9 Reasons You Need to Visit the Wonderful and Charming Fife Scotland

Officially known as the Kingdom of Fife Scotland, this county or council area is a must for lovers of history, the outdoors, charming villages and the sea.

I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about Fife until I had Bo Fraser of Scotland Your Way on the podcast.

As we talked about this area, I became intrigued.

So when I booked my ticket to Scotland, Bo invited me to stay with her and her husband in St Andrews.

And during these 5 days I got to know Fife and see its rich culture and its natural beauty.

I’m officially sold on this destination.

So, you know the drill, let’s start with where the Kingdom of Fife is — and why it’s known as the Kingdom of Fife.

So, you know the drill.

We’ll start with where this council area is and then move into all the wonderful things about it.

Where is Fife, Scotland? And why is it the Kingdom of Fife?

Fife is just across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh.

This puts it just north of Edinburgh.

And on the north side of Fife is the Firth of Tay.

A firth is a sea inlet.

So there is a lot of coastline in Fife.

Actually if you look at the map, it looks like a Scottie dog in profile.

Bo likes this reference as do I!

This county is 512 square miles and has a population of 372,000.

Why is it known as the Kingdom of Fife?

Well back around 600AD there were people known as Picts and they were the predominant group at that time and were a tribe that would have been considered to have a kingdom.

And some of them lived in what is now Fife.

I’m sure there’s much more to this, but that’s a very abbreviated version.

Anyway…

So Fife is often still referred to as the Kingdom of Fife since it was a kingdom way back when.

Okay.

Let’s get into all the things there are to do in this beautiful piece of Scotland

Discover St Andrews

For golfers (we’ll get to you), St Andrews is a bit of a mecca.

The home of golf — especially the Old Course at St Andrews — brings golfers from around the globe.

But St Andrews has so much more.

First of all, it has the 3rd oldest university in the UK (United Kingdom).

That’s right.

And the University of St Andrews also draws in students from around the world with quite a few from the US.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The cathedral, which was built between 1158 and 1318, is just ruins now.

However, it was huge and an important cathedral and pilgrimage.

You see, St Rule (St Regulus) supposedly brought the remains of St Andews (one of Jesus’ apostles) to what is now St Andrews in the 4th century. 

There was an older church/monastery on the grounds.

But they decided they needed something bigger and grander so up went the cathedral.

In its heyday it drew pilgrims from all over and was incredibly impressive.

Now we just have the ruins.

St Andrews also has a castle that was more of a bishops’ house — but has some fabulous stories associated with it. 

And the town has so many cool old buildings.

You’ll find old fishermen homes to beautiful buildings that belong to the University.

The student population gives the town a lot of energy and lots of cafes, pubs and take away restaurants as well as some nice spots for a more upscale meal.

I have to admit, I absolutely fell in love with this town in Fife, Scotland.

Wander about Falkland

So about 21 miles west of St Andrews you’ll find the little village of Falkland.

What a gem!

With a population of around 1100 this is definitely a village.

There’s not a lot here except for some lovely old buildings, cute shops and cafes, a few places to stay and some history.

Falkland actually was a royal burgh which means it had a royal charter. 

The location at the base of the Lomond Hills (see below) is fabulous.

For Outlander fans, Falkland served as Inverness in a couple of scenes when Claire and Frank take their second honeymoon. 

It’s a quaint village for sure and worthy of some time.

I recommend a stop in Campbells for lunch or a warm drink and a treat.

Explore the East Neuk villages

Neuk means nook or corner.

So East Neuk is an area of Fife that is along the northern coast and some of the land inland or behind that coast.

Some of the villages that are part of East Neuk are:

• Elie and Earlsferry (2 towns that basically run into each other but are seen as separate)
• St Monans
• Pittenweem
• Anstruther 
• Cellardyke
• Crail
• Kingsbarns

I visited all of these, at least driving through them but walking about most of them.

Each village is as charming as the next.

Elie and Earlsferry are popular with folks from Edinburgh or Glasgow who have holiday homes here.

So they may feel a little less “real”.

However, they are lovely.

St Monans is a delightful fishing village with more of a concentration on lobster fishing.

The harbor area is wonderful to walk around.

Don’t miss the Wellie Boot Garden at the southwest end of the harbor.

Pittenweem is a true fishing village with a great name, don’t you think?

Again, this is an enchanting village to wander about.

There are some good restaurants and shops selling local crafts.

East Neuk is also well known for attracting artists of all types.

But it’s Pittenweem that has the arts festival every summer that draws visitors from all over.

Anstruther is the biggest town with the most amenities but still worthy of time.

It runs straight into Cellardyke which is a wee town, but just as captivating as the others.

Crail is the first town I saw as Bo and I took advantage of good weather one late afternoon.

It’s a super cute harbor town.

Heck…they’re all charming!

So you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Walk the Fife Coastal Path 

One thing I didn’t do, but hope to on a return visit is to walk some of the Fife Coastal Path.

The trail is a long distance one at 114 miles.

And as its name suggests, it follows the coast of Fife.

It meanders through the above villages in many cases.

You’ll have views to the sea and be able to stop in these small towns to sleep for a night or just for a midday meal.

The traill starts in Kincardine in the south and ends in Newburgh in the north.

Of course, you can walk just part of it if you want.

Personally, I’d love to do the entire path.

But I’d settle for walking a wee section for now. 

It’s mostly flat and will not be too remote except for a few sections where you’ll be away from “civilization” for a longer stretch.

This is a must do in Fife Scotland for active travelers.

Hike the Lomond Hills

Another experience I’ll do on a return trip is to hike the Lomond Hills — East Lomond and West Lomond.

These are easy walks but offer some fantastic views of the Fife landscape.

You can access this regional park not far from Falkland.

There are trails to the top of each hill and other trails to take a walk on.

This is a gentle landscape, so nothing too difficult although it could be a bit wet because, well, it is Scotland.

But these hills are a good spot to get out into the Fife landscape.

Delve into some fascinating history

There are castles, towers, stories, legends, myths and so much history in the Kingdom of Fife.

I already mentioned some of it in the section on St Andrews.

But there is intriguing every day history.

Things like why the fisherman’s houses were built as they were.

Bo was always quick to point these homes out to me.

And the marriage lintils that would be over or near a door.

These are stones carved with a year — the marriage year — and the 2 initials of the 2 people who had gotten married.

So much history to explore and learn about in Fife Scotland.

Eat fresh seafood

Since you are right by the water and have all these fishing towns, you can bet that the seafood will find its way to your plate — if you like seafood, that is.

Fish, lobster, prawns.

There is definitely some delicious seafood in Fife Scotland.

In fact, there is a guy — named George — who comes around the neighborhoods of St Andrews in his van honking his horn.

You can run out to meet him and buy your seafood from him as Bo and her husband, Eric, do.

I got a kick out of this.

You can bet that fish is very, very fresh!

I can attest that it is delicious 😋

Play some golf

Yes, St Andrews is the home of golf.

And there are 7 courses that are part of the St Andrews links.

But there are loads of golf courses all around Fife Scotland.

So if golf is your thing, then you’ll find Fife to be an excellent destination.

Plus some of these courses are in simply stunning locations.

Walk on some beaches

St Andrews has 2 beaches — East Sands and West Sands.

There is a beach in Elie.

And one in Kingsbarns.

A few others will pop up at low tide like at Crail and around the castle in St Andrews.

While some of the prettier beaches lie elsewhere in Scotland, you can still find a few in Fife that are definitely worthy of a walk.

So there you have it — 9 things to do in Fife Scotland

I think this region of Scotland has something for everyone.

I highly recommend Fife to anyone visiting Scotland.

Personally, I’m excited to return and dig in deeper — to discover more.

If you’ve been to Fife, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Leave your comment below.

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