#pettycur

Obviously a ruin and apparently Grade B listed, I couldn't see any evidence that anyone is trying to actively conserve or protect it.  Indeed with the stone and walls obviously unstable, perched in an exposed location and evidently a popular site for local kids to have fires and parties and wotnot, it is falling further into ruin and you have to wonder how much longer it will last:

Nice views though:

At this point I could hear a strange, deep groaning noise.  Unmistakably the sound of seals.  Looking up I could see 30 or 40 seals hauled out onto the rocks, obviously enjoying the warm sunshine:

The tide was out and this made it easy to actually get fairly close to them, but not so close that it would startle or worry them.  I'm still rubbish at seal identification so I don't know whether these are harbour or grey seals:

One of them slipped into the water and came closer towards me to take a closer look:

It disappeared underwater and then reappeared even closer.  Its head popped out vertically, remained there for five seconds or so.....and then disappeared back into the water:

Looking further out across the Forth, Edinburgh and Arthur's Seat are conspicuous on the other side......unless it's foggy!  If you're someone who has arrived in Edinburgh by road and hasn't ever ventured to the coast, it's only really when you stand on the Fife side of the Forth that you realise just how coastal a city Edinburgh is.  That you can get a seal and Edinburgh in the same photo illustrates this nicely:

The way ahead is easy to follow, curving around some lovely bays and beaches:

Heading farther west you reach the small town of Kinghorn.  As with many of the towns and villages on Fife's coast its heart is old and picturesque.  You pass underneath the railway, with the island of Inchkeith visible in the Forth beyond:

In the blink of an eye you're through Kinghorn, leaving its beach behind:

The familiar Fife Coastal Path signage points the way along the entire length of its 117 miles:

A stretch of the path takes you through residential areas of Kinghorn before you're suddenly presented with an inviting view of Pettycur beach:

It's an impossibly pretty place and at low tide you can choose to walk along the sands or along the higher path:

When the tide is out, the sands at Burntisland are easily among the most impressive in this part of Scotland.  They seem to go on forever, with Edinburgh and the familiar skyline of the Pentland Hills stretched out on the horizon:

On this day there was a keen and steady wind. Sand was blowing in huge streamers just inches off the ground, making beautiful streaks of different shades across the beach: