Lodgepole Pine

...also known as Tamarack, Shore pine, Twisted pine, or Contorta pine.

I used the "Picture this" app on my phone to identify and get information on this.
It is indigenous to western North America, and was a favourite source of timber for Native Americans.  The primary way they used it was to build lodges, hence the name.

There are several of these trees alongside the dunes at the woods we go to regularly.
We went to the woods this morning expecting it to be very busy, as the caravan park was open and busy, and when we drove through Elie there were people everywhere.  But there was only a handful of cars so we had a super quiet walk in dappled sunshine with shadows on the trees, and the air filled with birdsong.  We saw people for the first time when we had been walking in the woods for almost an hour and headed down towards the dunes and the beach.  Even then it was only a handful of people that we saw.  "Extra" - a couple enjoying the view of Shell Bay.
Geordie was doing really well until his nose alerted him to the fact there was a dead seal on the beach.  So, of course he had to throw himself on it and roll around, getting every bit of his coat well covered in stinky rotting seal flesh.  Oh boy!  It`s such fun having a dog!  Life never gets boring, exhausting maybe, but never boring.
So, it was home for a shower, shampoo, and blow-dry.  Aaaaarrgh!

I`m now enjoying a glass of Cairn O` Mohr Elderberry Wine, described as dark, rich, fruity and wild.  It`s going down rather well.