West Sands in St Andrews is a destination beach for many reasons, and it never disappoints. A close friend of mine walks the beach almost every day, and he agrees that it never looks exactly the same. The beach is well-known as the location for the opening scene in Chariots of Fire (check it out here, starting about 2 mins in to really see the beach), and for running alongside the world-famous Old and New Courses.
It is also a stunningly preserved (with much work done by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Fife Coast and Countryside Trust) example of coastal dunes, which are immensely important defences against erosion and are a protected area. For locals, the beach is a popular walk location for families with children, dogs, horses and everyone else – particularly University students looking to de-stress with a pick-up game, jog, or mind-clearing walk. It is about two miles in one direction, and can seem quite quick when you are walking with the wind – just be aware that walking into the wind is a much harder option. And yes, it is almost always windy.
For most, the walk will start only steps away from the Royal Golf Museum and the Bruce Embankment Car Park (not free). There is a recently refurbished toilet block available, and a bit further on a dog-friendly café, Dook, open 9-5 currently (‘dook’ being a Scottish word for a quick dip or bathe).
There are two options available for walkers: you can start off following the road behind the dunes, and choose one of the many paths that branch off to the right leading to the beach. It is possible to follow the road the whole way out to the end, where there is a small car park, but walkers beware that the pedestrian path ends probably less than a mile along. Alternatively, you can just stick to the beach. At low tide you can walk quite a way out, but at high tide you are quite constricted to a small section of beach – there is about a 5m difference between high and low tide, or 16 ft.
Whichever option you choose, prepare for wind! And bring your camera – West Sands really is one of the more stunning beaches I have ever seen, and it is almost impossible not to take another picture, even if one already has 100s.
It would be remiss of me not to also point out the potential dangers in getting carried away with your walk. The end of the beach eventually curves around the corner, as the North Sea meets the Eden Estuary, and here the tides can move incredibly fast. It is very easy to get caught out, and so it is recommended that walkers be very cautious around this point. You can in fact cut back up to the car park here and walk along a small access road which takes you another 15 minutes or so out to a viewing platform. This platform offers birdwatching guidance as well as stunning views back across the golf courses towards town, or in the other direction across the water to Leuchars base and Tentsmuir Forest. This end of the beach is quite popular for bird-watchers as well as walkers.
While the beach is no doubt stunning in the middle of a sunny day, the evening hours are what I love the most, as you can see below!
The Wandering Medievalist 