The Binn. Burntisland. Black Rocks. Kinghorn. Firth of Forth. Inchkeith.

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Fife this time... over on the East Coast across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh. Last Sunday's walk with Alan and his dog was really enjoyable. A very varied walk in excellent conditions that I've done a few times before over the years was improved even more by low tide occurring at 9:30am. We arrived in Burntisland's wide and spacious excellent free car park around 10:30am to be greeted with this view of the beach. A lovely sunny day and low tide levels with a view of the Black Rocks, a tidal lump of jagged dolerite sitting a kilometre out into the bay, and all around what looked like miles of empty sand. (You can also see the high level route back inland here.)

A curlew on the beach. Normally, on the other occasions I've been here to do this amazing walk, the mini mountain rising steeply above the town commands all the attention so I've headed for that first. Four hours later I've been over the Binn Summit, a volcanic plug at a mere 193 metres high (632 feet) but which appears far higher- like a tiny Rock of Gibraltar and then I've continued on down the spine of the lower hills into Kinghorn, a few miles further up the coast.

This time though we could actually see an easy clear path out to the Black Rocks and as neither of us had explored them we headed for there. It was a hazy pastel tinted morning as overnight temperatures had fallen below zero but the early mist, ice and fog should burn away by lunchtime, according to the weather forecast. Isn't science wonderful? I consult it all the time, as any intelligent person would you would think? As you can see here the rocks rise around 8 to 10 feet high next to this dog walker.

And this is them in the middle of the bay with the tide coming in and only the highest part visible. I'd imagine in certain conditions they would be washed over completely but I've always had a mad notion to spend a night out here. Potentially dangerous though I'd imagine, if not fatal in rough sea conditions. This is a view from the Binn summit, a steep volcanic plug with grass fields and rolling farmland on the inland side and plunging cliffs of eroded basalt on the other, seaward side. Judging by the level here it might well be over 8 foot deep at full high tide around the islands with strong currents to be taken into account as well. I tried to walk over to them once as a child on holiday, around 10 or 12 years of age, but the sea was coming in fast and I lost my nerve and turned back just short of reaching them.

A dream finally realized as although I've done this favourite five star classic walk around five times now, (usually in December as it's a real sun trap) it's always been Binn first, then Kinghorn then beach.... by which time it's been full high tide and an adventurous  boulder hop beside the railway line on the tiny strip remaining free of the waves in the near dark. Trust me... if you can get the tides right pick the beach and Black Rocks first! It's much easier. This is a view from the rocks over to the village of Kinghorn, around a mile and a half away. (or two kilometres) We would be heading there next but first we started walking out across the sands to the very edge of the Firth of Forth. This beach walk really is a cracker and not that busy... only a few dog walkers and a lone jogger so fantastic for photography. When any beach gets too busy it soon loses its appeal for me but this one was perfect. Those folk not keen on the full circuit over the ridge line could just do the low tide beach walk... then explore Kinghorn and return via the flat pavement on the A921 crossing over the railway by several available bridges... the last bridge being reached from the beach near another Kinghorn seafront caravan site to the west of that town. Three different walking options there and all equally enjoyable. Boots or wellies advisable to avoid wet feet and safe enough for children if they are with an adult.

A lone jogger on the edge of the Firth of Forth with Inchkeith (a remote and hard to reach island) in the distance. This was where we were heading next as nothing beats that feeling of being able to walk out into a major estuary at low tide as far as you can possibly go. A King Canute moment of stepping across the sands further and further out into the unknown where only mermaids should rightfully be.

Dog and oil rig platform. Firth of Forth.

Dead seal found at the Black Rocks. Judging by the neat cut line through the body this has been hit by a propeller of some sort or maybe sliced open for some reason with a blade to find out how it died. It did have a tag on it. Number 75258 for anyone interested. It seems too neat a cut to be natural.

Alan walking out to the furthest edge of the land. Burntisland was once a major shipbuilding town and also important for coal and shale oil deposits in the past. It still has a semi industrial feel about it in places and has an important engineering and fabrication yard for the oil and gas industry still operating at the docks to this day which is maybe why three oil rig platforms could be seen offshore in the Firth of Forth and also several large ships. Either that or they are static here due to the downturn in the oil industry at present. The East Coast has a completely different feel to the Scottish West Coast, different landscapes and look about it- half the rainfall levels- a great deal more sunshine- and I've always loved coming here. Burntisland itself is an interesting place for day trips with lovely beach walks, historic D.I.Y town trail, many unusual buildings, a nice park, and of course the Binn.

A view of the main street from the car park and meadows area. Ladies and gents toilets are just to the left of this photo and a decent chip shop sits across from the car. All you really need for a great day out.

A fine church in Burntisland viewed from the beach front. Sheltered seating and a short but enjoyable concrete promenade walk here. The path up the Binn can be found on the A909 at Silverbarton where a signposted hole in the wall is found just past the last house on the upper left side of the town's outskirts.

A Redshank, a small wading bird usually found on beaches and estuaries in the winter months when the ground inland is frozen hard and no use for finding worms and grubs with its long probing bill.

We also noticed on the walk across the sands to Kinghorn the remains of hundreds of wooden posts sticking out the ground in long rows. Only the tips of these were visible, heavily eroded and we speculated they might be low tide piers of some sort or even medieval fish traps. After talking to a local however he informed us they were built during the war to stop German planes landing on this flat expanse of sand. Any plane landing when they were at full height might have had their wings chopped off running along the beach.

A very different walk and my new favourite place. All my photographic guidebooks on Kindle tend to be areas of Scotland like this, unfashionable but really scenic and unusual, off the beaten track, so with Christmas coming they might be worth a couple of quid as a present as they all highlight a range of unusual places to visit in Scotland, like this one. Welcome to the Fife Riviera.

From Kinghorn, which is an interesting wee place as well, we walked up through sunny streets named after kings and great locals then passed glorious beaches like this one. Both Burntisland and Kinghorn lie on the route of the long distance Fife Coastal Path which is a gem in itself. Many years ago, after finishing the Munros, I started collecting beaches all over the UK... 'Captain Coastwalk' was my somewhat derogatory nickname then, bestowed by my amused mountaineering friends who showed no inclination to join me on my travels... long before that in my teens (as hinted at in my first book Autohighography) I collected humans... again from all over the UK... before that, in childhood, I was an egg collector... at least the eggs stayed put where I placed them- people prove much trickier as a rule. In short, I've always swam against the tide and popular trends, by inclination rather than any design, going my own way and picking my own pursuits.

At Kinghorn we headed inland up through this small town to the golf course then up through that and a caravan park on a right of way track past a farm (dogs on lead here) to walk past The Bents and Grangehill (on OS Landranger map 66 Edinburgh) As we climbed higher up the ridge great views opened out over the Firth of Forth but the scenery inland was not too shabby either. This is a view of Kinghorn Loch, above.

And one of a rapidly shrinking sandbar from the hillside caravan park and the beach where we walked at low tide a mere two hours before.

Ships and oil platforms moored out on the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, one of the largest towns in the Kingdom of Fife, which in turn is a large hand shaped peninsula lying on the East Coast just north of Edinburgh. Shale gas ship seen here in full screen view, probably coming from or going into Grangemouth oil refinery.

A distant view of Kirkcaldy gleaming in the sunshine as viewed from the Binn.

One of Inchkeith. A scattering of wonderful islands lie out in the Firth of Forth- all of them individual, well spaced apart, and uniquely different. Unless you have a private boat or you are a sea kayaker with experience in a group for safety they are hard to reach although a ferry does go out to one from Queensferry to Inchcolm in the summer months. I've visited a few, including Inchcolm, but not Inchkeith which is too far flung and dangerous for my own inflatable kayak to reach. An island I've always wondered about though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchkeith A fascinating history and map of the island in this link including its use as an early quarantine outpost for syphilis and other unfortunate human conditions including the extraordinarily cruel James IV's linguistic experiment which is worth a read and mind boggling.

The rolling Fife landscape behind the Binn. Although it was warm and toasty down on the suntrap sands and over most of the rising ridge line these slopes here were still in deep shade and the turf underfoot was frozen solid with no sign of a thaw.

The rocky cliffs of the Binn on the seaward side.  Rock of Gibraltar comparisons? Well, when you are up here in sunshine looking down, if a few Barbary Macaques appeared on a boulder below your feet they would not seem out of place at all.

It's hard to tell you in words how good this fantastic walk is... just try it for yourself. 4 to 6 hours depending on fitness, tea-breaks and speed. We took 5 hours as it's so good it's not one to rush. Around 10 to 12 kilometres full circuit.

Good video here showing some of the other islands in the Firth of Forth. This gentleman has a collection of other interesting kayak videos on You Tube. Few things beat the feeling of an island reached by kayak.