Map Of Fife

  An old fishing village on the Firth of Forth forming the eastern part of modern Anstruther. Formerly known as Lower Kilrenny or Sillerdyke, its present name was coined, it is said, by the fishermen of Kilrenny who once kept their fishing gear in cellars near the harbour. They also built dykes on the cliff top to keep stray animals away from their fishing nets which were laid out to dry on the green.
  Although the fishing industry is long gone, the 16th-century harbour (Skinfasthaven), which was rebuilt in 1829-31 by Joseph Mitchell, is still used by pleasure boats. Close to the Town hall stands the Kilrenny Cross (1642) and beyond the harbour lies a bathing pool known locally as the Cardinal's steps after Cardinal Beaton of St Andrews who had a seaside residence here in the 16th century.  Cellardyke was designated a Conservation Area in 1977. The arrival of the 'Sea Queen' each August is a survival of the old sea-harvest thanksgiving festivals that used to take place in coastal fishing villages.

  Once described as 'the most attractive village in Scotland', Ceres lies amidst fertile farmland in NE Fife, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Cupar. Mentioned as early as the 12th century, it was created a burgh of barony in 1620 under the Hopes of Craighall, developing as a centre of farming, weaving, and brewing.
  Unlike most Scottish villages its attractive pantiled cottages stand round a green which is the scene of annual games which are the oldest in Scotland. These games celebrate the return of the men of Ceres from the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
  There is a Bannockburn Memorial by the village green and an old bridge over the Ceres Burn leads to the Fife Folk Museum which was opened in 1968 by the Central and North Fife Preservation Society. Built into a wall in the main street is the seated figure of the Rev. Thomas Buchanan, the last Church Provost in 1578.

  A planned industrial village founded c.1770 by Charles, 5th Earl of Elgin (1732-71).  The village is laid out in the shape of an elongated 'E', its focal point being the baronial Queen's Hall built to a design by Robert Rowand Anderson in 1887 to celebrate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. The original inhabitants were engaged in working coal and limestone. Conservation Areas were established in 1974 and 1984.

  A late 18th-century mining and weaving village in S central Fife, situated between the Ore and Leven rivers to the east of Glenrothes and south of Markinch. The village has a primary school and a Miners' Institute. To the north-east is Balgonie Castle.

  A hamlet in Kingskettle Parish, central Fife, situated in rolling hills 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the village of Kingskettle. Limestone is quarried nearby.

  A former mining village to the north of the coastal town of West Wemyss. Originally divided into Easter and Wester settlements, the villages grew together during the 1860s when the Wemyss Coal Company created a 'model' mining village for workers at the nearby Bell pit. The semi-detached miners' cottages now form part of a conservation area designated in 1980. The village has a primary school.

  A planned village in the East Neuk of Fife built in 1705 for disbanded soldiers by Colin, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1652-1722). It has a Town Hall dating from 1895 and the Galloway Library built in 1903. To the north lies Balcarres House whose L-plan tower house was built in 1595 by the Lindsay family and later extended in the 19th century by the architects William Burn and David Bryce.

  An attractive hamlet with narrow lanes situated on a minor road just north of the A91, 5 miles (8 km) west of Cupar in NE Fife. Overlooking the Howe of Fife, its ancient Parish Church (rebuilt 1838-39) stands on a hillock at the centre of a settlement containing several well-preserved 17th, 18th, and 19th century weaving cottages, some with thatched roofs. Designated a conservation area in 1986, it has a Primary School dating from 1846.

  A former mining town in W Fife, situated to the south-west of Lochgelly on the railway line from Dunfermline to Cupar. Originally a small agricultural settlement with a coaching halt on the route north to Perth, Cowdenbeath expanded rapidly with the development of the W Fife iron and coal fields between 1850 and 1914. The population grew during this period from 1,000 to 25,000 but declined to its present level following the pit closures of the 1960s.
Cowdenbeath now supports a wide range of light industries, including engineering, textiles, food processing, construction and plant hire on its Woodend, Glenfield and Thistle industrial estates and the town is a focal point of coach bus communications.

  A small village in E Fife, situated on the Craigrothrie Burn 4 miles (6 km) south of Cupar. The village was once a coaching stop on the route to Cupar and horses were changed at the nearby Chance Inn or 'Change Inn'. To the south is Struthers Castle which dates from the end of the 14th century. In 1663 the title of Lord Struthers was conferred on the first Earl of Lindsay by Charles I who later visited the Castle.

  A seaside resort and fishing village on the Firth of Forth, E Fife, situated 10 miles south-east of St Andrews. Once an important seaport exporting salt, fish, mutton and woollens to the Continent, the picturesque village of Crail is the easternmost of the coastal settlements in the East Neuk of Fife. It was confirmed as a royal burgh by Robert the Bruce in 1310 and once had a royal castle which was the occasional residence of David I in the 12th century.
  Close to the harbour lies the oldest part of Crail, with its narrow streets and houses huddled together as protection against the harsh sea wind. On higher ground to the east the upper part of the town has a more formal layout reflecting the growth and expansion that took place in late medieval times when local merchants prospered.
  The burgh's chief landmarks include: St Mary's Church which dates from the 12th century and contains an 8th-century Pictish cross slab; 17th-century Market Cross; the 16th-18th-century Tolbooth whose tower contains a Dutch bell which is rung every night at 10 o'clock to remind villagers of the curfew that once marked the time for fires and lights to be put out; 17th-century Customs House; and Crail Museum and Heritage Centre, established by Crail Preservation Society in 1979.
  Crail, with its 18-hole Balcomie Links golf course, has a golfing society founded in 1786 and nearby is the HMS Jackdaw airfield which operated as a Royal Naval Air Station during World War II and is now used for go-karting and microlight flying. Local industries include crab and lobster fishing and the manufacture of chemicals.

  A small village in W Fife, situated on the A985 trunk road 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Dunfermline. Originally an agricultural settlement, it developed during the 20th century in association with naval and marine facilities at Crombie Pier immediately to the south. It has a primary school. The former parish of Crombie was united with Torryburn in 1622.

  A village in W Fife on the A994 a mile west of Dunfermline. A former weaving village, Crossford is said to take its name from the ford crossed by monks on their way between the abbeys of Dunfermline and Culross. To the south-east lies the 18-hole Pitfirrane golf course of the Dunfermline Golf Club whose clubhouse was the mansion of the Halkett family, owners of the former Pitfirrane Estate until 1951.

  A former coal mining village in W Fife, situated at a road junction 2 miles (3 km) south of Cowdenbeath. In the days of cattle-droving the blacksmiths of Crossgates made shoes for cattle and in the 18th century coal from the surrounding area was first transported by wagonway to St David's Harbour on Inverkeithing Bay.

  A former burgh of barony (1511) situated to the east of Loch Ore in Ballingry Parish, W Fife. It developed as a mining town in the late 19th century when it merged with Lochore to the north and Glencraig to the south. The village has a business centre with building, decorating and employment services. Lochore Meadows County Park lies to the west and the Bronze Age Harelaw Cairn stands on a hill to the east.

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