Aberdour

Aberdour is a small town on the coast of Fife in central Scotland, and nowadays a commuter town for Edinburgh, with a population in 2011 of 1633.

Get in
See Fife for inter-city transport.

Inter-city trains don't stop in Burntisland so you need to change at Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket or Inverkeithing. Stopping trains run from Edinburgh (M-Sa twice an hour, Su hourly) via Haymarket (for airport), Inverkeithing (for Dunfermline) and Dalgety Bay, taking 32 min. They continue to Burntisland, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy, then either Leven, or Markinch (for Glenrothes) and Perth, or Leuchars (for St Andrews) and Dundee. They no longer loop back to Edinburgh via Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Dunfermline.

has a staffed ticket office and machines plus toilets and a waiting room. There is level access to Platform 1 (for Kirkcaldy) and a ramp to Platform 2 (for Edinburgh).

Inter-city buses bypass Aberdour, look for connections at Halbeath or Edinburgh. Stagecoach Fife Bus 7 runs along the coast from Dunfermline to Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay and Aberdour, continuing east to Burntisland, Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy and Leven. It's M-Sa every 30 min and hourly on Sunday.

By car follow M90 over Queensferry Crossing (no toll) then take exit 1C onto A921 east towards Aberdour.

Get around
Aberdour is small and walkable. You can walk the Fife Coastal Path then ride back on the train or bus.

See

 * Aberdour House on the lane towards the castle is where the castle owners moved to. It's in good condition but privately owned, just admire it from the lane.
 * The Sensory Garden is next to the railway station on A921. It was created in 2010 on the site of a former primary school. Open 24 hours, free.
 * is the main beach, half a mile east of town.
 * is the headland south of Silversands; Room with a View restaurant is here. The derelict jetty was built to test radio-controlled torpedoes in World War One.
 * is closer to town but is a quieter beach. The black is from coal outcrops on the sea bed, so coal grains continually wash ashore.
 * is the ruin of a church dating to the 12th century or earlier, all that survives of the old village of Dalgetty. It was abandoned in the 19th century and is now set in woodland along the Fife Coastal Path.
 * is the island seen to the south. It's historically part of Aberdour, and its abbey once governed St Bridget's Kirk, but to visit you need to take a boat trip from South Queensferry.
 * is the island seen to the south. It's historically part of Aberdour, and its abbey once governed St Bridget's Kirk, but to visit you need to take a boat trip from South Queensferry.

Do

 * Fife Coastal Path: going east, keep just shore-side of the railway track. The path passes the castle then comes onto Silversands Bay, with a broad firm track (offroad bikes okay, street bikes at a pinch). Eventually it ducks under the railway and comes into Burntisland. Going west from Aberdour, leave A921 at Dovecot Park to come onto the trail to St Briget's Kirk then along the coast to Dalgety Bay and Inverkeithing.
 * Golf: Aberdour GC is south edge of the village, white tees 5447 yards, par 67. A visitor round is £35 midweek, £50 weekend.
 * Highland games are held in Inverkeithing in early August.

Buy

 * Dalgety Bay two miles west has the shops, with Tesco, Aldi and Asda.

Eat

 * McTaggart's Cafe is at 21 High St, open M-Sa 9:30AM-4PM, Su 10:30AM-4PM.

Drink

 * Foresters Arms at 35 High St is open Su-Th 11AM-midnight, F Sa 11AM-1AM.

Connect
Aberdour has 4G from all UK carriers. As of Sep 2021, 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Burntisland is the next town west. The port is grubby but then comes a long beach.
 * North Queensferry lies east under the iconic Forth Bridge. The coast further upstream is industrial.
 * Dunfermline is Scotland's medieval capital, with an abbey, and the birthplace of tycoon philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.