East Sands

St Andrews is a popular visitor destination in Fife and its beaches are one of the main reasons for visiting. East Sands with its café play park and easy access is an ideal venue for a fun filled family day out at the seaside.  In 2005 East Sands is a Marine Conservation Society recommended beach due to the high standard of water quality achieved by this beach.  Facilities include, Lifeguards, First Aid, Toilets, Childrens play area, car parking, cafe and the East Sands Leisure Centre is located next to the beach.  The beach is also connected to the Fife Coastal Path.

East Sands is a small sandy bay.  Beaches are dynamic environments which means they are constantly changing.  This is especially true for East Sands where the sand on and offshore has a habit of changing rather suddenly.  So don't always expect the beach to be where you left it! 

East Sands is a shallow bay and lots of fish and crabs live there.  It is also one of the best places to see Dolphins.  Fulmars breed on the nearby castle rock cliffs and they can often be seen in and around the beach. Gannets are seen too as they pursue mackerel and other fish shoals. 

It's not only the living things at East Sands that are interesting, the area is also full of fossils.  The fossils found in the area tell the story of what the area was like a long time ago.  Many fossil shells can be found in the rocks.  It is believed that the area was part of a giant river mouth. 

Geology has also conspired to provide ample rock pools full of slippery butterfish, wary hermit crabs and gooey red Sea Anemones. 

The Sand Dunes found at West Sands are internationally important.  They are part of the Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary Special Area for Conservation.  Sand dunes are special for many reasons.  They provide a natural defence against the sea and they are home to many important plants and animals. 

Sand dunes, like the ones at West Sands take a long time to develop.  They start out as small mounds of sand which gather around pieces of drift wood and seaweed on the beach.  As more sand gathers the sand dune grows and plants and animals begin to live there.  It seems hard to believe that the famous Old Course started as a mound on sand on the beach. 

A large variety of plants and animals can be seen at West Sands.  Dune grasses like Marram and Sea Lyme can be seen.  These grasses are very important as they give they stabilise the sand dune.  Many birds nest and feed in sand dunes.  Song Thrushes can be seen breaking snail shells on rocks.  A wide range of insects including beetles, spiders and caterpillars also live in the sand dunes. 

Offshore the bay is very important to sea ducks such as Common and Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and Eider who spend the winter there.  Flocks of Red-breasted Merganser also pass through the area. The wide sandy strands provide touch down points for migrating waders and weary geese.  And on a very calm day you might even see Dolphins and Porpoise.