Many of the major links within this site are sourced from data provided by the Gazetteer for Scotland at http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/ and used with their permission.

Scotland, Fife,
Must-See Attractions.

Map Of Fife

Abbot House

  The oldest building in Dunfermline, West Fife, situated in the Maygate at the centre of the burgh.
Although it was built on the line of the old abbey wall, it was never the home of an Abbot of Dunfermline. Constructed in the 16th century after the Reformation, it was probably built for Robert Pitca irn, Commendator (lay administrator) of the old Abbey estates.
In 1994 the building was opened as a museum tracing the story of the town from Pictish times to the present day.

Auchtermuchty -Town House

  Auchtermuchty's name - the field of the pigs - indicates that the community started as an agricultural one. The original field for the pigs was probably cleared from the forest which covered most of Scotland in medieval times. On the higher ground above the marshes of the Howe of Fife the land was fertile.
  When the Scottish Monarchs began to stay at Falkland during the 15th century the village of Auchtermuchty started to grow, providing provisions for the Royal Court and accommodations for those who could not find it, or afford it, in Falkland. Thus though agriculture remained the mainstay of the village, by the beginning of the 16th century Auchtermuchty was turning into a commercial center.
  The Royal Charter of 1517 allowed the Burgh to hold weekly markets on a Wednesday, and a public fair starting on St. Serf's day, lasting for eight days. The Burgh itself was allowed to buy and sell wine, candlewax, woollen cloth, linen cloth and other merchandise. In addition, tradesman off all types were allowed to set up shops in town.
  Auchtermuchty became a trading center situated ideally on the Stirling - Kinross - St. Andrews road and the Falkland across to Newburgh road.There was produce and grain from the farms and fish from the River Tay and Loch Rossie, which was not drained until 1805. Auchtermuchty at an early stage became a center for weaving linen which was processed in a bleachfield just north of the Burgh.
  In 1728 the present Town House with its characteristic steeple was built. The weekly markets were held at the Mercat Cross outside. The Town Officer resplendent in gold braided black cap, directed traders to their stalls with his sword. The Councillors of the Burgh tested the grain and measures.
  By 1755 the population of the parish had risen to 1,308 people, of whom about 1,000 lived in the village. In the next 75 years the  population tripled.There were now 700 households in the well cultivated parish. The increase was partly due to to a fall in child mortality, but mainly due to the great increase in the very skilled business of handloom weaving.
  There were nine farmers employing 85 laborers and thirty eight small holders, employing no laborers. Manufacturing workers had reached 402, and the number of persons employed in the retail trade had jumped to 246. Prosperity had also brought many  professional and other " educated " men to the Burgh.
  There were about 1,030 handlooms in the parish in 1839, of which 800 were in the Burgh. A good weaver could make 35 pounds per year in wages. During the next 50 years the weaving became mechanized and Auchtermuchty's heyday was over.
  Auchtermuchty is now a quiet village with a much admired
Town Square and other picturesque burgh features. The village is the location for a TV Series called " Dr Finlay's Casebook " which is often shown on American TV on PBS. " Muchty " ,as  it is known locally, is certainly worth a visit and is an excellent place to stop on your travels for a Bar Lunch.

Balbirnie Park

A 415-acre country park to the north-west of Markinch in Fife, which has within its bounds an outstanding collection of rhododendrons, an 18-hole golf course, a caravan park and the Balbirnie Craft Centre where clothing, furniture and other crafts are manufactured.
It was once part of an historic es tate dating from the 14th century, and its focal point is the impressive Balbirnie House which was converted into a deluxe hotel in 1989. Built by the Balfour family in the 17th century, the house was given a Greek classical frontage in 1777-82 and substantially enlarged in 1815-19.
At the North en d of the park lies the 3,000-year-old Balbirnie stone circle, excavated in 1970-71 and relocated some 410 feet from its original position in order to make way for road-widening.

Balgonie Castle

  A 15th-century tower house on the south bank of the River Leven a mile to the south-east of Markinch in central Fife.
Associated with the Sibbald and Lundy families and once occupied by Rob Roy Macgregor, its most famous owner was the covenanting General Sir Alexander Leslie who fought with Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years War. He bought the estate in 1635 six years before being created 1st Earl of Leven and Lord Balgonie. Restoration of the tower began in the late 1970s.
  A turbine house using water from the River Leven was built nearby in 1922 by the Balgonie Colliery Co. The turbine was used as a source of power by a local paper mill in the 1980s and was brought back into action in the 1990s by a private power generating company.

Birnie Loch Nature Reserve

  A local nature reserve in the Howe of Fife to the south of the A91 and the village of Collessie. It was created in 1991 from the restored workings of Kinloch Quarry and donated to the people of North-East Fife by the family of J.S. Baird & Sons in association with Pioneer Aggregates (UK) Ltd.

Blackfriars Chapel

  A ruined building in the grounds of Madras College, South Street, St Andrews, all that remains of the medieval St Andrews house of the Dominicans or Blackfriars; probably founded in the 14th century.

British Golf Museum

  A museum of golf history in St Andrews, the 'home of golf'; situated on the West Sands next to the Old Course and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Opened in 1996, it traces the 500-year history of the game using multi-media visual and touch screen displays.

Cambo

  An estate on the east coast of Fife near Kingsbarns, developed as a country park during the early 1980s. Extending over 1,600 acres of countryside and seashore, its house was a medieval stronghold of the Norman de Cambhous and later the Myretouns who held it from 1364 to 1668 when it was bought by S ir Charles Erskine, Lord Lyon King of Arms. The estate's East New Hall Steading was built in the 18th century and converted to a visitor centre in the 1980s.
The park has nature trails, picnic sites, play areas and educational facilities. Cambo House with its walled garden was rebuilt in 1879 afte r being destroyed by fire.

Carnegie Birthplace Museum

  Situated near the centre of Dunfermline in West Fife at 2 Moodie Street is an 18th-century pantiled weaver's cottage where Andrew Carnegie the industrialist and benefactor was born in 1835. Now a museum, it was extended in 1925 with the construction of the adjacent Memorial Building designed by James Shearer. Of the £70 million Carnegie gave to charity about £1 million came to benefit Dunfermline where the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust is based. Gifts to the town included the Carnegie Centre, the Carnegie Free Library, the Carnegie Hall and Pittencrieff Park.

College of St Leonard

  Refounded as a college of the university in 1512 by Archbishop Alexander Stewart and Prior John Hepburn, the original Hospital of St Leonard was attached to the nearby Priory. The buildings were abandoned after the union of the college with St Salvator's in 1747 but still comprise a complete group tha t includes a church and hall on the north side and a residential range on the south with a gatehouse on its east end. The chapel of the college is the old Parish Church of St Leonard which was reroofed by the university in 1910 and refurnished in 1948-52. All of the buildings other than the church now belong to St Leonard's School which was founded in 1877 and moved to this site in 1882.

College of St Salvator

  The College of St Salvator, which is situated between North Street and The Scores, was founded in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy who is remembered annually in a colourful student end-of-term event known as the Kate Kennedy Pageant. Its main frontage is still virtually intact, with its great tower, Jacob ean style college buildings and collegiate church, all of which comprise one of St Andrews' most magnificent architectural compositions. The tower, to which a spire was added in 1550, is 38 m tall and contains the original bells of the college. Within the college is the tomb of Bishop Kennedy which d ates from c.1460 and is said to be the finest example of medieval craftsmanship in Britain. St Salvator's was united with St Leonard's College in 1747.

Deep Sea World

  A marine aquarium in North Queensferry opened in 1994 as a tourist and educational facility featuring an underwater viewing tunnel and audio-visual presentations.

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