The Kingdom of Fife is situated on the East Coast of Scotland, about 45 minutes on the bus from Edinburgh. In this post, I am sharing with you my experience with traveling around Fife by bus with a week ticket pass which I will talk about more further on. From cute fishing villages with colourful houses to Scotland’s former capital, Dunfermline, you could spend weeks exploring Fife. Whether you like historic walks and stunning architecture or enjoy hiking and exploring the outdoors, there’s something here for everyone. The following places are just suggestions and ones I visited, however there are a lot more options in the area than the ones I mention below.
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I live in Aberdeen so I took the Megabus down to Halbeath P&R for around £16 return but the price differs depending on the dates you choose and how far in advance you book. From there, I took the local bus (19 towards Rosyth) to my mum’s house in Dunfermline.
When it comes to bus tickets for getting around, I purchased the Fife 7 day megarider Plus for £30 which covers the whole of Fife as well as getting you to Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Dundee and more. See below the area that it covers:
There’s other options as well such as day tickets for around £13, however I found that it works out cheaper to get the 7-day one as long as you travel at least 3 days to get your money's worth.
Note: The bus numbers mentioned in this post are the ones I took from Dunfermline so depending on where you are staying, the bus numbers and times may be different. The Stagecoach website is super easy to navigate though so you can easily find all the bus information from your departure location.
Culross
On Monday my mum and I went to Culross which is a village 30 minutes away from Dunfermline and you can get bus 8 from Dunfermline bus station. It’s a beautiful and insta-worthy village and definitely a must, if you’re in Fife. If you’re an Outlander fan you may recognise some scenes as many episodes have been filmed there. You can even take an Outlander tour!
At first we went up one of the little side streets until we reached a viewpoint of the whole village and then we continued walking about 10 minutes until we got to the Abbey. We then walked back down and just explored more of the village and all its picturesque side streets.
We sat on a bench at the pier and had our packed lunch. As you will see in this blog, we usually take packed lunches and snacks with us in order to save money and we then get to choose a nice picnic spot with a view.
Fishing villages + St. Andrews
The next day we set off early to go to a few fishing villages and then to St. Andrews. This required getting to Ferrytoll P&R (bus X55) and then getting another bus (X60) to the villages. There is an express bus that goes to St. Andrews but we chose the one that takes a little longer but goes around the villages first.
First stop was Pittenweem, a lovely village with beautiful houses and a harbour. There is also a natural underground cave, St. Fillan’s Cave but unfortunately it was closed for visitors when we went. There are many local independent businesses around the village including a popular ice cream shop and chocolate shop.
We went to a shop called “Seaweed and stuff” and the friendly shop owner gave us samples to try of all the different jams and chutneys on cheese and crackers. They were all so tasty! I bought the “Smoked Dulse and Onion Relish” chutney and my mum got the “Tomato and Dulse” chutney and the “Bramble and Gin” jam. They are all vegan and she even sold vegan ice cream! I would definitely recommend visiting while you’re there as the shop has some beautiful ornaments too. I’ll leave her website here (not sponsored, just super pleased)
Next, we walked on the Fife Coastal Path to the village of Anstruther, which is the largest village in the area. It took us about 30 minutes to walk there and we stopped at a bench with a seaview and had lunch. The walk is beautiful and easy to get from village to village that way. We walked around and admired the harbour and the surrounding buildings and took some more photos. Anstruther is also famous for its fish and chips.
We then took the bus to the last fishing village of the day, Crail. You might have seen this posted on Instagram quite often as it’s super picturesque and is actually one of the UK’s most photographed harbours!
There’s a tea room with outdoor seating and a stunning view of the sea. There’s also a lobster shop where you can eat at the benches around the harbour as well as an ice cream shop. Before getting the bus, we stopped at “Crail Pottery” and had a look around. It has some beautiful things for sale. There is also a cat called Richard who hangs out at the till.
Last stop, St. Andrews. We took the bus 95 and it took around 30 minutes to get there. By the time we arrived it was almost 5pm so a lot of the little shops were closing, however there were still some charity shops and other local businesses as well as restaurants that were still open.
We walked around the town and admired the architecture, and then went down to the St. Andrews Cathedral and the ruins. I really liked all the little streets and the bookshops and just the general vibe of the place. We then took the bus x24 which took us back a different way and was a lot faster than going around the coastal villages.
Note: There are many more fishing villages nearby that are worth exploring such as Aberdour, Elie, St. Monans. We just chose a few because we didn’t have time in one day to do them all by bus.
Dunfermline
On Wednesday we explored the town of Dunfermline.
Fun fact: Dunfermline used to be the capital of Scotland!
We started by walking down the High Street towards the Pittencrieff Park or known locally as “The Glen”. This is one of my favourite places in Dunfermline. You could spend hours walking around and just breathing in the fresh air. When you first walk in, it just looks like a regular grassy park. However, if you keep walking, you will find yourself surrounded by trees and small rivers and you will probably forget you’re in a busy town as you just hear the leaves moving and the birds singing. You will meet lots of grey squirrels on the way and they are definitely not shy so you might see them following you around and coming up to say hi.
There is also a glasshouse as well as a beautiful garden in front of it. You can stop for lunch or a coffee at Peacock Rooms cafe which is also great for kids as they have a play corner inside or you can sit outside in the sun while the kids are playing on the grass.
We then walked to the Abbey ruins and then to Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries. This is a must if you’re in Dunfermline as the gardens are beautiful and the museum is very interesting and it’s completely free. However, due to the current covid restrictions, you now have to book a time slot. There is also a gift shop in the building as well as a balcony/viewpoint at the top where you can get a nice view of the gardens, the Abbey and some other stunning buildings.
Because my mum lives here and I’ve been countless times and have done all the “touristy” things before, we did not go to all the main attractions this time. However, if you’re visiting for the first time, I’d recommend you visit the Pittencrieff Park, the library and museum, the Abbey, Andrew Carnegie Birthplace museum and there’s so much more which you can find online.
Perth
On Thursday, we took the bus to Ferrytoll P&R again and then took the bus X56 to Perth. This was my first time visiting so I was super excited to explore.
We walked along the river and then crossed the railway to Moncrieffe Island. From there, we continued walking until we got to the other side of the bridge. It’s a beautiful walk surrounded by trees and the river.
We ended up at Branklyn Garden where we had our packed lunch and then walked to Rodney Gardens where we met the cutest and fluffiest cat! The whole path was surrounded by different flowers and trees with views of the city in between.
We then crossed Smeaton’s Bridge back to the city and just wandered around for a few more hours.
Next time I visit, I would definitely want to go up Kinnoull Hill as it looks really pretty but we just didn’t have time this time.
Edinburgh - cafe recommendations
On Friday I used my bus ticket to go to Edinburgh to meet up with my friends from uni. I’m not going to go into too much detail as I could write pages and pages about Edinburgh but I will definitely write up a blog post specifically for Edinburgh. However, I would love to mention two food places that we went to and I was super impressed with both (not sponsored).
Because my friend Stewart is celiac, we went to the GF Cafe which is on Dairy Rd and is 2 minutes away from Haymarket Station. It’s quite a small cafe with two tables, however the owner was very helpful and brought out an extra chair for us and made us feel comfortable and welcomed. You can also get takeout and enjoy your meal in a nearby park or bench. Everything is 100% gluten free and there’s tons of options including sandwiches, salads, pasta, etc. I was very happy when the owner told me that they have vegan cheese and vegan sauces so I ordered the tomato and avocado panini with vegan cheese and pesto. It was really yummy and it cost me £3.95. My friends ordered a chicken, bacon, chorizo and BBQ panini and a sausage roll as well as two empire biscuits and they were also impressed with how good the food was.
Another place I would recommend in Edinburgh, especially if you’re looking for somewhere to sit in the evening (that is not a pub or restaurant), is the Holy Cow cafe. It’s 100% vegan and has the tastiest cakes I’ve ever had. You don’t need to be vegan to visit and they have tons of options such as soup, burgers, coffees, tea, juice, etc and it’s right next to the bus station! We had the jaffa cake, the summer fruits gateau, a tea and a turmeric latte with coconut milk.
On Saturday I used the bus ticket to take me to Halbeath P&R so I can get my Megabus back to Aberdeen. There’s so much to do and see and I would definitely recommend you spending a full week in Fife. There’s a lot of hiking spots as well as beautiful towns and villages to explore. Will definitely see some more places next time I’m down.
A lot of people think that you can’t explore Scotland without a car but it’s definitely possible! I can’t drive and I still get to go to new places every week easily with public transport. I really hope you enjoyed this blog post and found it helpful. Comment down below what your favourite place in Fife is.
-Marisa
