📌 Tayport, Fife
★★★
Expanding at a rate of up to 5 metres each year, Tentsmuir Point is the fastest-growing point in Scotland. Longshore drift and sediment from the River Tay combine here to create miles of pristine sand, the outer reaches frequented by both common and grey seals. The vast golden swathes are subject to tides, so time your walk to reach the Point around low water. On the way there, there’s a good chance of spotting red squirrels in the 50 square miles of forest, while each winter, hundreds of teal and other ducks gather at Morton Lochs by the start. If you’re not interested in birds, beaches or trees, stay clear – you’ll see little else all day!
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Morton Lochs, off the B945 2 mi south of Tayport
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 465264
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.426368,-2.869404
🚌 Shanwell Road South, Tayport (join route on northwest side)
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 16 km / 10 mi | ▲ 30 m | ⌛ 4-4.5 hr
Features: 🏖️ Tentsmuir NNR (forest, sands, seals & Morton Lochs)
⬤ Moderate | Good forest tracks to the beach, although with short section of muddy path along north side of houses at Fetterdale. Sandy beach to Tentsmuir Point (watch for the tide if you wander far from the shore), then good path then track following shoreline to Lundin Bridge. Residential street and tarmac road through golf club, becoming a track for return to start.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start – Fetterdale – Tentsmuir Forest – Tentsmuir main car park & Sands – Tentsmuir Point – Lundin Bridge – Scotscraig Golf Club – Morton Lochs – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Mallards, pochard, little grebe, mute swans and other birds at Morton Lochs. Red squirrel in the forest. Curlews, oystercatchers and other birds on the sands; distant seals at Tentsmuir Point.
Weather: Hazy sunshine despite cloud and rain over most of Scotland. Fairly windy on the exposed beach but reaching an unseasonable 15°C.
December 2015
