Welcome to Fife or what is known as "The Kingdom of Fife" here I hope to give you an insight to this beautiful part of the Scottish coastline. There are numerous things to do and see and no matter what kind of holiday you like you will be sure to find it here of course the most famous thing that Fife is known for is Golf and St Andrews is after all "The Home of Golf" there are some superb golf courses not only in St Andrews but also in the surrounding area but of course there are other sports which are here in Fife.

• Cycling,  there are some terrific cycling routes
• Walking, The renowned Fife Coastal Path
• Water Sports, in villages all along the coast
• Sailing, There are sailing clubs in villages along the coast such as St Andrews, Anstruther and Elie
• Clay Pigeon Shooting, Cluny Clays and Craigie Farm, Leuchars
• Fishing, There is sea fishing and lots of places you can fish for trout
• Tennis, There are many tennis courts around Fife
• Flying Lessons, Fife Airport, Glenrothes

St Monans

About the village of St Monan's

At the western point of St Monans lies the ruins of Newark Castle.

Pre 16th century the castle was bought by a Fifer in 1649 David Leslie

and had the restorations of Sir Robert Lorimar aspired the Glasgow's

Burrell collection could well have been housed here.

Heading back towards St Monans you see St-Monans church which has breathtaking

views over the Forth. From the church you walk over Invurie Burn and up onto

views over the harbour. St Monans harbour used to see some of the local fishing

fleet built here. Until a few years ago Millers boatyard employed many of the

local men to build boats, it was a great sight to see a new boat being launched

into the harbour especially the largest boat built here as it was only a few feet

from hitting the far end of the harbour wall when launched. The harbour still has

a boat slip where many boats a taken if they require repairs and painting.

Heading east from the harbour you come past the caravan park to the Windmill.

Recently restored the Windmill was used for pumping the seawater to the saltpans.

From this the water was extracted leaving only the salt. It would take approximately

32 tons of sea water to produce 1 ton of salt.

Above the windmill is a farm, the Coal Farm, so given its name as coal was once mined here, but in the 18th century there was a major underground fire and this caused a slump in production and the mine closed, as did the salt-pans in 1823.

St Monans Church is situated within its kirkyard just to the west of the village on

the very edge of the sea. It is indeed said to be the church nearest the sea in the

whole of Scotland. The church, one of the finest remaining from the Middle Ages in

Scotland, was built by King David II Bruce (1329-71), initially for a small house of

Dominican friars. It later became the Church of Scotland parish church. Though the

church may never have been finished (it lacks a nave), it has many features of

architectural interest, notably the fine stone vaulting in the choir and the simple

but handsome sedilia. White-washed throughout internally, the church is particularly

light and attractive among ancient Scottish churches.

Major restoration to the windows and masonry was completed in March 2007. The church is open to visitors daily from April - October.

St Monans Parish Church is linked with Largoward Parish Church. The current minister of both parish churches is the Revd Dr Donald MacEwan.

ST Monans Parish Church also runs a youth club explore where children from P6 - S2

and any people to old to come from S3 upwards are allowed to come as junior leaders

which help out the main leaders although the junior leaders had to come the year before if they wanted to come for another year

St Monans is home to a number of shops and businesses, including fish merchants and a fish-smokehouse.However the tradition of ship-building has unfortunately ceased, at

least for the time being. There is a fine Seafood Restaurant,and the Mayview Hotel has a popular bar and restaurant, St Monans has a selection of convenience stores. The East Neuk Veterinary Clinic, Elie Clean laundry service, Alan Stephen joiner and undertaker, some plumbers, Wilsons Fish, and one or two driving schools are also based in St Monans too. A friendly community cafe, the Harbour Howff, opened in April 2007. There is also a caravan park which attracts many visitors, largely from the west coast of Scotland, a tradition that has stuck since the days of the railway line.

In fact, in the industrial estate at the entrance to St Monans, are the remains of the

old train station, a relic of the old East Neuk Rail Line that was shut down in the 1960s after the Beeching cuts. All that remains is the south platform which is overgrown with grass. However a little along from that is the station master's house, now a private residence, which stands out from all the other buildings in the vicinity because it is the only one of its era.

The author Christopher Rush grew up in this village. His autobiography

"Hellfire and Herrings" describes the community as seen by a small boy and as recounted by his grandfather.

Leven

Leven is a small town with a pedestrian mall comprising over 50 stores (Banks, Restaurants, Pubs, Bakers, grocery stores, and lots of small specialty shops). It is situated on the East coast of Fife between the picturesque East Neuk fishing villages on one side and the main towns of Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes on the other.The town is also served by excellent bus services to Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow and St. Andrews from its own bus terminus 200 metres from the cottage. Leven has a pleasant promenade and beach area, where Kerrera Cottage is situated. You can walk along the beach and the Fife Coastal Path to villages in the East Neuk.Leven is a popular holiday destination with play areas and amusements for children as well as an excellent swimming pool only minutes away. Two golf courses are within a 5-minute walk along the Promenade and some thirty other golf courses such as Lundin Links within a 10 minute drive and easy access to a ladies course also at Lundin Links

Anstruther