Newton Hill

The walk up Newton Hill takes about twenty minutes from St Andrews, and you'll find yourself on what amounts to a proper vantage point over the town and the Fife coastline beyond. It's not dramatic stuff - this is a gentle peak rather than anything that demands serious fell-walking boots - but the views across the North Sea toward the Bass Rock and beyond make it well worth the leg work.

You get a real sense of why St Andrews settled where it did. The cathedral ruins sit below you, the golf courses spread out like a green patchwork, and on a clear day you can pick out East Lothian across the water. The hill itself is unremarkable scrubland, honestly, but the payoff is the outlook. Walkers will appreciate the straightforward hike; families with younger kids might find the ascent a bit of a slog if they're not keen on slopes, though determined toddlers have managed it.

Go early morning if you can stomach it - the light's better and you'll dodge the weekend crowds from St Andrews itself. It costs nothing and there's no formal entrance, just a path heading uphill from the outskirts of town. Give yourself an hour including the walk back.

If you're based at Larick Campsite or Tayport Links - both five minutes' drive away - this is a useful morning outing before heading into the town proper. Clayton Caravan Park's a bit further but still handy for an afternoon detour.