21 Shoregate sleeps up to 4 people. The master bedroom has an extremely comfortable super-king bed and four windows, two of them overlooking the sea. The second bedroom overlooks the picturesque stepped gables of Castle Terrace and has ful-sized twin beds. Open the windows at night and you'll hear the waves lapping on the shore as you drift off... Our bed linen is pure Egyptian cotton from The White Company or unbleached, organic cotton from Nour Organic. Our towels are also from The White Company. The bathroom is snug but well-appointed, with a bath and a Grohe rainshower system with excellent water pressure.
There is a small, secluded garden behind the cottage. At the bottom you will find a terrace perched above rooftops tumbling down to the harbour with a wide-open view of the Firth and the Isle of May beyond. There is also a side garden where you can sit tucked in behind the hedge with your morning coffee, and a view of the sea.
Small can be beautiful especially with the ever-changing Scottish weather, and the cottage is cosy in the winter. When the seas are wild, snuggling up to the wood-burning stove with a hot chocolate or something stronger is sheer bliss. Nestled on the sofa, you can gaze through the back window to the garden and the sea under the cliff beyond.
We think it is important that you feel welcome as soon as you step inside the door. For this reason you will find fresh flowers (often from the garden in summer) and a basket of delicious Scottish groceries awaiting you. Soap, shampoo and bubbles from Arran Aromatics are provided in the bathroom.
Whether you are planning a romantic long weekend or some quality time with the family, the peace and seclusion of 21 Shoregate offer a respite for busy lives.
Please note that due to the interior design of the cottage, we do not accept children under the age of 6.
Prices
Bookings are weekly with a Friday changeover day, except from end November to end February, when we also offer short breaks with variable changeover day.
- High season: £1,200 per week
- Mid season: £840 a week
- Low season: £640 a week.
Short breaks, minimum four nights stay with variable changeover day, at £430 for four nights. Available in winter only.
Christmas and New Year - £195 a night, minimum four nights.
Everything is included in the price except:
£20 supplement for bringing a dog.
Directions
Crail is 9 miles from St Andrews and 52 miles from Edinburgh.
The house is located on Shoregate, which is the road leading from the Fife coast road A917 down to Crail harbour. If you have a navigator, the postcode is KY10 3SU. From the main road running through Crail (A917) follow the sign to Crail Harbour, taking Shoregate, which is opposite the East Neuk Hotel.
National rail connections from Leuchars (about half an hour away). The Caledonian sleeper from London to Aberdeen stops at Leuchars (every night except Saturday) www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper
Enterprise Car Hire in Cupar (01334 650036) will meet you at Leuchars and drive you to Cupar to do the paperwork and pick up your car. However they will not do this for the Aberdeen sleeper which gets in too early for them at around quarter to six in the morning. If you take the sleeper, get a bus or taxi from Leuchars to 21 Shoregate and have Enterprise pick you up from there from 8:30am to get your car. Or else get off the train in Dundee (20 mins further on from Leuchars) where you can choose from several car hire companies not far from the rail station. (Enterprise in Dundee is open from 7am.)
Alternatively, catch the Edinburgh sleeper, which leaves later - close to midnight from Euston Station in London - and gets in to Edinburgh at 7.22 (slightly different times on a Sunday). You can have breakfast or coffee at Edinburgh Waverley Station and in leisurely fashion catch the local train to Leuchars, arriving a few minutes past nine … where you can be met by a hire car, or else take a bus into St Andrews bus station and then catch the local bus (‘Leven’ on the front). The bus stops a hundred yards from the cottage.
Regular train services to Edinburgh also run from Cupar and Kirkcaldy. Phone National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.
Air:
You can fly to Edinburgh International Airport and connect via the airport bus or tram – with the rail service to Fife.
From Dundee Airport – ‘gateway to the home of golf’ – you can fly to London City and connect onwards to Europe. Flights also go direct to Jersey.
