North Fife

The towns and villages of the north coast of 'the Kingdom', running along the shores of the Firth of Tay, provide an excellent base to explore the rest of Fife or even Dundee, lying a few miles north across the Tay Bridge.

Communities such as Tayport, Wormit and Newport-on-Tay grew as the wealthy jute barons of 19th-century Dundee sought quieter, cleaner surroundings in which to live. They commuted across the old Tay railway bridge, which tragically collapsed one stormy December night in 1879. The coast road meanders west to the town of Newburgh, an agricultural community with an important 12th-century abbey overlooking the famed salmon-fishing waters of the River Tay.

To the east, the town of Leuchars has prospered through its association with its RAF base. It is also the site of one of the finest examples of Norman architecture, the 12th-century church of St Athernase. Further inland, the peaceful farming communities have many absorbing places of interest and the Lomond Hills provide ample opportunity for walking and other activities, with spectacular vistas over the surrounding countryside.