Communities in north east Fife have gathered to step up their campaign for the creation of an 11-mile shared path stretching from Crail to St Andrews.
A steering group made up of elected and community representatives, interested locals and businesses was set up in 2017 and they held their latest meeting at the weekend to see how the project is progressing.
All who attended were enthused by the ongoing efforts towards their goal, with funding and support already received from the Sustrans Communities Links programme to carry out a feasibility study for the route.
Comprehensive landowner permission and a maintenance plan that will allow the development to go forward are also in the works, and the hope is that the Crail to St Andrews section will form part of a wider ‘East Neuk 50’ initiative that will link Kirkcaldy to Dundee via a single coastal shared use path.
Local campaigner Wendy Chamberlain said: “It was good to discuss with members of the cycle path group how the project is going.
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“I was encouraged by the plans and look forward to seeing the path being used by cyclists in Crail and St Andrews and along the East Neuk.
“Shared use paths such as this one are just what we need in Fife, and around Scotland, if we are to make the most of our wonderful scenery and encourage more of us to switch from cars to active travel for a more sustainable transport model.”
The project has been backed by local Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie, who said the weekend’s open meeting had been a “big success”.
A number of presentations were laid on for members of the public, as well as opportunities to try electric bikes.
“I dropped in to find out how it went and offer my support to overcome any remainder obstacles for the project,” Mr Rennie said.
“It was fun to try out one of the electric bikes. The technology is fairly simple but a great idea.
“These bikes could make all the difference for people who cycle to commute or want to use them for longer distances, or in hilly areas.”
The creation of a maintenance plan is understood to be a key aspect in developing funding applications, while landowner consent will also be needed to allow funding bids to proceed.
