Walks you can reach from South Gyle 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.

Walk details: Railwalks.

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

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.

Warnings: A few short climbs.

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.

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.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Very nice section of The Fife Coastal Path; a stunning section of the Fife Coast Path. A stunning section of the Fife Coastal Path with good surfaces throughout and minimal gradients and becoming a little industrial on the final approach to Burntisland. The pavement is narrow through Aberdour. Follows the Fife Coastal Path; the journey can be broken at Aberdour (station and buses) or combined with the Inverkeithing to Dalgety Bay route. A little waterfall near Aberdour is worth seeing.

Lunch: Easy access to facilities along and at either end of the route.

Warnings: The pavement is narrow through Aberdour.

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. Extensive woodland.

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: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

Walk details: Slow Ways.