| It has the oldest Highland Games,
and tourists usually get there via the most famous century-old bridge in the world. Small
wonder that this eastern region of Scotland is still proudly called the Kingdom of Fife.
copyright Scottish
Panoramic
Mile upon mile of safe, golden sands are complemented inland
by a patchwork of lush grainfields, woodland and rolling hills. Follow the signs to the
old market town of Cupar and lose yourself in verdant countryside reminiscent of rural
Brittany. Or look out for new signs highlighting our Coastal Tourist Route to discover our
most picturesque parts.
Wherever you go the past is always present: in majestic St
Andrews, once the centre of Scottish religion and a place of international pilgrimage, or
in Falkland with its
Renaissance palace beloved by Mary Queen of Scots. Dunfermline was an ancient capital of
Scotland and has a royal mile to rival its more famous counterpart in Edinburgh complete
with 12th century abbey and a royal palace. Become a time traveller and discover a chain
of Royal Burghs famous for everything from fish to coal, linen to golf clubs, gunpowder to
snuff. Stop to admire Fife's distinctive architecture with its pepperpot towers and
pantiled roofs.
You would be well advised to visit the town of Culross to relive the
domestic life of the 16th and 17th centuries at this Royal Burgh fringed by the River
Forth, where the old buildings and cobbled streets create a time-warp for visitors.
Fife has more than forty golf courses all easily accessible
with something to suit every level of ability. World famous St Andrews beckons with
six testing 18 hole courses and it's not an impossible dream to play on the hallowed Old
Course as long as you are happy to trust to luck in the daily ballot or book well in
advance. Here you can also visit St
Andrews University founded in 1411, the oldest university in Scotland.
Fife is criss-crossed by a network of paths especially
designed for walkers and cyclists. There's the Fife Coastal Path which on completion will
stretch 78 miles from the Forth Bridge to the Tay Bridge. But you don't have to be a long
distance walker to enjoy the breathtaking panoramas of the Firth of Forth, its islands and
wildlife. The Kingdom of Fife Millennium Cycle Ways are the answer to every cyclist's
prayer, and will provide the 105 mile Kingdom route, eleven circular routes, the West Fife
Cycle Way, five urban networks and routes in four forests.
And after a day in the great outdoors you'll appreciate
Fife's excellent cuisine even more. Sample the local delicacies: freshly caught lobster
followed by Pittenweem haddock, mouth-watering raspberries and strawberries served with a
traditional cranachan. In Fife you will find the country's finest restaurants and the very
best Scottish produce.
You might even plan a mini safari beginning in the shadow of
the spectacular Forth Rail Bridge at Deep Sea World where you can find out what it feels
like to swim with the sharks in the world's longest underwater tunnel. Strike inland to
discover deer herds in Rankeilour Park or Reediehill and exotic birds in the Fife Animal
Park where you may also glimpse wallabies, bison and llamas. Handsome highland cattle roam
around junction 4 of the M90 dangerously close to the Butterchurn Craft Centre.
Aquatic attractions are a speciality: visit the award winning
Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther and the St Andrews Sea Life Centre which has many
hundreds of species of marine life all native to the British coast. Then it's all aboard
the May Princess bound for the beautiful Isle of May to visit the puffins and cormorants.
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