Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 33 on 22/06/2007.

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Fife & Dundee - Three's a crowd

The east coast north of Edinburgh is dominated by three vastly disparate towns. Dominic Roskrow explains why that is good for visitors

If you’ve been following news events in Scotland recently, you’ll be aware of the social and political undercurrents swirling just beneath the surface in the eastern regions beyond Edinburgh.

In recent months St Andrews has played its now traditional role as the stage set for royalty, acting as match maker for a romance that many thought would produce Britain’s next Queen, though sadly that would no longer seem to be the case. And just a few miles north, Dundee has been establishing itself in a vastly different way, becoming Scotland’s first Nationalist city, as the party who wants to break up the very Union that the royals are the head of, swept out all opposition in recent elections.

Throw into the mix a quieter but increasingly determined player in the form of Dunfermline, a population centre that is growing economically, socially and culturally, and it adds up to a heady mix of vibrancy and variety in east Scotland.

Nobody’s trying to claim that the east-west yin-yang relationship of Edinburgh and Glasgow doesn’t still dominate the Scottish landscape; one refined and stylish, the other gritty and earthy; one traditional, historic and arty, the other dynamic, modern and arty; one the natural home of royalty, gentry and privilege, the other the natural base for industry, endeavour and new wealth.

But the triple whammy of St Andrews, Dundee and Dunfermline offer plenty of options for the traveller who wants to venture across the Forth Bridge.

So why should you visit the.....

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By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Regional Focus

Page number : 32