Tentsmuir Forest Park

I love this walk. It's a bit of a trek for me to get there, but once a month the mutleys and I hit the road for an afternoon on the beach and in the forest!

Tenstmuir forest park costs £2 for the entire day (cheaper than parking on the sea front at St Andrews). Come across the Tay Bridge and follow the signs for St Andrews. It's a forest right next to a beach. There is a play park for the kids and a toilet block next to the car park, but other than that it's pretty much forest and beach. The car park and road is not surfaced, but it actually quite firm.

From the car park head through the trees, across the dunes and onto the beach. You can walk about 2 -3 miles uninterrupted over this sand, and in the summer the dunes are covered in gorgeous alpines, grasses and heather. I've seen dolphins, seals and puffins from this beach, so the wildlife does not suck either (though watch your feet for the occasional jelly fish if you're going barefoot!). The beach is really unspoiled, and very clean. Look out to sea for the boats in the distance.

When you've had enough sand just do a 90 degrees away from the sea, back through the dunes, and you'll find yourself in the forest (deciduous). There are well marked paths and plenty of them. You could easily add another 6 miles to your walk.

My dogs Start to get excited when we cross the Tay bridge (impressive since we live 75 miles away!) so I've taken this as proof that Tentsmuir is one of their favourite walks.

There is however one issue with this location for those of you who have dogs of a nervous disposition. RAF Leuchars is, for the short term it seems, less than 10 miles away, and you can occasionally get low flying jets doing routine exercises. They can be loud, and if your dog doesn't like this sort of thing (like one of mine), you'll need to keep a lead handy. I also recommend carrying water for the mutts, as if they're like mine, they'll try to drink the sea in the summer months!

All in all well worth the £2 fee. Eateries, shops etc available in St Andrews, Leuchars or Dundee. Enjoy!