Bathing water quality at six Fife beaches rated excellent after latest inspections

But three were only deemed ‘sufficient’ as coastal towns across the Kingdom geared up for the summer tourist season.

The ratings were unveiled by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) as 2021 was declared the year of the staycation.

Across Scotland, more bathing waters (34%) have been rated as ‘excellent’ since tighter standards first came into force in 2015 – and none in Fife were deemed to be poor.

Terry A’Hearn, SEPA chief executive, said: “We hope Scotland’s weather will enable both residents and visitors to enjoy our seaside resorts and beaches over the summer months.

“With 94% of our beaches already meeting strict environmental standards, it’s great to see that there has been a continued general improvement in classifications over the last few years.”

Fife’s top six-rated beaches - all deemed ‘excellent’ - included Billow Ness at Anstruther; Broome Bay in Crail; Elie Harbour and Ruby Bay; Kingsbarns and St Andrews’ West Sands.

Bathing waters at a further fiver Fife beaches were deemed good - Aberdour’s Silver Sands, Burntisland, Pettycur at Kinghorn, Seafield in Kirkcaldy, and East Sands, St Andrews.

Black Sands at Aberdour, Kinghorn harbour, and Leven were rated sufficient.

SEPA monitors water quality during the season, which runs until mid-September.

Sampling results are published online, and SEPA also has daily water quality predictions for 28 beaches online daily to help visitors decide whether their activities will include bathing, or if they will just enjoy on-shore activities.

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