Now that the sunshine is here – to stay hopefully – many of us on days out in Fife will be craving a Mr Whippy.
Why do we love the Mr Whippy so?
Is it the nostalgia linked to school holidays of the past, or some thrill we get from dodging seagulls?
Regardless of the reasons behind our obsession, it is important to know where you can find the seaside treat for cheap.
So I went on a hunt to try to find the cheapest Mr Whippy in Fife.
Read on to find out:
- The full results in a graph of the cheapest (and priciest) whippy ice creams I found in Fife.
- The reasons ice cream sellers gave for their costs.
First Fife Mr Whippy of the day – Dook, St Andrews
The simple but well-loved dessert is harder to find than I thought.
Though Fife is laden with famous ice cream shops – including Jannetta’s and Luvian’s to name but a few – these and many others do not actually sell a Mr Whippy.
Popular dessert parlour Novelli’s in Burntisland only serves them at the weekends, so I was not in luck on the Tuesday I headed out on my hunt.
Even the Harbour cafe, near the historic pier in St Andrews, doesn’t serve a Mr Whippy. Gutted!
Bright and early on Tuesday morning, I began my hunt for the cheapest Mr Whippy in Fife at Dook, St Andrews.
Dook is a quaint cafe on the university town’s West Sands, serving up coffees, sandwiches, bakes and more – including what I was looking for, a Mr Whippy.
The cafe is situated metres from the iconic St Andrews beach – cue obligatory Chariots of Fire music – and just across the road from the St Andrews Links golf course.
Staff members of the Fife spot Linsey Cutler and Lillian Horton were surprised to see me ordering a Mr Whippy so early in the day.
But they happily obliged with the odd request.
The Mr Whippy ice cream from Dook, St Andrews, cost £3 total, with the flake itself costing 50p within that price.
While it is a long time since the Mr Whippy cost 99p – thanks inflation – £3 is relatively cheap for the seaside treat.
Linsey says there were discussions about upping the price, but the owners refused to raise it, in order to keep the cost low for customers wanting a treat at the beach.
The cafe really is in such an ideal location, so it’s great that they aren’t charging a fortune for Mr Whippy.
Address: Dook, W Sands Rd, St Andrews KY16 9JD
The Cheesy Toast Shack serves more than cheesy toasties
Another shoreside staple in St Andrews is The Cheesy Toast Shack.
This takeaway serves up iconic toasties packed with macaroni and cheese.
Also known as the biggest sandwich you will ever eat.
But situated once again metres from the sea at East Sands, they of course offer the Mr Whippy for Fifers and tourists looking to enjoy seaside vibes.
Just like Dook, this Fife Mr Whippy from The Cheesy Toast Shack also cost £3 total, with the flake at 50p within that price.
Staff member David Larg was working when I visited. He says: “I think it’s quite cheap still.
“The Mr Whippy ice cream is less expensive than buying scoop ice cream, so you don’t need to charge that much.
“It’s important to keep it a reasonable price.”
David says the Mr Whippy used to be £2.
“We were cheaper before, but we had to go up as the prices of everything go up,” he says.
“It’s impossible to sell them for 99p, but it would be good if we could!”
Address: Woodburn Pl, St Andrews KY16 8LA
Scoop, Anstruther, served up the priciest Mr Whippy
My next step on my hunt for the cheapest Fife Mr Whippy brought me to Anstruther.
The harbour was packed with tourists even on a cloudy Tuesday lunchtime.
Ice cream shop Scoop is in a great position, overlooking the wee boats, and close to famous fish and chip shop the Anstruther Fish Bar.
For a Mr Whippy at Scoop, I paid £3.20. The flake was 60p within that price.
This was the priciest Mr Whippy of the day, though not by much.
Perhaps you are paying for the location with this one, though I admittedly did expect the prices in St Andrews to be the highest.
There’s also a wee wafer with the logo on it – and they’re the only place that had this – so perhaps that is the unspoken reason behind the additional 20p.
“We just do a set price for all ice cream, we didn’t want to do a separate price for Mr Whippy and our hard serve,” says Louise Lewis, who runs Scoop with her husband, Chris.
“We just divided the cost between all our ice cream and then we came up with that.”
Address: 29 Shore St, Anstruther KY10 3AQ
Nicolson’s, Pittenweem, was a cute and quirky spot – though it is cash only…
Just along the coast at Pittenweem, I found Nicholson Sweets & Ice Cream Shop.
This shop is cute, quirky and colourful, with an array of coastal curiosities laid out in front of the shopfront.
The wee Mr Whippy costs £2.10 here, and it’s £2.75 for a regular one, with the flake costing an additional 30p.
This brought my total for a regular Mr Whippy to £3.05.
However, owner John Nicolson is staunchly cash only – as many signs behind the till state.
With only my phone on hand to pay, I had to spend more than the £3.05 for the Mr Whippy.
So, I bought an oyster ice cream, which brought the total up to £5.30 on my visit.
Explaining the reasons for his price, John tells me: “It’s a lot cheaper to buy than other ice cream.
“So we thought we’d pass the lower price onto the customer.”
John also serves Jannettas ice cream, which he charges more for, but it is actually more popular.
He says they sell 20 of the regular scoop ice cream to one Mr Whippy.
Address: 17 Mid Shore, Pittenweem, Anstruther KY10 2NL
Last but not least, Leven’s Mr Whippy
My last stop of the day on my Fife Mr Whippy hunt brought me to Leven for the first time.
The Beach Coffee House sits within the Beachcomber Amusements on Leven’s promenade.
Though this doesn’t look like much from the outside, the arcade is bursting with nostalgia.
Here is where I found the cheapest Fife Mr Whippy of the day.
This cost me just £1.50! Though to keep things fair, I have compared the price of their regular size Mr Whippy.
That still comes in first place, at a cheap £2.50. The flake costs 50p within that price.
Staff member Tyler Weir served me. He says: “The mix is quite expensive, but it goes quite far.
“The price of that has gone up quite a bit but we want to keep it as cheap as possible for customers.”
Though keep in mind that they only usually serve these at weekends or during the holidays.
The Fife Mr Whippy prices in full:
Here is the rundown of the priciest and the cheapest ice creams I found on my Fife Mr Whippy hunt.
I don’t remember the days of a 99p Mr Whippy, but it’s good to see that these shops are keen to keep the prices low as they can.
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