Walks you can reach from Lochgelly 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: 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.

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.

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: 4h–8h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Time: 3h–5h30

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

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Time: 5h–10h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Mostly off-road paths and farm tracks through quiet countryside, with pavement sections through the towns at each end. Good underfoot for much of the way and but boggy ground around Hill of Beath. An off-road cycle path from the Leys Park Road car park parallels the suggested roadside start and keeps the walk off-road.

Time: 2h30–5h30

Warnings: Navigation becomes difficult around Hill of Beath where recent works have disrupted the old paths, and the ground there can be boggy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.