‘Da da da da derrrr da …” The water is foot-numbingly freezing but I mime a joyful slow-motion jog through the surf all the same, while my brother, wrapped up in fleece and walking boots, hums the Chariots of Fire theme from the beach. The title sequence of the 1981 film – famously accompanied by Vangelis’s synth-and-piano score – was shot 39 years ago here at West Sands, St Andrews.

We’re here to walk some of the Fife Coastal Path, a 117-mile route that opened in 2003, using buses to access individual sections. It turns out to be a gold-medal-winning holiday, freezing water and all.

The North Sea in spring may not offer tropical temperatures, but Fife is the sunniest place in Scotland, with lower annual rainfall than Rome. There are miles of butterscotch-coloured beaches and the rocky shore has a fringe of wild flowers. We are glamping on the coast near Elie, at Catchpenny Safari Lodges, close to the cornucopian Ardross farm shop, where we buy bread, strawberries, purple sprouting broccoli and cheerful rainbow chard.

We arrive in the area known as the East Neuk – the most northerly coast of the Firth of Forth – in the evening. As we walk the short distance from bus stop to tent, skylarks rise and sing over the fields and fat brown corn buntings trill in the grass. All Catchpenny’s electricity is produced on site by wind and solar power and there’s a stove and fire pit to mitigate the bracing easterlies. Armchairs on the sheltered veranda face over the waves towards the clifftop ruins of Newark castle. Earlier, on the bus from Edinburgh, we’d had glimpses of supposedly haunted MacDuff’s castle and the tall standing stones at Lundin Links. We crossed the Forth River on the 1960s road bridge, which since early 2018 has been open only to buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians. Cars heading for Fife must use the Queensferry Crossing, opened in 2017.

I’ve explored Fife’s lovely coastline closer to Edinburgh on several recent trips, from the cobbled lanes of Culross to the harbour at Dysart. But I think this area of wild cliffs and fishing towns south-east of St Andrews might be the best yet, particularly for walkers. There are (almost miraculously) regular buses, even on Sundays and late at night. The hourly X60/X58 bus connects Edinburgh and St Andrews, while the 95 (all operated by Stagecoach) takes in colourful coastal towns such as Crail (luxurious cakes at the Harbour Gallery tearoom). Both work on a hail and ride system in rural areas, so you can flag down the bus anywhere safe.

Behind us on the bus to St Andrews, two philosophy students are discussing epistemology; in a cafe in the town, we overhear talk of “eagles” and “albatrosses” (from golfers, not birdwatchers, judging by their gear). We follow the coast path south, past the towering ruined cathedral, spikes of volcanic rock, swirling stacks of sandstone and smart black and white eider ducks. The path runs over wildflower-blanketed cliffs and through tunnels of glowing gorse and delicate blackthorn.

Beyond Kingsbarns golf links, we turn right along a green valley into the Cambo estate (entry £5.50), where the walled garden hides tapestries of scarlet tulips and grape hyacinths under drifting apple blossom. The garden herb salad in the new veggie Stables cafe comes topped with fennel fronds and wild garlic flowers. We buy fresh rhubarb from the shop for tea and stop off at the nearby Kingsbarns distillery to sample gin flavoured with Cambo elderflowers. The bus stop is five minutes’ stagger away, and there’s a picnic table next to it.

In Anstruther, clean sheets are flapping in the breeze by Cellardyke harbour. It’s too windy for a boat trip to May Island so we have a look round the Tardis-like Scottish Fisheries Museum (adult £9, child free) before fighting the seagulls off our haddock and chips from award-winning Anstruther Fish Bar. On 4 July, the museum, founded by volunteers, will be 50 years old: celebrations begin with a newly restored sailing boat leading a flotilla to the harbour outside. Inside, displays chart a winding voyage – from eel traps and lobster creels, through sail, steam and herring markets to motors and quotas – via old boatyards and a whole fisherman’s cottage.

Pittenweem, five minutes away by bus, is the heart of Fife’s modern fishing industry. On a cobbled alley near the fish market, we visit St Fillan’s Cave, borrowing the key from a shop nearby: a sloping tunnel leads down through water-carved limestone to a simple rocky altar with a cross.

This stretch of coast is peppered with interesting relics. There are castles, caves and lighthouses, a salt-panning windmill and the arch-windowed tower where 18th-century beauty Lady Anstruther would strip off for her daily swim.

We’re planning to catch a train back to Edinburgh from Kirkcaldy (the art gallery next to the station is free and has atmospheric seascapes by painters such as William McTaggert). I’ve twice spotted the dark head of a seal bobbing in the waves near the coastal railway. For now, we stroll to Elie and the Ship Inn, for creamy cullen skink fish soup (£6.95) and fresh crab linguine (£18.50 as a main). By the time we get to a board of Scottish cheeses with quince paste and oatcakes (£7.50), late golden light is spilling over the sea outside into the friendly, flag-floored bar and I can’t stop smiling.

• Stagecoach provided megarider bus tickets, £30 for a week, covering Fife and Edinburgh. Accommodation was provided by Catchpenny Safari Lodges (sleep six, from £375 for four nights). LNER returns from London to Edinburgh cost from £68

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