the best. This Keep Scotland Beautiful award winner curls its golden charms around for a mile, then eases its sandy tentacles into neighbouring Earlsferry’s beach to form an unbroken expanse.
Beyond the harbour wall there is kayaking, waterskiing and newbie sport e-foil. Elie Watersports can kit you out. And back on the sands, cricket: the UK’s only club to have a beach as its home ground plays here.
Break east for beaches all the way to the fishing village of St Monans. Or head west and wide sands stretch as far as the eye can see in front of Dumbarnie Links, managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. This rare habitat sports nearly 2,000 plant and invertebrate species.
Lunch time
Assemble a feast at Elie Deli and unfurl your picnic rug on the sands. Get them to stuff a baguette with cooked meats and cheddar-like Anster from the nearby farm dairy. Their homemade sweets (with sugar-free options) make for memorable souvenirs.
Time to relax
Judith Dunlop is the life force behind the Elie Seaside Sauna. A real pioneer, such has been the success of her first beachfront sauna, Dune, she has built a second larger one, Shore, with sweeping windows. A bracing dip is optional.
A final treat
Geoffrey Smeddle’s Michelin-starred Peat Inn is splurge-worthy. The tasting menu for five courses at £125 is superb value. Expect North Sea turbot, morels and white asparagus, finishing with hot Edinburgh “bean to bar” 70 per cent Brazil chocolate mousse soufflé.
Three things you might not know about Elie…
1) Legend has it that MacDuff, the Earl of Fife, crossed the Forth at Elie in 1054 to escape King Macbeth. Yes, that Macbeth of Shakespeare fame.
2) In Elie’s Victorian heyday, steamers ploughed across the Forth from Edinburgh, with hordes of holidaymakers. You can relive those days in summer taking a boat from Anstruther across to North Berwick.
3) The most unlikely local tourist attraction was a closely guarded secret for more than half a century. Today, Scotland’s Nuclear Bunker offers a unique look into the threat of Armageddon during the Cold War.