Fife (ˈfəif; ) is a
council areaA Council Area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act.-Legislation :1889...
and former county of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is situated between the
Firth of TayThe Firth of Tay is a firth in Scotland between the council areas of Fife, Perth and Kinross, the City of Dundee and Angus, into which Scotland's largest river in terms of flow, the River Tay, empties....
and the
Firth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, with inland boundaries to
Perth and KinrossPerth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
and
ClackmannanshireClackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
. It was originally one of the
PictishThe Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
kingdomsA monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
, known as
Fib, and is still commonly known as the
Kingdom of Fife within Scotland.
It is a
lieutenancy areaThe lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. They are different from the local government council areas, the committee areas, the sheriffdoms, the registration counties, the former regions and districts, the...
, and was a county of Scotland until 1975. It was very occasionally known by the
anglicisationAnglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
Fifeshire in old documents and maps compiled by
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cartographers and authors. A person from Fife is known as a
Fifer.
Fife was a local government
regionThe local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
divided into three
districtThe local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
s:
DunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
,
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
and North-East Fife. Since 1996 the functions of the district councils have been exercised by the
unitaryA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Fife Council.
Fife is Scotland's third largest local authority area
by populationScotland has a population of 5,222,100 . Covering an area of , Scotland has a population density of . Around 70% of the country's population live in the Central Lowlands — a broad, fertile valley stretching in a northeast-southwest orientation between the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and...
. It has a resident population of just under 360,000, almost a third of whom live in the three principal towns of
DunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
,
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
and
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
. Kirkcaldy is Fife's largest town by population (48,108 in 2006), followed by Dunfermline (45,462 in 2006) and then Glenrothes (38,927 in 2006).
The historic town of
St AndrewsSt Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
is located on the northeast coast of Fife. It is well-known for one of the most
ancient universities in EuropeMedieval university is an institution of higher learning which was established during High Middle Ages period and is a corporation.The first institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Italy, France, and England in the late 11th and the 12th centuries for the study of...
and is renowned as the home of
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
.
History
Legend has it that the
PictishThe Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
realm was divided into seven sub-kingdoms or provinces, one of which became Fife. The name is recorded as
Fib in A.D. 1150 and
Fif in 1165. It was often associated with
FothriffFothriff, Fortriu or Fothrif was a province of Scotland in the Middle Ages. It is often paired with Fife, not only in De Situ Albanie, but also in early charters....
.
Fife, bounded to the north by the
Firth of TayThe Firth of Tay is a firth in Scotland between the council areas of Fife, Perth and Kinross, the City of Dundee and Angus, into which Scotland's largest river in terms of flow, the River Tay, empties....
and to the south by the
Firth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, is a natural peninsula whose political boundaries have changed little over the ages.
King James VI of Scotland described Fife as a "beggar's mantle fringed wi gowd", the golden fringe being the coast and its chain of little ports with their thriving fishing fleets and rich trading links with the
Low CountriesThe Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, ironic given the much later development of farming on some of Scotland's richest soil and the minerals, notably coal, underneath.
WoolWool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
,
linenLinen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
,
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and
saltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
were all traded. Salt pans heated by local coal were a feature of the Fife coast in the past. The distinctive red clay pan tiles seen on many old buildings in Fife arrived as ballast on trading boats and replaced the previously thatched roofs.
In 1598, King James VI employed a group of 12 men from Fife, who became known as the
Fife adventurersThe Gentleman Adventurers of Fife or Fife Adventurers were a group of 12 Scottish Lowlander colonists awarded lands on the Isle of Lewis by King James VI in 1598 following the forfeiture of all MacLeod lands in 1597 when they failed to produce the title-deeds proving their ownership which had been...
, to colonise the Isle of Lewis in an attempt to begin the "civilisation" and de-gaelicisation of the region. This endeavour lasted until 1609 when the colonists, having been opposed by the native population, were bought out by Coinneach, the clan chief of the
MacKenziesClan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
.
Historically, there was much heavy industry in the century or so following the Victorian engineering triumphs of the Forth and
TayThe Tay Bridge is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles long that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife ....
rail bridges. The Fife coalfields were developed around
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
and the west of Fife, reaching far out under the Firth of Forth. Shipbuilding was famous at Methil and
RosythRosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
. The world centre for
linoleumLinoleum is a floor covering made from renewable materials such as solidified linseed oil , pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing; pigments are often added to the materials.The finest linoleum floors,...
production was in Kirkcaldy (where it is still produced), and
flaxFlax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
grown in Fife was transformed into linen locally too. Postwar Fife saw the development of Scotland's second new town,
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
. Originally to be based around a coal mine, the town eventually attracted a high number of modern
Silicon GlenSilicon Glen is a nickname for the high tech sector of Scotland. It is applied to the Central Belt triangle between Dundee, Inverclyde and Edinburgh, which includes Fife, Glasgow and Stirling; although electronics facilities outside this area may also be included in the term. The term has been in...
companies to the region. Fife Council also centres its operations in Glenrothes.
There are notable historical buildings in Fife, some of which are managed by the
National Trust for ScotlandThe National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
or
Historic ScotlandHistoric Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
. They include Dunfermline Abbey (the last resting place of Scottish royalty), the palace in Culross, Ravenscraig Castle in Kirkcaldy, Dysart Harbour area,
Balgonie CastleBalgonie Castle is located on the south bank of the River Leven near Milton of Balgonie, east of Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland. The keep dates from the 14th century, and the remaining structures were added piecemeal until the 18th century...
near Coaltown of Balgonie, Falkland Palace (hunting palace of the Scottish Kings), Kellie Castle near Pittenweem,
Hill of TarvitThe Hill of Tarvit is a 20th-century mansion house and gardens in Fife, Scotland. They were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and are today owned by the National Trust for Scotland.- Description :...
(a historical house), St. Andrews Castle (with a gruesome bottle dungeon), St. Andrews Cathedral and St. Rules' Tower.
Governance
Fife is represented by five Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and four Members of Parliament (MPs) who are sent to
HolyroodThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
and the Westminster Parliament respectively. Since the 2010
General ElectionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, three of the MPs constituencies have been held by
LabourThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
(
Kirkcaldy and CowdenbeathKirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath is a county constituency representing the areas around the towns of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, in Fife, Scotland, in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, represented by former Prime Minister
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
,
Dunfermline WestDunfermline West was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
, previously a Liberal Democrat seat, and
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a British Parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons. It was created for the 2005 general election.The seat is currently held by Lindsay Roy, of the Scottish Labour party...
); the other (
North East FifeNorth East Fife is a county constituency in Fife, Scotland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom currently held by Sir Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats...
) is held by Sir Menzies Campbell for the
Liberal DemocratsThe Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
. One of the MSPs constituencies is held by
LabourThe Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
the newly created
CowdenbeathCowdenbeath is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
and four by
Scottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
: Fife Mid and Glenrothes,
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
,
DunfermlineFor earlier results see Dunfermline West.Dunfermline is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
, North East Fife and for the first time the Liberal Democrats failed to win a constituency in Fife in the Scottish Parliament.
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
is Fife's Administrative Capital containing the headquarters of Fife Council and of
Fife ConstabularyFife Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council area of Fife.The area policed by Fife Constabulary has a resident population of just over 350,000, almost a third of whom live in one of the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes...
. Council meetings take place in Fife House (formerly known as Glenrothes House) in the town centre. The west wing of the building was built by the Glenrothes Development Corporation (GDC) as their offices in 1969, which was later used as the headquarters of Fife Regional Council. Since the last Scottish election in 2007, Fife Council has been run as a joint SNP/Liberal Democrat coalition, claiming a total of 44 seats together. Peter Grant was elected leader of Fife Council. Labour and the other parties form the opposition.
Geography
Fife is a
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
in eastern Scotland bordered on the north by the
Firth of TayThe Firth of Tay is a firth in Scotland between the council areas of Fife, Perth and Kinross, the City of Dundee and Angus, into which Scotland's largest river in terms of flow, the River Tay, empties....
, on the east by the
North SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the
Firth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
to the south. The route to the west is partially blocked by the mass of the
Ochil HillsThe Ochil Hills is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90...
. Almost all road traffic into and out of Fife has to pass over one of three bridges, south on the
Forth Road BridgeThe Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, opened in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth, connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
, west on the
Kincardine BridgeThe Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine-on-Forth, Fife, Scotland.-History:The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, designed by Donald Watson...
or north-east via the
Tay Road BridgeThe Tay Road Bridge is a bridge across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and slopes gradually downward towards Dundee...
, the exception being traffic headed north on the
M90The M90 is a motorway in Scotland. It runs from Inverkeithing, at the north end of the Forth Road Bridge, to Perth, passing Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath and Kinross on the way...
. Tolls were abolished on the Tay Road Bridge and Forth Road Bridge on 11 February 2008.
There are extinct volcanic features, such as the
Lomond HillsThe Lomond Hills , also known as the Paps of Fife lie in the centre of Fife, Scotland. At 522m West Lomond is the highest point in the county of Fife.-Natural geography:...
which rise above rolling farmland, and Largo Law, a
volcanic plugA volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic landform created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When forming, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of pressure if volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an...
in the east. At 522 metres (1,712.6 ft), the
West LomondWest Lomond is the highest point in the county of Fife, Scotland and the highest peak in the Lomond Hills. Its volcanic dolerite cone rises above an escarpment of carboniferous sandstone and limestone layers...
is the highest point in Fife. The coast has fine but small harbours, from the industrial docks in
BurntislandBurntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 5,940....
and
RosythRosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
to the fishing villages of the
East NeukThe East Neuk or East Neuk of Fife is an area of the coast of Fife, Scotland, which is geographically ill-defined but nonetheless stirs local passions....
such as
AnstrutherAnstruther is a small town in Fife, Scotland. The two halves of Anstruther are divided by a small stream called Dreel Burn. Anstruther lies 9 miles south-southeast of St Andrews. It is the largest community on the stretch of north-shore coastline of the Firth of Forth known as the East Neuk,...
and
PittenweemPittenweem is a small and secluded fishing village and civil parish tucked in the corner of Fife on the east coast of Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 1,600. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,747....
. The large area of flat land to the north of the Lomond Hills, through which the
River EdenThe River Eden is a river in Fife in Scotland, and is one of Fife's two principal rivers, along with the Leven. It is nearly 30 miles long and has a fall of around 90 metres...
flows, is known as the Howe of Fife.
North of the Lomond Hills can be found villages and small towns in a primarily agricultural landscape. The areas in the south and west of Fife, including the towns of
DunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
,
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
,
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
and the
LevenmouthLevenmouth is a small conurbation on the north side of the Firth of Forth, on the east coast of Scotland. It consists of three coastal towns, eleven villages inland and smallerHamlets. The industrial towns of Buckhaven and Methil lie on the west bank of the River Leven, and the resort town of Leven...
region are lightly industrial and more densely populated. The only areas which could claim to be heavily industrial are
RosythRosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
, around the naval dockyard and perhaps the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids fractionation plant on the outskirts of Cowdenbeath.
The east corner of Fife, generally that east of a line between
LevenLeven is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, north-east of Kirkcaldy and east of Glenrothes....
and
St AndrewsSt Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
is recognised throughout Scotland as the East Neuk (or corner) of Fife, small settlements around sheltered harbours, with distinctive vernacular "Dutch" or corbie (crow) stepped gabled and stone-built architecture – an area much sought after as second homes of the
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
professional classes since the
Forth Road BridgeThe Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, opened in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth, connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
was built. The
fishing industryThe fishing industry in Scotland comprises a significant proportion of the United Kingdom fishing industry. A recent inquiry by the Royal Society of Edinburgh found fishing to be of much greater social, economic and cultural importance to Scotland than to the rest of the UK. Scotland has just...
on which the East Neuk settlements were built has declined in recent years with the main fishing fleet now operating from Pittenweem and the harbour in Anstruther being used as a marina for pleasure craft.
Towns and villages
CuparCupar is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town is situated between Dundee and the New Town of Glenrothes.According to a recent population estimate , Cupar had a population around 8,980 making the town the ninth largest settlement in Fife.-History:The town is believed to have...
took over as
county townA county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
from
CrailCrail ; ) is a former royal burgh in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.-History:Crail probably dates from at least as far back as the Pictish period, as the place-name includes the Pictish/Brythonic element caer, 'fort', and there is a Dark Age cross-slab preserved in the parish kirk, itself...
in the early 13th century.
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
is now the administrative centre, after the decision to locate the headquarters of the newly established Fife Regional Council in 1975. Its three major towns are –
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
,
DunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
and
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
. According to the 2006 estimate,
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
is the largest settlement with a population of 48,108. The largest settlement in terms of area is
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
. The next sizeable towns by population are St Andrews, Dalgety Bay, Rosyth, Methil and Cowdenbeath. The rest of Fife is made up by smaller towns such as Inverkeithing, Kincardine, Anstruther, Lochgelly, Burntisland, Leven, Newburgh, Tayport and Cupar and villages such as Kinglassie, Kinghorn, Elie, Auchtertool, Crossgates and Ballingry.
Culture
Fife contains 4,961 listed buildings and 48
conservation areaA conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
s. Domestic sites of importance include
Falkland PalaceFalkland Palace in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction.-Early years:...
,
Kellie CastleKellie Castle is a castle just outside Arncroach, about 5 kilometres north of Pittenweem in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.-Early history:The earliest records of Kellie go back to 1150 where it is mentioned in a charter issued by King David I. The first known owner was Robert of London, the...
,
Dunfermline PalaceDunfermline Palace is a former Scottish royal palace in Dunfermline, Fife. It is currently a ruin under the care of Historic Scotland and an important tourist attraction in Dunfermline....
,
St Andrews CastleSt Andrew's Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger...
,
Culross PalaceCulross Palace is a late 16th - early 17th century merchant's house in Culross, Fife, Scotland.The palace, or "Great Lodging", was constructed between 1597 and 1611 by Sir George Bruce, the Laird of Carnock. Bruce was a successful merchant who had a flourishing trade with other Forth ports, the Low...
and Kirkcaldy's
Ravenscraig CastleRavenscraig Castle is a ruined castle located in Kirkcaldy which dates from around 1460. The castle is an early example of artillery defence in Scotland...
. Fife has a number of ecclesiastical sites of historical interest.
St Andrews CathedralThe Cathedral of St Andrew is a historical church in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, which was the seat of the Bishops of St Andrews from its foundation in 1158 until it fell into disuse after the Reformation. It is currently a ruined monument in the custody of Historic Scotland...
was home to the powerful
Archbishopric of St AndrewsThe Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
, and later became a centre of the
Scottish ReformationThe Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, while
Dunfermline AbbeyDunfermline Abbey is as a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine...
was the last resting place of a number of Scottish kings.
BalmerinoBalmerino Abbey, or St Edward's Abbey, in Balmerino, Fife, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastic community founded in 1227 to 1229 by monks from Melrose Abbey with the patronage of Ermengarde de Beaumont and King Alexander II of Scotland. It remained a daughter house of Melrose. It had approximately...
and
CulrossCulross Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Culross, Scotland, headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Culross. It is still used as the local parish church by the Church of Scotland.-History:...
abbeys were both founded in the 13th century by the
Cistercians, while a century before
Lindores AbbeyLindores Abbey was a Tironensian abbey on the outskirts of Newburgh in Fife, Scotland. Now a much reduced and overgrown ruin, it lies on the southern banks of the River Tay, about north of the village of Lindores....
was founded by the Tironensians outside
NewburghNewburgh is a royal burgh of Fife, Scotland having a population of 2040 . Newburgh has grown little since 1901 when the population was counted at 1904 persons....
; all were highly important sites.
The
Stanza Poetry FestivalStAnza is a poetry festival which takes place in March in the university town of St Andrews, Scotland. Founded in 1998, it celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2007. It is the only festival in Scotland dedicated exclusively to poetry.-History:...
and Fife Festival of Music are events of national cultural importance. The
Byre TheatreThe Byre Theatre is a theatre in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The original Byre Theatre was founded in 1933 by Alexander B Paterson, a local journalist and playwright, with help from a theatre group made up from members of Hope Park Church, St Andrews....
in St Andrews and Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy are both highly regarded as touring venues, the latter also being the base of the
grand operaGrand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
company
Fife OperaFife Opera is a semi-professional grand opera company dating back to 1975, and based in Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom. It has produced over 40 full-scale productions since its inception....
.
Fife Craft Association is the largest craft association in Fife, and organises art and craft events throughout the year in various venues in Fife. They also showcase local artists and crafters every Saturday at the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes.
Notable Fifers
- Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
, architect
- Stuart Adamson
Stuart Adamson , born William Stuart Adamson, was an English-born Scottish guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, described by legendary music journalist John Peel as “Britain’s answer to Jimi Hendrix”...
, musician (Big CountryBig Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
)
- Ian Anderson
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
, musician, frontman of Jethro TullJethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
- Iain Banks
Iain Banks is a Scottish writer. He writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks, and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, including the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies...
, writer
- Jim Baxter
James Curran Baxter was a left-footed Scottish footballer who played as a midfielder. He is regarded by some as the country's greatest ever footballer...
, footballer
- Sir Ernley Blackwell
Sir Ernley Robertson Hay Blackwell KCB, was a British lawyer and career civil servant...
, lawyer and civil servant
- Edith Bowman
Edith Eleanor Bowman is a Scottish music critic, radio DJ and television presenter. She is mostly known for hosting the weekday afternoon show and from September 2009 weekend morning on BBC Radio 1 and for presenting a variety of music related television shows and music...
, Radio 1 DJ
- Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, former British Prime Minister and Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
; current MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
- Scott Brown (Scottish footballer), Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Celtic F.C footballer
- Gregory Burke
Gregory Burke is a Scottish playwright from Rosyth, Fife, Scotland.-Life:His family moved to Gibraltar in 1979 and returned to Dunfermline in 1984. He attended St John's Primary in Rosyth, St Christopher's Middle School in Gibraltar, Bayside Comprehensive, Gibraltar and St Columba's High School,...
, playwright
- Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, industrialist and philanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
- Jim Clark
James "Jim" Clark, Jr OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965....
, two-times Formula One World Drivers' Champion
- James Clephan
James Clephan was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He rose from the ranks to become a Captain...
, Lieutenant on board HMS Spartiate during the Battle of TrafalgarThe Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
- Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham is a film, television and stage actor. He starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. He also appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1, Rome, Oliver! and many other films. He is probably best known to horror genre fans as the deranged Dr...
, actor
- Barbara Dickson
Barbara Ruth Dickson, OBE is a Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well" and "January February"...
, singer and actress
- Philip Charles Durham
Admiral Sir Philip Charles Calderwood Henderson Durham, GCB was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, distinguished and at times controversial.-Biography:Destined to be one of the luckiest men in the...
, sailor and captain of HMSHer or His Majesty's Ship is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies, either formally or informally.-HMS:* In the British Royal Navy, it refers to the king or queen of the United Kingdom as appropriate at the time...
DefianceHMS Defiance was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Randall and Co., at Rotherhithe on the River Thames, and launched on 10 December 1783.-History:...
at TrafalgarThe Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
- John Forbes (British Army officer), named the city of Pittsburgh
- Shirley Henderson
Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .-Early life:...
, actress
- Bob Howie
Robert Howie was a Scottish rugby union player for and Kirkcaldy RFC.He was capped seven times for between 1912-13. He also played for Kirkcaldy RFC, and was selected for the 1924 British Isles tour to South Africa.-Family:...
and Dave HowieDavid Dickie Howie was a Scottish rugby union player for and Kirkcaldy RFC. He died in the First World War.He was capped seven times for between 1912–13...
, rugby players
- King Creosote
Kenny Anderson, known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest, Thrawn, released in 2011. Anderson is also a member of Scottish-Canadian band, The Burns Unit...
, musician
- Deborah Knox
Deborah "Debbie" Knox is a Scottish curler from Lochgelly.Knox was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 2002 Winter Olympics. She played third for Rhona Martin. She was also a member of the team again at the 2006 Winter Olympics as an alternate, however the team did not medal.-References:...
, Olympic Gold medallist
- Craig Levein
Craig William Levein is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager of the Scotland national team. During his playing career he played for Cowdenbeath and Heart of Midlothian...
, Scottish former professional footballer and manager
- Jackie Leven
Jackie Leven was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician. After starting his career as a folk musician in the late 1960s, he first found success with new wave band Doll by Doll...
, singer/songwriter
- Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
, 16th century writer
- Douglas Mackinnon
Douglas Mackinnon is a British film and television director. He made his feature film directorial debut with The Flying Scotsman , which was the gala premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006 and was consequently picked up for worldwide distribution by MGM.He directed the first three episodes of...
, director
- Adam Martin, ambassador, bridged the gap between the communities of Glasgow and Fife.
- Val McDermid
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.-Biography:...
, writer
- Aileen Paterson
Aileen Paterson is a Scottish writer and illustrator, best known for her series of children's books about Maisie the kitten, beginning with Maisie Comes to Morningside the title deliberately echoing 'Cotton comes to Harlem' by Chester Himes.Born in the Fife town of Burntisland, she then moved to...
, author/illustrator
- Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
, writer
- David Rollo
David Miller Durie Rollo was a prop forward who played for . Unusually for a Scotland internationalist, he came from Fife.As a prop, he could play both tight and loosehead:...
, rugby player
- Craig Russell (British author)
Craig Russell is a British-born novelist and short story writer. His Hamburg-set thriller series featuring detective Jan Fabel has been translated into 23 languages. Russell speaks fluent German and has a special interest in post-war German history...
, writer
- Dougray Scott
-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
, actor
- Alexander Selkirk
Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish sailor who spent four years as a castaway when he was marooned on an uninhabited island. It is probable that his travels provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe....
, seafarer and inspiration for Robinson CrusoeRobinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
- Sir Jimmy Shand
Sir James Shand MBE was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion.-Early life:...
, accordion player
- Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
, philosopher and economist
- Jordan Smith
Jordan Patrick Smith is a Scottish-born Australian actor best known for playing Andrew Robinson in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Personal life:...
, actor
- Lawrence Storione
Lawrence Storione was a Fife miner and political figure. He is best known for founding the Anarchist Communist League in Cowdenbeath, Scotland.-Life:...
, miner and anarchist organiser
- Michaela Tabb
Michaela Tabb is a snooker and pool referee who has established a number of significant milestones for female officials in professional cue sports...
, first female snooker referee to appear on the Crucible
- John Thomson (footballer)
John Thomson was a football goalkeeper for Celtic and Scotland who died as a result of an accidental collision with the Rangers player Sam English during an Old Firm match at Ibrox.-Early life:...
, former Celtic F.C goalkeeper
- KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, musician
- Jack Vettriano
Jack Vettriano OBE born Jack Hoggan , is a Scottish painter.- Early life :Jack Vettriano grew up in the industrial seaside town of Methil, Fife. He left school at 16 and later became an apprentice mining engineer. Vettriano did not take up painting as a hobby until the 1970s, when a girlfriend...
, artist
- Sir David Wilkie
Sir David Wilkie was a Scottish painter.- Early life :Wilkie was the son of the parish minister of Cults in Fife. He developed a love for art at an early age. In 1799, after he had attended school at Pitlessie, Kettle and Cupar, his father reluctantly agreed to his becoming a painter...
, painter
- James Wilson
James Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
, signer of US Declaration of Independence, appointed by George Washington to first Supreme Court
- James Yorkston
-Music career:A native of Fife, James Yorkston was an integral early member of the Fence Collective whose reach across contemporary music continues to lengthen: King Creosote, The Aliens, KT Tunstall, The Beta Band...
, musician
- Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
, darts player
- Ken McNaught
Ken McNaught is a former Scottish footballer who played for Aston Villa from 1977–1983 and was part of their Championship winning side of 1981, European Cup victory in 1982 and won the European Super Cup in 1983 against Barcelona, scoring one of Villa's goals in the latter final.McNaught's father...
, Footballer, Former Aston Villa F.C Centre Back, 1982 European Cup Winner
- Willie McNaught
Willie McNaught is a Scottish former football player. McNaught holds the Raith Rovers record for the number of appearances with the club of 657 between 1941 and 1962. McNaught was club captain and at international gained five full Scotland caps and six Scottish League caps...
, Scottish Footballer, Former Raith Rovers F.C Defender
Sports
St AndrewsSt Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
in Fife is the home of
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, being the town in which the sport was invented, and the
Royal & Ancient Golf ClubThe Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world . It is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf"...
still has responsibility for overseeing the
rules of the gameThe rules of golf are a standard set of regulations and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by the R&A the governing body of golf worldwide except in the United States and Mexico, which are the responsibility of the United States Golf...
today.
As for senior sports teams, in football
Dunfermline AthleticDunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
play in Scotland's top flight, the
Scottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
, whilst
Raith RoversRaith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...
and Dundee FC play in the
First DivisionThe Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
and
CowdenbeathCowdenbeath Football Club are a professional Scottish football team based in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife. They currently play in the Second Division of the Scottish Football League. The club plays its home games at Central Park in the centre of the town which has the unusual feature of a motor...
and
East FifeEast Fife Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the Fife coastal town of Methil...
play in the
Second DivisionThe Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
.
Fife FlyersThe Fife Flyers, established in 1938, are the oldest ice hockey team in Scotland, and also in the United Kingdom, beating the Nottingham Panthers by 8 years...
are the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's oldest
ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
club and play in Britain's top flight, the
Elite Ice Hockey LeagueSeveral competitions fall under the jurisdiction of the Elite League. In 2006–07, the EIHL ran a total of four competitions: the league, playoffs, Challenge Cup and Knockout Cup. The league consists of a single division, each team playing three home games and three away games against the other...
.
Fife is also home to seven
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
clubs,
Dunfermline RFCDunfermline Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.Established in 1893 the club play their home games at McKane Park.They currently play in Scottish National Leagues division 1.Their strip is royal blue and white....
, Fife Southern RFC, based in Rosyth, Glenrothes RFC,
Howe of Fife RFCHowe of Fife RFC is a rugby union club based in Cupar, Fife in Central Scotland and is part of the Scottish Rugby Union. It was founded in 1921, and they play in blue and white hoops....
, based in Cupar,
Kirkcaldy RFCKirkcaldy Rugby Football Club are a rugby union side from Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.The team was established in 1873 and currently play in Scottish Premiership division 3...
,Madras RFC,Waid Academy RFC and one
rugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club,
Fife LionsFife Lions ARLFC are a rugby league club located in the east of Scotland. They play in the Scotland Division of the Rugby League Conference.The Fife Lions in recent years have been one of the dominant teams in the SRLC...
.
Fife has a number of Highland Dancing Schools and have competitions throughout the year. Highland dancers wear kilts and jackets, the boys can wear trousers or a kilt. Braemar and Cowal are the two biggest competitions.
Media
Locally published newspapers include the Fife Free Press in
KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
; the
Dunfermline PressThe Dunfermline Press and West Fife Advertiser is a weekly Scottish broadsheet newspaper, based in Dunfermline, Fife. With average sales of 21,852 the newspaper is read by more people in the Dunfermline area than the other quality newspapers combined...
in
DunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
; the Glenrothes Gazette in
GlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
; and the St Andrews Citizen in
St AndrewsSt Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. DC Thompson publishes North East Fife and South Fife Editions of the
Dundee Courier & AdvertiserThe Courier & Advertiser, more commonly known as simply The Courier, is a broadsheet newspaper published by DC Thomson in Dundee, Scotland...
, and the Counties Edition of the Evening Telegraph is sold in Fife. On the east coast of fife The East Fife Mail is also sold.
The only Fife-based radio stations are
Kingdom FMKingdom FM is the dedicated Adult Contemporary radio station for Fife, Scotland. Kingdom FM broadcasts from its studios in Markinch on five frequencies across Fife, 95.2fm in West Fife, 96.1 in Central Fife, 105.4fm in St Andrews, 106.3fm in the East Neuk and 96.6fm in Kirkcaldy and on the web from...
and VRN. There is however a community radio station that broadcasts during the summer called K-Town FM, although local radio stations
Radio TayRadio Tay is a division of Bauer Radio which broadcasts two Independent Local Radio stations throughout Tayside and northeast Fife in Scotland....
and Edinburgh's
97.3 Forth One97.3 Forth One is a Scottish radio station, broadcasting to Edinburgh, The Lothians and Fife including other areas of East Central Scotland and based in Forth Street in Edinburgh’s city centre. The station plays a variety of music, mainly Top 40, but older tunes are also inserted into the playlist...
broadcast to the northern and southern parts of the region respectively.
See also
- Abbeys and priories in Scotland
List of religious houses in Scotland is a link page to any abbey, priory, friary or other religious house in Scotland.-Abbreviations and Key:-Aberdeen:-Aberdeenshire:-Angus:-Argyll & Bute:-Dumfries and Galloway:...
- Castles in Scotland
This list of castles in Scotland is a link page for any castle in Scotland.A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
- Duke of Fife
Duke of Fife is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, named after Fife in Scotland. There have been two creations of the title, the first in 1889 and the second in 1900, both in favour of Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife in the Peerage of Ireland and 1st Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the...
- Earl of Fife
The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife referred to the Gaelic comital lordship of Fife which existed in Scotland until the early 15th century....
- Fire and Rescue Authority (Scotland)
A Fire and Rescue Authority is a body constituted under the Fire Act 2005 for the purposes of providing and managing fire-fighting and rescue services within a Council Area or group of such areas in Scotland.-Constitution:...
- Historic houses in Scotland
- List of places in Fife
- Museums in Scotland
External links