A guide to Anstruther, the East Neuk of Fife

Anstruther is a pretty fishing and harbour town – home to Scotland’s most famous fish & chip shop. However there is so much more to Anstruther than a just a takeaway. Anstruther is the capital of the East Neuk with its gorgeous villages and is a great spot from which to hike the famous Fife Coastal Path. Read on for our favourite things to do in Anstruther, plus where to stay, eat, drink, shop, and walk.

Firstly, how is Anstruther pronounced?

First things first, Anstruther is not pronounced as it looks – i.e “An-struth-her”. Instead, it is pronounced “Ain-stur” – written in gaelic as Eanstair. Confusingly the full name probably comes from the Gaelic for stream – ‘struth’ – referring to the Dreel Burn on which the town sits. You might also read Anstruther written as Anster… Anstuther is also joined to the neighbouring village of Cellardyke.

Where to stay in Anstruther

The best way to experience life in the East Neuk (the east corner or ‘nose’) of Fife is by staying in a traditional fisherman’s cottage. My favourite is Dreel Cottage which is dog friendly, has a cosy living room and two cottage style bedrooms – and is right next to the excellent Dreel Tavern.

Other options include the three bed Pass the Keys, the two bed Coastal Cottage in Cellardyke or the 1 bed Low Tide cottage.

If you are looking for luxury the Peat Inn Restaurant with Rooms is just 10 minutes from Anstruther which has stylish suites and a Michelin restaurant.

Things to do in Anstruther

Here are my favourite things to do in and around Anstruther and Cellardyke.

Read more: things to do in the East Neuk of Fife

Walk the Fife Coastal Path

Anstruther sits on the famous Fife Coastal Path which stretches 123 miles across the whole coast of Fife.

From Anstruther walk to the neighbouring harbour at Crail. First explore Cellerdyke with its tiny 16th century harbour ‘Skinfast Haven’ once home to more than 50 herring boats. The path passes by the Coves, or the ‘Caves of Caiplie’, used as an early site of christian worship.

The harbour at Crail is one of the prettiest in Scotland, so grab a lobster lunch or crab butty from the shack on the pier and sit on the wall and watch the world go by. The return walk from Anstruther to Crail is around 10 miles.

Or head east to Pittenweem where the harbour is stuffed full of working fishing boats and is lined with pan-tilled cottages – influenced by trade with the Netherlands. Visit the fish market to see what the boats have caught that day – there might be herring or langoustines on offer. Pittenweem is home to the tiny St Fillan’s Cave – home to the Irish missionary in the 7th century.

Visit the Isle of May and Anstruther boat trips

From Anstruther harbour, take a trip on the May Princess to the Isle of May, a National Nature Reserve and home to the UK’s largest puffin colony and lots of grey seals. The boat trip will take you around 4-5 hours and includes 2-3 hours to explore the island.

Adrenaline junkies can also take a RIB to the Isle of May for an exhilarating boat trip around the island.

40,000 Puffins can be seen on the Isle of May in summer – April, May, June, July and August – and the island is the UK’s 3rd largest breeding colony.

The Scottish Fisheries Museum

Love boats? Well, Anstruther boasts Scotland’s Fishery Museum, which has 18 antique boats on display, one of which, Reaper, was used in the hit TV series Outlander.

Anstruther Model Solar System

Did you know that Anstruther has its own model solar system? Made up of 11 bronze plates mostly to be found on Shore Street. The 11 plates are fixed apart on the same scale as the solar system – at 1 to 10 thousand million – and extend for 600m across the town. Neptune has to be reached at low tide via stepping stones in The Esplanade.

The Welly Boot Garden at St Monans

Started by local teacher and gardener Win Brown, the The Welly Boot Garden at St Monans is an unusual attraction worth detouring to from Anstruther. Win decided to make use of her grandchildren’s discarded wellington boots – filling them with flowers – and putting them on the village’s slipway. There are now around 200 pairs of boots on display every summer.

Dunino Den

Behind Dunino Church is a wooded area and pagan holy site – Dunino Den. With an altar stone, a carved footprint and a well, it is thought that the den was used for human sacrifice by Druids. Below the altar are carved steps leading down to a small gorge filled with Celtic carvings. Try and find the face carved into the stone. There are often hanging offerings – left by modern pilgrims – in the trees.

Scotland’s Secret Bunker

RAF Troywood or ‘Scotland’s Secret Bunker’ is a “R3” style ROTOR bunker built by the RAF in 1953. Built at the height of the cold war with Russia, the bunker is 24,000sq ft of RAF command centre hidden underground. If Russia had attacked, the bunker was where the government would have run the country – there is even a cinema and a cafe – two stories and 100ft underground. The Bunker is now a tourist attraction and is open from the 1st February to the 30th November each year.

The Caves of Caiplie

Known to locals as The Coves, the Caves of Caiplie are a series of caves in the sandstone along the Fife Coastal Path between Anstruther and Crail. Used as a site of early Christian worship, housing for livestock and even a doocot (a bird house) – the largest is the Chapel cave which is 10 metres deep and inscribed with crosses. The furthest east cave is called the Hermit’s Well, named after the hermit who lived there before WW2.

Where to eat and drink in Anstruther

While Anstruther is famous for its fish and chips, there are lots of places to eat and drink to seek out:

Anstruther Fish and Chips

Anstruther is most famous for the Anstruther Fish Bar, an award winning chip shop, right on the harbour edge. Go and grab your fish supper (or whatever you like, their menu is extensive) sit on one of the many benches looking out to sea and just take it all in… it is so so so good!

More places to eat in Anstruther

The Cellar, Cellardyke – Michelin starred dining in Cellardyke, imaginative tasting menus from Chef Billy Boyter. Book in advance.

The Dreel Tavern, Anstruther – fantastic pub grub in this cosy dog friendly pub

The Kinneuchar Inn – fantastic food in the neighbouring village of Kilconquhar.

Bowhouse Food Market – held monthly, the Bowhouse Market has Street food & food stalls from artisan producers. On site is the lovely Baern Cafe or pick up dinner at the Butchery at Bowhouse.

The Peat Inn – The first restaurant to receive a Michelin star in Scotland, the Peat Inn is a luxuriously cool and stylish restaurant inside a traditional inn.

Shellfish lunch in Crail Harbour – Stroll from Crail’s beautiful restored high street (choose your favourite quirky seaside cottage) via Crail Pottery down to the harbour and its seafood shack ‘The Lobster Hut’.