Walks you can reach from Dunfermline City 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.

About half on road, half off-road, with gorse, grazing animals, kissing gates, stiles and small lochs. Most road sections are small and quiet or in-town with good pavements and though there is a 2 km stretch along the A909. Includes the Old North Road local heritage trail and a footpath along the banks of Stenhouse Reservoir, with likely views to the Firth of Forth. Optional side trips up Dunearn Hill (an ancient hill-fort) or Burntisland Binn. Bring food and drink as there is nowhere to stop and eat; bus routes on the B925 and B9157.

Time: 3h–6h30

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a fifth of the walk.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Time: 4h–8h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Roughly half on road (mostly quieter roads) and half off-road on Fife's core paths and including a large field with no path to follow south of Auchtertool. There are kissing gates and possibly stiles and muddy tracks. Almost all on Fife's core paths. No places to buy food mid-route.

Time: 4h–8h30

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

End-of-walk reward: There is a café at the Ecology Centre on Kinghorn Loch, about a mile outside Kinghorn.

Warnings: Take particular care on the road heading north from Auchtertool, which has narrow verges and tight bends, and at the B9157 crossing at Kilrie.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

About three-quarters off-road on core paths, with grazing land, kissing gates, self-closing gates, slopes of about 10% and possibly stiles and muddy tracks. There are pavemented in-town road sections at each end. Goes along the banks of Camilla Loch and through Beveridge Park, part of a historic designed landscape. There may be grazing water buffalo. Bring food and drink as there is nowhere to stop and eat. An alternative route avoids the unwelcoming Raith Estate.

Time: 4h–8h

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

Warnings: One road section just north of Auchtertool has tight bends and needs extra caution.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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.

Time: 3h–5h30

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a fifth of the walk.

Walk details: Slow Ways.