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Issue 8 - Fife – Scotland's fringe of gold

History & Heritage

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Scotland Magazine Issue 8

Scotland Magazine Issue 8
May 2003

 

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Fife – Scotland's fringe of gold

Gavin Smith extols the virtues of the Kingdom of Fife, renowned for its golf, attractive coast and rich history

Fife – Scotland's fringe of gold (Issue 8)
King James VI (1542 – 1625) wrote that his kingdom possessed “a fringe of gold on a beggar’s mantle”. The “fringe of gold” was a specific reference to the coast of Fife. Indeed, the county has for centuries been known as ‘The Kingdom of Fife’, and its spirit of independence even ensured its survival during local government reorganisation in the mid 1970s, when it was in danger of being submerged in neighbouring Tayside. Today, the area is promoted by the Kingdom of Fife Tourist Board.

Even the most cursory glance at a map explains why Fife has for so long nurtured a spirit of independence. To the north it is bounded by the Firth of Tay, and to the south by the Firth of Forth. Before the creation of fixed links by rail and, later, road bridges, Fife was not too far from being an island.

The earliest physical connection between ‘the kingdom’ and the country to the north and south came with the construction of the Tay Bridge between Wormit and Dundee in 1878, and the Forth Bridge, which opened in 1890 between South and North Queensferry.

The first Tay Bridge famously collapsed one stormy night in December 1879. Seventy-five people perished when the train crossing it plunged into the waters below. The event was immortalised in the best-known of the poet William McGonagall’s spectacularly bad verses. The rail bridge was subsequently rebuilt, and in 1966 a road bridge, linking Newport with Dundee, came into operation.

In 1964 the Forth Road Bridge opened to traffic, removing the necessity of a lengthy detour to the west and the Kincardine Bridge over the Forth, or a ferry crossing between South and North Queensferry, which frequently involved waiting in long queues of traffic during the busy summer months.

Today, within sight of the Queensferrys and the two Forth bridges, the port of Rosyth plays a part in the most recent chapter of Fife’s maritime history. May 2002 saw the launch of the Superfast Ferries vehicle and passenger service which operates on a daily basis between the port and Zeebrugge in Belgium. This is the first ferry service to link Scotland to the European continent.

Historically, it was inevitable, given the county’s geographical situation, that Fifers would turn to the sea. Fishing played a great part in the lives of the folk who lived in the ancient villages of the East Neuk area of Fife – villages such as Crail, Pittenweem, St Monans, Elie and Earlsferry, which are some of the most picturesque anywhere on the Scottish coast.

Today, fishing boats continue to operate from the East Neuk, based principally in Pittenweem harbour. Nearby, in Anstruther, the fascinating Scottish Fisheries Museum traces the heritage of Scotland’s long and often arduous association with ‘the fishing’.

As well as being home to fishing fleets, the ports of the East Neuk also traded extensively with Europe in salted fish, coal and linen, an activity which brought significant prosperity, not to mention many casks of smuggled brandy, wine, tobacco, cloth and sugar during the 18th century, when smuggling activity in Britain was at its height. It is recorded that Crail was exporting salted fish to Europe as far back as the 9th century.

Trade with Europe also influenced the architectural style in the East Neuk: wealthy merchants copied features such as Dutch curved-gable house fronts. Many of these are still visible today, and give Fife’s fishing villages an almost continental appearance.

The highest-profile place in Fife is unquestionably St Andrews, which lies at the northernmost point of the East Neuk. To most people, St Andrews is known as the home of golf, and also for the attendance of Prince William at the city’s university. St Andrews is Scotland’s oldest seat of higher education, founded in 1411.

The presence of His Royal Highness may have led to an influx of hopeful, well-bred young girls to study at this ancient seat of learning, but students, tourists and golfers from the world over mix on the city’s characterful streets. St Andrews is rich in history of all kinds. Above the harbour stand the imposing ruins of the 12th Century cathedral, and nearby the 13th Century castle looks out over the North Sea.

If all you want to do is relax by the sea, then not only does St Andrews boast two award-winning beaches, but many other inviting expanses of sand dot the Fife coast. Keen ornithologists are spoilt for choice, with colonies of the history of the sport that Scotland gave to the world. Away from St Andrews, there are nearly 50 golf courses within Fife, all offering a variety of challenges to visitors, many located in remarkably picturesque settings.

If St Andrews offers historical riches in north-east Fife, then at the opposite side of the county, across in the west, Dunfermline is its equal in terms of fascinating heritage.

Dunfermline was Scotland’s ancient capital, and features a royal palace, a 12th Century abbey where King Robert the Bruce is buried, and the restored 15th Century Abbot House. After the death of Macbeth, King Malcolm Canmore held court in a fortified tower – the ruins of which remain in what is now Pittencrieff Park.

More recently, Andrew Carnegie, the great steel magnate and philanthropist, was born in a weaver’s cottage in Dunfermline’s Moodie Street, where a museum celebrates his achievements. Having made a vast fortune in business in the USA, Carnegie proceeded to donate large sums of money to public projects throughout his native land. In his home town, he set up the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust in 1902, which enabled the purchase of the Pittencrieff Estate for the local community.

To the west of Dunfermline is the Royal Burgh of Culross, a treasure-trove of gems of traditional Scottish vernacular architecture, thanks to the efforts of the National Trust for Scotland, which spent some four decades painstakingly restoring 16th, 17th and 18th Century properties in the town.

St Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow, was reputedly born in Culross during the sixth century. Overlooking the Firth of Forth, the burgh was once an important port for the export of locally mined coal. In its day, the Fife coalfield was a major employer, and communities such as Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Lochore, Lumphinnans and Kelty all grew rapidly during the 19th century as the coal trade developed.

Distilling has also proved to be an important part of Fife’s industrial heritage, with the well-known Haig family at the centre of whisky-making in the county for several centuries. Today, Cameronbridge Distillery at Windygates is a vast plant turning out grain spirit for blending purposes. It is also where the entire UK output of that most quintessentially English drink, Gordon’s Gin, is now distilled! Cameronbridge is owned by one of the world’s largest drinks company, Diageo, who also employ several hundred people at their 150 acres Leven site, just a few miles away. It is here that processing, blending, bottling and packaging operations for a diverse range of Diageo products take place.

Though not able to claim such an illustrious heritage as Dunfermline, the coastal town of Kirkcaldy is rightly proud to be known as the birthplace in 1723 of the great political economist Adam Smith, and in 1728 of the equally renowned architect Robert Adam. A century later, Kirkcaldy was one of the first places in Britain where power looms were used. This development revolutionised the weaving industry, making ‘the lang toun’, as Kirkcaldy is affectionately known, an important industrial centre. It also has a more obscure place in history as the world capital of the linoleum industry!

Two contrasting Fife towns are Glenrothes and Cupar. The former is now the county’s administrative centre, rarely featuring in tourist guidebooks on account of it being a planned new town, largely constructed during the 1950s and ’60s. During the 1970s it earned the nickname ‘silicon glen’, as it attracted an increasing number of high-tech operations to its industrial estates.

The old county town of Cupar lies in the rich agricultural lands of the Howe of Fife, and was formerly the seat of justice and government in Fife. It was the county’s ‘capital’ from 1213, until Glenrothes usurped its position during local government reorganisation in 1975. The intriguing town of Falkland nestles at the foot of the Lomond Hills, its main street dominated not by well-known retail names but by the magnificent Falkland Palace. Construction was started by King James II prior to 1500, with work continuing for the next four decades, mostly under the auspices of James V. Falkand became a favourite rural retreat for the Stuart kings, who would hunt deer and wild boar in the surrounding forests.

Falkland Palace has been restored over a lengthy period by the National Trust for Scotland, who have cleverly restored the garden to its original design. Just in case you thought the Scots only cared about football and golf, it is worth noting that Falkland Palace has the oldest surviving tennis court in Britain, dating from 1539.

For visitors to Fife who fancy something less genteel than tennis, Knockhill Racing Circuit near Dunfermline is Scotland’s national motor-sport centre. Knockhill hosts a round of the prestigious British Touring Cars championship each season, along with Formula Three and ‘Superbike’ events. Would-be David Coulthards can get their own taste of high-speed competitive driving on the track at Knockhill in a variety of racing and rally cars, while there are also karting, quad bike and ‘off-roading’ facilities.

Clearly, the Kingdom of Fife continues to offer a wealth of riches to anyone choosing to visit this golden corner of Scotland.