The Fife Pilgrim Way

St Andrews was once one of Europe's major pilgrim destinations, with the relics of the apostle once housed in the Cathedral ranking it alongside Santiago de Compostela and Rome in medieval times. The Fife Pilgrim Way long distance route gives modern-day walkers the chance to make their own multi-day journey.

The route begins at either the ancient burgh of Culross or the historic crossing of the Forth at North Queensferry; both routes join up at Dunfermline Abbey. As well as the religious heritage and buildings, the route leads through the heart of the Fife countryside, passing through a mix of fertile fields and reminders of the area's industrial and mining heritage. The route was created and is maintained by the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.

Stage descriptions	Length	Time
1A: Culross to Dunfermline	13.6km	4-4½ hours
1B: North Queensferry to Dunfermline	13.9km	4-4½ hours
2: Dunfermline to Loch Ore	17.2km	4-5 hours
3: Loch Ore to Kinglassie	8km	2-3 hours
4: Kinglassie to Markinch	13km	4-4½ hours
5: Markinch - Ceres	21km	5½-6½ hours
6: Ceres to St Andrews	15.7km	4-4½ hours

THE CHALLENGE

The route is discreetly waymarked and offers generally straightforward walking on a mix of paths, tracks, minor roads and pavements. Some sections can be muddy underfoot, but the route offers an ideal introduction to long distance or multi-day walking.

ACCOMMODATION AND SERVICES ALONG THE WAY

The Fife Pilgrim Way passes through many towns and villages along the way, with fairly regular shops, cafes and services.

There are hotels and/or bed and breakfast available in the villages at the start and finish of all the stages except at Loch Ore Meadows Country Park.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

There are good bus services throughout Fife, with buses available to all the start and end points of the stages listed above.

In addition, there are rail stations at North Queensferry, Inverkeithing, Dunfermline, Markinch and Cameron Bridge (by Windy Gates). Leuchars station is the closest to St Andrews and has a bus link.

Timetables for all the routes can be found on Traveline Scotland.

BOOKS AND MAPS

Users' walk reports for the Fife Pilgrim Way

There are 49 Walkhighlanders who have completed the Fife Pilgrim Way. To record if you have completed the route, you must register and be logged in. Our users have contributed one public walk report for the route.

Title	Author	Date walked	Likes
Fife Pilgrim Way	Stephcart	11/06/2021	5

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