Walks you can reach from Cowdenbeath by train

Scenic coastal walk on the Fife Coastal Path beneath the iconic Forth Bridge, through charming towns including Aberdour with its harbour and sandy beach, on to Burntisland.

Warnings: Exposed to coastal weather; pack layers and waterproofs.

Walk details: ScotRail (tips).

Recommended: Route into Edinburgh along the shoreline and old railway path, with some modest climbing.

Coastal: three quarters along the coast.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 6h30–13h30

Walk details: Railwalks.

Recommended: Urban walk with some climbing, through parkland with views over the city, and along Portobello promenade.

Time: 3h–5h30

Warnings: A quarter urban. Some climbing.

Walk details: Railwalks.

Recommended: A very green, quiet and largely traffic-free route, gently downhill towards Edinburgh for most of the way, with a good surface throughout. It follows the Water of Leith Walkway and then the Union Canal towpath and ending through the city's parks and streets. A few steepish slopes but no stairs; the river path can be muddy in places. Follows National Cycle Route 75 for most of its length and is part of the John Muir Way; the Colinton Tunnel is a highlight. Princes Street Gardens open at 7am and close at dusk.

Waterway: three quarters beside rivers and canals.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h

Lunch: Cafes near the route at Juniper Green, though most open around 10am.

Warnings: The Slateford Aqueduct has only a narrow, cobbled towpath with a drop, so take care and be patient when passing others.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: Varied walk, urban at both ends with scenic views in between.

Coastal: almost all along the coast.

Time: 6h–12h

Lunch: Cafe at Dysart Harbour midway.

Warnings: Some climbing.

Walk details: Railwalks.

Recommended: Mainly hard-surfaced with a few short climbs, around suburban Dalgety Bay with some sections secluded by trees and great views to the Forth bridges.

Coastal: nine tenths along the coast.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h30

Warnings: A few short climbs.

Walk details: Railwalks.

A varied rural walk on tracks and paths through fields and woodland, including a picturesque wooded glen and burn and with short pavement sections beside busier roads at each end. Over 90% off-road. Rough and occasionally steep paths. Mostly uses Fife's core paths. Highlights include the late-18th-century designed landscape of Raith Park and the wooded ravines of the Den Burn. No places to eat or buy food between Lochgelly and Kirkcaldy. A bus service runs between the two towns.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h30

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

Warnings: One short core-path section involves climbing a very rickety gate wrapped in barbed wire through undergrowth; it can be avoided via a couple of quiet roads.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

The vista back onto the Forth Bridge keeps changing; The Rail Bridge viewpoint is stunning. A longer route following the Fife Pilgrim Way almost the whole way, mostly off-road or on small roads and tracks across farmland, woodland, playing fields and fields of sheep, with long moderate slopes becoming steep over Castland Hill. Surfaces vary from tarmac and firm gravel to rough, muddy grassy field edges and with a long pavement stretch into Dunfermline. Follows the Fife Pilgrim Way (Inverkeithing to Dunfermline section), waymarked with thigh-high wooden posts. Rosyth is described as Scotland's only Garden City. A post office, convenience store, café and takeaway lie a few minutes off the route near Hilton Road.

Time: 3h–5h30

Lunch: The route avoids most habitation in the middle; a post office, convenience store, café and takeaway are a few minutes off-route near Hilton Road. Many places to eat in central Dunfermline and in Inverkeithing.

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a quarter of the walk. A long, busy and unpleasant stretch along and across the A985, though it has a wide bank/verge. The route is a little unclear across farmland near Wester Gellet and at Douglas Bank Cemetery. Graded strenuous; muddy in places.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Time: 5h–10h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.