Leven is a seaside town in
FifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, set in the east
Central LowlandsThe Central Lowlands or Midland Valley is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south...
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 lies on the coast of 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...
at the mouth of the
River LevenThe River Leven is a river in Fife in Scotland. It flows from Loch Leven into the Firth of Forth at the town of Leven. The river is home to brown trout and hosts a run of sea trout and atlantic salmon...
, 8.1 miles (13 km) north-east of Kirkcaldy and 6.4 miles (10.3 km) east of
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 an estimate taken in 2008, Leven has a population of 8,850. The town forms part of 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...
conurbationA conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
which has a total population of 31,450.
History
The origin of the name “Leven” comes from the Pictish word for “flood”. The nearby Loch Leven, being the flood lake, was the name given to both the river and town. A settlement is believed to have formed at the mouth of the
River LevenThe River Leven is a river in Fife in Scotland. It flows from Loch Leven into the Firth of Forth at the town of Leven. The river is home to brown trout and hosts a run of sea trout and atlantic salmon...
very close to the area around Scoonie Brae with the discovery of the parish church of
"scoyne". During the mid-11th century, Bishop Tuadal of St Andrews gifted the church of “scoyne” to the Culdees of Loch Leven. By the end of the 11th century, the village along with the church were acquired by Bishop Robert 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....
following the decline of culdeen faith.
The first mention of the current town was made in the middle of the 15th century, according to two separate records referring to the town's name as
"levynnis-mouth". This contained information about the urgent need for repair work at the town's monastery and Georgie Durie, a local estate owner, becoming the keeper at the harbour.
In 1854 the Leven Railway opened, linking the town with Thornton Junction on 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...
-
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
main line. This helped it to become a tourist resort popular with visitors from the west of Scotland, and particularly
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Later in the 19th century the Leven Railway became part of a loop line of the
North British RailwayThe North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
linking Thornton Junction and
LeucharsLeuchars is a small town near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland.The town is nearly to the north of the village of Guardbridge, which lies on the north bank of the River Eden where it widens to the Edenmouth estuary before joining the North Sea at St Andrews Bay. Leuchars is north-east of...
Junction via
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....
. The railway between Leven and St. Andrews closed in 1965. The railway between Leven and Thornton Junction closed to freight in 1966 and passengers in 1969. A project into the reopening of the line is under consideration, dubbed the
Leven rail link. Until then, the nearest station is
Markinch railway stationMarkinch railway station is a railway station in Markinch, Fife, Scotland and currently serves the Glenrothes and Levenmouth areas of Fife.The station is managed by First ScotRail and is located on the main Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line, 54 km north of Edinburgh Waverley...
.
Leisure & tourism
What remains of the tourist industry in this area probably revolves around
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....
. Leven boasts two golf courses, Scoonie and Leven Links - the latter being used as a qualifying course for
The OpenAn Open in sports terminology refers to a sporting event or game tournament that is open to all people, regardless of their age, ability, gender, or other categorization. Opens are usually found in golf, tennis, quizbowl, snooker, darts, volleyball, ultimate, squash and chess....
when the tournament is being played at the
Old Course at St AndrewsThe Old Course at St Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world. The Old Course is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by The St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament...
. There are also several other good golf courses in the surrounding area notably
Lundin LinksLundin Links is a small village in Fife, Scotland. The village is best known for its two golf courses. The 18 hole course, Lundin Golf Club, was used as a pre-qualifying course when The Open Championship is held at St. Andrews. Lundin Links Ladies 9 hole course is the oldest woman's golf course in...
, Elie and
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...
.
Leven hosts its own 374 seat art deco cinema.
The Regent Cinema, 17-19 Commercial Road, was opened by the Leven Community Cinema group on 12 March 2010 and screens the latest blockbusters along with classics, cultural events and children's matinees. Their website is www.levencommunitycinema.co.uk
Economic Activity
The area now becoming known as "Levenmouth" is a virtual backwater and in desperate need of regeneration. Levenmouth suffers from poor connections to the rail and main road network of Central Scotland, particularly since the closure of the last railway link in 1969, which came at the same time as the collapse of
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...
mining. The knock-on effect virtually sealed the fate of Methil
DocksA dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
as a major port on the East of Scotland. There has been a number of unsuccessful attempts to restore a passenger rail connection to Leven, but as yet no progress has been made. The main road through Fife, the
A92The A92 is a major road in Fife and Angus, Scotland. It runs from Dunfermline to Stonehaven.Starting at its junction with the M90 motorway near Dunfermline, it runs north east past Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes, Ladybank and Newport-on-Tay...
, bypasses this area of Fife, the 4th largest conurbation, whereas
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...
, Kirkcaldy 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...
all have good road and rail connections. Leven is linked to Kirkcaldy by the A915 Standing Stone Road and Methil to Kirkcaldy through Dysart and East/West Wemyss.
Very little remains in the way of major employment since the closure of the coal mining industry. The major employer now is the drinks manufacturer
DiageoDiageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
which has its main bottling plant in the town, and one of the largest distilleries in the world at nearby Windygates. There is hopefully some light on the horizon in the proposed Fife Energy Park (this is operating now 2008, they produce wind turbines) which is to utilise the former oil-rig building yard in Methil which was itself built on the former Wellesley Colliery. On the North side of the Forth, there is talk of starting a ferry service to
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...
, and this may help to revitalise the area and increase house prices which at the moment are among the lowest in Scotland.
Education
Currently, the town is home to three primary schools. Two of which are non-denominational - Mountfluerie and Parkhill and the other being denominational - St Agatha's.
Parkhill Primary School which serves the centre of the town opened in 1910, initially as an infant school before accepting primary school pupils in 1957. Mountfleurie Primary School, on the other hand, opened in 1957 with an infant department in 1974. The school also has a speech and language class which officially started in 1990. St Agatha's RC Primary School which dates from 1975, following a re-location from
Methil, FifeMethil is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was part of the former Burgh of Buckhaven and Methil. It lies within a continuous urban area described as Levenmouth.Methil lies geographically between Largo bay to the east and Wemyss Bay to the west....
has a catchment area stretching from
East WemyssEast Wemyss is a village situated on the south coast of the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland. In the United Kingdom Census 2001 the population was recorded as 1841.- History :...
to
Lower LargoLower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland situated on Largo Bay on the north side of the Firth of Forth. An ancient fishing village, Lower Largo has gained fame as the 1676 birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.The arrival of the...
.
Areas of Leven
Leven is split into 5 areas: Main Leven, Leven Outskirts, Mount & Castlefleurie, Parkhill & The Broom Access.
External links