Cool Place of the Day: Kinshaldy Beach, Fife, Scotland

Every day, a new place to discover or explore, from coolplaces.co.uk

Nicola Holland
Sunday 05 June 2016 08:49 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Kinshaldy Beach, Fife, Scotland

Just in case you didn’t know, it’s National Barbecue Week, and we’ve found the perfect place for a beachside barbie, just outside St Andrews, where Kinshaldy Beach has long been a popular day out for families from Fife and further afield. Accessible via the long and winding road through Leuchers, and the dense pine forest of Tentsmuir, you reach a range of high sand dunes before reaching the beach – basically a forest and nature reserve that covers 50 square miles in all, with a beautiful, large expanse of white sand at its heart. It can get extremely busy when the sun shines, with queues for parking forming early. However, the three miles of sand somehow manage to absorb the crowds and are ideal for sunbathing, although the fast-moving tides mean it's often unadvisable to swim.

Behind the beach, there are benches and barbecue stations on a field in one of the forest openings, and for a post-barbie stroll there are marked walks and cycle routes through the forest, where it's possible to see red squirrels, deer and several species of bats. There are also some World War Two defences along the beach – concrete blocks known as "Dragons' Teeth" – beyond which you can often spot the basking grey seals.

Cool Places is a new website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in