We do love to be beside the seaside ….

TounCryer.co.uk Published Date: October 2011

Lose yourself in one of the East Neuk’s most popular towns at this cosy hideaway in the heart of Elie.

It’s not difficult to see why Elie is the jewel in the crown of the ‘Scottish Riviera’. Its stunning sweep of beach, fine dining restaurants, quaint streets and pretty houses make for an idyllic break. Think long walks on the beach, fantastic watersports, delicious fish and chips and evenings spent holed up in cosy pubs.

If you’re looking to get away from it all in Elie, there’s no better place to make your base than Elie Cottage, a newbie on the self-catering scene in the village, just a sandy hop, skip and a jump from the beach. It’s the ultimate combination of the charm and character of a cottage that’s 150 years old and the convenience of a property that’s been recently refurbished to an exceptional standard.

Think bags of room for families, with great amenities, including a wood-burning stove and a ping-pong table, and a spacious garden. It sleeps eight in four bedrooms across two spacious floors so it’s perfect for groups needing both intimacy and space from one another.

Décor is chic, simple and modern, everything is completely spotless and even if the wind is howling outside, you can rest assured that you’ll be as snug as a fish supper in newspaper indoors. Not that you’ll be able to resist exploring that is. Elie Cottage is equipped with a great kitchen, and a visit to Ardross Farm Shop is a must to stock up on foodie goodies to prepare yourself. From their local meats to the farmhouse cheeses, home baking and tasty preserves, there’s something for every palette.

However you’re also spoiled for choice for places to eat out, and you’ll find some of the best seafood in Scotland in this small village. Sangsters has a nationwide reputation for fantastic fine dining, while the Ship Inn does the best fish and chips this side of the Anstruther Fish Bar (which in itself is only a short drive away). At the end of a long day, it’s quite a treat to tuck in to their hearty fare while looking out towards the sweeping bay, and if you order their fish and chips, you’ll get two battered fish on your plate. As for how to spend your days, adrenaline junkies need look no further than Elie Watersports.

Because of Elie’s sheltered position, it’s a great spot for beginners to try their hand at a whole variety of activities, from sailing and kayaking to windsurfing, canoeing and water skiing. For those looking for something a little more sedate, pedaloes are available for hire and organised sailing trips are available. And nothing beats a walk on the award-winning beach, reached by a short path from the luxurious cottage. Still got itchy feet? Elie is up against nearby Crail, Pittenweem, St Monans and Anstruther for the title of prettiest village in the East Neuk, so take a trip to each one and decide for yourself.

We wouldn’t blame you however if, surrounded by all this beauty, you simply decided to hole yourself up in the charming Elie Cottage. The perfect mix of the old and the new, it’s everything you could want from a seaside getaway.

this article was first published in October 2011 in the October newsletter at http://www.touncryer.co.uk

Do not disturb: Elie Cottage, Elie, Fife

Scotman.com Living Published Date: 26 April 2011

By ALICE WYLLIE

FOR decades, Edinburgh fowk have taken a breather at weekends by nipping across the water to the picturesque East Neuk of Fife, where pretty fishing villages nestle into windswept bays, and long walks in the sea air are rewarded with the freshest fish and chips around.

A favourite among those villages is Elie, with its idyllic beach, great restaurants and quaint, quiet streets, and a recent addition to the self-catering scene in the village is Elie Cottage, a rather charming holiday home with a short path to the beach.

Wining and dining?

The East Neuk is a paradise for foodies, with some of the best seafood in the country on its doorstep. Don’t be fooled by its size – there are more great eateries in this area per square mile than in most parts of Scotland. Your first stop has to be the Seafood Restaurant in St Monans a local favourite for 17 years. It serves sumptuous seafood in chic surroundings and is always packed with natives and visitors alike.

Staff are lovely, the atmosphere is low-key and sophisticated, and their halibut with peas and pancetta is an absolute must. Anyone looking for something a little more casual need look no further than the Ship Inn, a great stop for pub grub on the shore. Order fish and chips and you’ll get two battered fish. Need we say more? And if you’re eating in, Elie Deli (www.eliedeli.co.uk) has enough gourmet treats to satisfy the most discerning gastronome.

Room service?

If you like your holiday cottage cosy, modern, spacious and clean, but full of character, look no further. Elie Cottage is 150 years old and has recently been refurbished to a very high standard, with ample space for families and great amenities, from a cosy wood-burning stove to a ping-pong table. Sleeping eight in four bedrooms across two floors, it’s the perfect base from which to explore this pretty town.

Worth getting out of bed for? The cottage is a stone’s throw from the award-winning beach, where kite surfers, dog walkers and families needn’t jostle for space on the wide sands. The beach provides more than enough entertainment for a quiet weekend away, but if you want to cast your net a little wider, there’s plenty to keep you occupied.

Shopaholics can stock up on gifts and treats at Ardross Farm Shop while energetic types should head straight for Elie’s watersports centre where you can have a go at everything from windsurfing and water skiing to canoeing and sailing. Outside of Elie, villages like Crail, Pittenweem, St Monans and Anstruther all compete for the title of prettiest village in the East Neuk, and each is worth a visit.

Budget or boutique?

Elie has been a favourite weekend spot for well-heeled Edinburghers for generations so it’s geared up for visitors with exacting standards. From restaurants to accommodation, good service and a boutique atmosphere come as standard. The luxury at Elie Cottage is in its simplicity and efficiency. It is boutique self-catering at its best, with modern fittings, bright, chic décor and creature comforts at every turn, not to mention enough space to easily accommodate large groups.

Little extras?

Elie sits on the Fife Coastal Path so it’s great for walkers. If you’re not looking for anything too strenuous, park your car at nearby Crail then take a walk along the coast to the spectacular gardens at Cambo House . The Victorian walled garden is spectacular year-round, and a must for families. It has the largest specialist snowdrop collection of spring, while summer sees the garden transformed into a riot of colour. Children will love the six pigs that root around the garden while adults can try one of the many classes on offer (we were dying to have a go at dry stone walling).

Don’t forget to stop in at the Anstruther Fish Bar on the drive back to Elie. Regularly named as best in the UK for fish and chips, everything is sustainably sourced, from the fish, caught locally by the family who run it, to the potatoes grown exclusively for them by a farmer friend. There’s often a lengthy queue outside but it’s worth the wait.

Guestbook comments Elie Cottage is the perfect balance between a quaint old cottage and a slick, modern retreat; roomy enough to give everyone their space but cosy enough for the perfect family get-together. A week’s stay costs from £790, with short breaks starting from £400. Visit Elie Cottage to book.

• This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on 24 April 2011

Elie Cottage “Quick Getaway” The Sunday Herald

E lit our paper lantern and watched it drift over the firth whilst darkness cloaked the Lothian hills to the south. In a straight line Elie is only 15 miles from our Edinburgh home but as my daughter Ava and I stood on this deserted East Neuk beach and gazed into the night, we were in a world of our own.Elie has been popular since the railways brought the well-to-do to this beautiful corner of Fife, and the Victorian mansions are still coveted. You can see why. This stretch of the east coast cannot boast the towering scenery of the west but has prettier towns and just about the best climate in Scotland. In summer it is packed with day-trippers and holiday-homers.Property is at a premium in the warmer months but if you want the mile-long beach almost to yourself go earlier or later in the year. We were in the newly-renovated Belcote Cottage, which can sleep up to 10 over two floors. All bare wood and quality fittings: for my wife it was property lust at first sight. The kitchen/living room opens on to a secluded garden, which leads down to the beach. The main living space also boasts a wood-burning stove, so if the weather is chilly just get the thing lit, open a bottle of red and cosy up.The town has become a foodie haven and stores like the Elie Deli and Ardross Farm Shop offer a vast array of local and more exotic produce. But if you would rather dine out, there’s a range of award- winning eateries. We ventured up the coast to The Seafood Restaurant at St Monans, named Speciality Restaurant of the Year 2008 in the Scottish Restaurant Awards. The harbour setting is beautiful and so is the food. The dived scallops followed by sea bream – plus the Mull cheddar souffle – meant I almost didn’t have room for the chocolate and lavender tart.Our East Neuk stay was all too brief and as we headed back across the Forth Road Bridge, Ava asked when we would be back. Soon, we told her, soon.Belcote Cottage has short breaks from £300-£400. For more details visit www. elie-cottage.co.uk. For The Seafood Resaurant, St Monans, go to www. theseafoodrestaurant.com “We lit our paper lantern and watched it drift over the firth whilst darkness cloaked the Lothian hills to the south. In a straight line Elie is only 15 miles from our Edinburgh home but as my daughter Ava and I stood on this deserted East Neuk beach and gazed into the night, we were in a world of our own.

Elie has been popular since the railways brought the well-to-do to this beautiful corner of Fife, and the Victorian mansions are still coveted. You can see why. This stretch of the east coast cannot boast the towering scenery of the west but has prettier towns and just about the best climate in Scotland. In summer it is packed with day-trippers and holiday-homers.

Property is at a premium in the warmer months but if you want the mile-long beach almost to yourself go earlier or later in the year. We were in the newly-renovated Belcote Elie Cottage, which can sleep up to 10 over two floors. All bare wood and quality fittings: for my wife it was property lust at first sight. The kitchen/living room opens on to a secluded garden, which leads down to the beach. The main living space also boasts a wood-burning stove, so if the weather is chilly just get the thing lit, open a bottle of red and cosy up.

The town has become a foodie haven and stores like the Elie Deli and Ardross Farm Shop offer a vast array of local and more exotic produce. But if you would rather dine out, there’s a range of award- winning eateries. We ventured up the coast to The Seafood Restaurant at St Monans, named Speciality Restaurant of the Year 2008 in the Scottish Restaurant Awards. The harbour setting is beautiful and so is the food. The dived scallops followed by sea bream – plus the Mull cheddar souffle – meant I almost didn’t have room for the chocolate and lavender tart.

Our East Neuk stay was all too brief and as we headed back across the Forth Road Bridge, Ava asked when we would be back. Soon, we told her, soon.”

Magnus Llewellin, The Sunday Herald, 12th December 2010

Sangster’s Elie wins first Michelin star

If you are staying at Elie Cottage (or any other Elie self catering) and a fan of fine food and wine then a night out at Sangsters is must do. Just a stone’s throw back from the beach in the centre of Elie High Street, Bruce Sangster’s eponymous restaurant feels like a cross between a Scottish front lounge and a French auberge. Bruce works tirelessly to create inventive, taste driven dishes, while his wife Jacqueline attentively looks after front of house. Menus are fixed price and refreshingly to the point. The cooking is sharp, modern and precise – with starters such as twice-baked cheese soufflé made with Isle of Mull Cheddar or Ross-shire scallops with a oriental hit of chilli, ginger, galangal and coriander. Mains include Scotch beef fillet with red cabbage compote, onion marmalade and potato gratin or North Sea halibut with creamed leeks, bacon and vermouth sauce, and for desserts, think caramelised apple pastry with Calvados custard and apple sorbet or a tasting of oranges involving parfait, salad, crisp and Cointreau syrup. The array of dishes, which is usually three choices to each course, changes every three or four days as the menu evolves with the seasons. Booking is essential at any time especially if you are Fife self catering . Click here to go to contact.

Outdoor adventures – The Chain Walk, Elie

The Guardian

The Fife coastal path’s chain walk, which dates back to the 1920s, is hidden down by the sea on the Firth of Forth. Leaving the quaint villages of Elie and Earlsferry you wander along the clifftop to find a grassy descent on Kincraig Point. The route down is awkward to find but once at sea level the coastal rock formations are stunning, with a series of wide ridges extending out to sea with gulches and caves between. This isn’t one for toddlers. Working back towards Elie involves walking along rocky slabs and scrambling up and down the steeper sections with the aid of chains and cut steps, to finish on the red sands of Earlsferry.

The “walk” is best attempted about an hour after high tide when the sea is on the ebb. See www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk

Britain’s top 10 coastal walks – Pittenweem to Elie in Fife

The Guardian

The section of the Fife Coastal Path between Pittenween and Elie includes two ruined castles plus good rockpools whose investigation for mini marine beasts may well distract you from going all the way. If you do make the distance, other rewards are the finely restored windmill and associated saltpans at St Monans and of course “Pittenweem, Pittenweem, Every fisher laddies’ dream …” You have go to find out why.

Elie Chain Walk – Probably the most exciting walk in Britain for Children

The Telegraph

Although it’s only a mile and a half long, you can easily double the pleasure by re-tracing your steps at the end. The Chain Walk forms a side-loop to the tranquil, 90-mile Fife Coastal Path. The fun chained section – a kind of British via ferrata – hugs the sea from Elie village, careering round the cliffs of Kincraig Point to Shell Bay. Head for the beach below Elie then walk south-west to a sign telling you to take care. The glinting steel chain fixed to the cliffs signals the start of your scramble.

Together with footholds, a series of eight fixed chains 10 to 50 feet long provide something to cling to as you slither up, down, along and over alarming rocks while waves crash in from the Firth of Forth. Children aged nine and over can tackle this breathtaking route, which defies being termed a mere “walk”. This is adventure. Stay away near high tide.

The Ship Inn Elie, one of Britain and Ireland’s best pub gardens

The Times, 2009

It’s the essence of summer: a good pint in the beautiful gardens of a smashing little pub. Perched above the sea walls at Elie, just round the East Neuk of Fife from St Andrews, the Ship Inn has a spectacular garden, with views south across the sea towards Bass Rock and east across a crescent of butterscotch Blue Flag beach towards Earlsferry. Hit it at low tide every second Sunday and the Pimmsy buzz is fabulous fun, with the garden doubling as off-side boundary for proper white-flanelled beach cricket. Throw in the best fish and chips on the east coast, landed the same day at Anstruther, and you’ll never want a pint anywhere else again.

Elie one of the six best foodie breaks in the UK

The Times, 2009

Nick Nairn, one of six top British chefs, revealed Elie and the East Neuk of Fife to be one of the best gastro getaways for sampling local produce, browsing farmers’ markets and dining in style. The East Neuk of Fife is a long time favourite of Nick’s.

“The fishing villages ringing the coast from Leven to St Andrews are a little piece of heaven, especially Elie, which is a Scottish version of Rock: impeccably upmarket, with a gorgeous beach and an epic pub, the Ship. I always have the fish and chips there — the best in Scotland. Get a table upstairs, for the beach view.”

“The Ship does B&B, too — but for a treat, you should stay at the Peat Inn, an iconic restaurant-with-rooms started by my hero, David Wilson, the godfather of Scottish cooking. Geoffrey Smeddle has it now and he’s doing some seriously good things with Fife-grown lamb and beef. It’s an old, whitewashed pub on a hilltop, with smoking fires and low ceilings, and the suites have just been revamped — very smart.

I’ve walked all of the Fife Coastal Path, and my favourite stretch is between Lower Largo and Elie — that beach is a stunner, two straight miles of untouched sand, a bit off the beaten track. We often ramble down there across the Lundin Links golf course after a family lunch at Blacketyside Farm shop. They grow the best raspberries I’ve ever tasted, and the cafe does simple food straight off the farm — mince and tatties, that sort of thing.

The road east of Elie is studded with picturesque shellfishing villages, great for a lazy drive. The fish market at Pittenweem is worth a peek, but for buying fish you won’t beat G&J Wilson, in St Monans — it sells straight from its packing shed. There’s a little smokery round the back, doing hot-smoked salmon and haddock.

Also in St Monans is the Seafood Restaurant, my all-time top place to eat in Fife. The building feels hollowed into the cliffs — it’s so redolent of smugglers and moonlight trysts. I’ve loads of good memories of feasting on oysters there, then strolling outdoors with a glass of grog to gaze over the ocean and listen for the sound of muffled oars.”

Other good self catering accommodation resources
Here is a good list of resources for other self catering and holiday info…

iTravelnet good travel directory website

Rampant Scotland – lots of ideas for accommodation
2Traveling.com – A Comprehensive worldwide travel directory travel
SearchScotland.org – travel, accommodation and information portal
Cornwall Self Catering – great source of west country places to stay
Self Catering Cottages – lots of other cottages around the UK
Cycle Holidays – all things for UK cycling holidays
Eden Holiday Rentals – lots of good holiday homes to rent abroad
Enjoy Britain – lots of useful tourism info for the UK
YourLocalWeb – local info for 43,000 UK towns
Places2B – search tourism info by UK town
Holiday Extras – useful extras like special insurance and airport parking
The Irish Guide – great places to stay in Ireland
Internet Heaven – for travel tips
Owners Direct – a wide variety of self catering options worldwide
OneView – good searchable director for all sorts
BigTripper Scotland – searchable trip info by towns
HolidayHomeRental.co.uk – other holiday homes around the UK
Business Directory UK – List of Hotels and Accommodation
eBizDirectory – Lots of accommodation stuff
iWebDirectory – also lots of accommodation stuff