Crail Village - Walks in Crail Village

If you go to Crail Museum and Tourist Information Centre which is in Marketgate, you'll find some leaflets with details about walks around Crail, and in the summer months there are sometimes guided walks.

Our aim with this Feature Article is to give you a flavour for the short walks we take round the village, rather than to give you details of walks more suitable for serious walkers or hikers.

Because Crail is a small village, one of the pleasant things about being there is the fact that you can wander along to the shops in the High Street for an ice cream, newspaper or daily provisions, making a circular tour along Nethergate, up Tolbooth Wynd or Rose Wynd and back along Marketgate and down Kirkgate. This route is reasonably flat making it suitable for all ages. The wide pavements of Nethergate mean that we've been happy to let our children learn to ride bicycles and scooters on that part of our walks, knowing they're relatively safe.

If you have stamina for slightly longer expeditions, another oft-enjoyed walk for us is the route from the cottage down the path to Roome Bay, then turning along the sea front taking the path to the right past all the gardens of the houses in Nethergate South. Some of the gardens have been undergoing interesting transformations over the years, and we always like to stop to see what unusual vegetables and crops are being grown in the Crail Pottery owner's garden, as well as the amazing stonework in the garden of the cottage near the steps which lead up to the Watch House and Castle Walk.

It's good fun to continue the walk round Castle Walk and on down to the Harbour to see if there are any crab or lobsters for sale at the shed there, or to see the fishing boats or visit the beach beyond the Harbour which is sandy and has a gentle slope to the sea. The 'Hen's Ladder' path leads up from the Harbour to the west end of Crail, and makes possible another circular walk, taking in a trip to the shops on the way back.

If it's too windy or you don't feel like the climb round the cliff paths, then another popular visit is a trip to Crail Garden Centre. There's a new café at the Garden Centre too, which has great home baked cakes, freshly made soup and main dishes and coffees and teas all day. Crail Garden Centre is famous for water gardens, and has an amazing selection of pumps, ponds, statues and water features to interest the gardeners amongst us. We continue our walk along Beech Walk Park and back through the grounds of Crail Church or Denburn Wood, back to the top of the Kirkgate and home to Sandcastle Cottage.

Susan McNaughton - October 2006