Scotland, Fife,
Balmullo, Blairhall, Blebocraigs, Boarhills,
Bottomcraig, Bow of Fife, Bowershall,
Buckhaven,  Burntisland, Cadham, Cairneyhill,
Cameron Bridge, Cardenden, Carnbee, Carnock.

Map Of Fife

Balmullo

  A village in the parish of Leuchars, E Fife, situated on the eastern slopes of Lucklaw Hill 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Leuchars. Now largely a dormitory settlement, it was once a weaving village. Balmullo was the home of the picture postcard cartoonist Martin Anderson ('Cynicus') whose red sandstone Cynicus Castle was demolished in 1939 seven years after his death. A prominent red sandstone quarry, which is a source of red pathway chippings, lies to the west.

Blairhall

A former mining village in W Fife, situated south-west of Comrie; pop. (1991) 650. It was founded in 1911 to house miners at an adjacent colliery and has a primary school and a community leisure centre. Nearly a mile to the south beyond Shiresmill and to the west of the Bluther Burn stands the handsome 17th-century laird's house of Blairhall which was the birthplace (c.1630) of Sir William Bruce (later of Balcaskie and then Kinross), Surveyor-General to King Charles II.

Blebocraigs

  A village in Kemback Parish, W Fife, situated on a ridge overlooking the Kinness Burn 5 miles (8 km) west of St Andrews. It was originally an estate village whose inhabitants quarried red sandstone in the surrounding area.

Boarhills

  A village in E Fife, situated on the Kenly Water 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of St Andrews. Interesting buildings include the Parish School (1815), Boarhills Church (1867), Kenly Bridge (1793), 17th-century Kenly Dovecote, 16th-century Peekie Bridge and Kenly Green House which was built to an Adam design in 1791.

Boarhills Parish

A parish in E Fife linked with Dunino Parish in 1966.

Bottomcraig

  A small hamlet in the parish of Balmerino, N Fife. It lies between the villages of Balmerino and Gauldry.

Bow of Fife

  A hamlet with a red-spired church (1843) in the parish of Monimail, central Fife, situated 3 miles west of Cupar at a point where the estates of Melville, Over Rankeillour and Nether Rankeillour meet. It lies on a bend of the Daft Burn which flows southwards to meet the River Eden.

Bowershall

  A small agricultural hamlet in Dunfermline Parish, W Fife, situated a mile north of Townhill and just over 2 miles north of Dunfermline.

Buckhaven

A town in Wemyss Parish, situated on the Firth of Forth between East Wemyss and Methil.  Once a thriving weaving village and fishing port, it was reported as having in 1831 the second-largest fishing fleet in Scotland with a total of 198 boats. The fishing declined during the 19th century but in the 1860s Buckhaven developed as a mining town. Although coal waste blackened its beaches and silted up its harbour it also later became a Fife coast holiday resort.
Said to be descended from Norsemen who settled there in the 9th century, its fisherfolk bought an Episcopal Church in St Andrews in 1869 and transported it stone by stone to Buckhaven. Restored in the 1980s, this building was turned into a theatre.

Burntisland

  A Fife coastal town on the Firth of Forth 10 miles (16 km) east of the Forth Bridge; pop. (1991) 6,040. Occupying a natural harbour, Burntisland is said to have been chosen by Agricola as a Roman naval base as early as AD 83. Given to Dunfermline Abbey in the 12th century, a castle, church and 'kirkton' were established close to the harbour. The town was granted a royal charter by James V in 1541 and developed as a naval base and a port trading initially in fish and later in coal.
  In 1850 the first rail ferry in the world, the Leviathan, came into operation, linking Burntisland and Granton on the opposite side of the Firth of Forth. It was the concept of Thomas Bouch who was later to be responsible for the design of the ill-fated Tay Bridge.
  In addition to brewing and distilling, which was carried on from 1786 to 1916, Burntisland was a centre of ship building for half a century between 1918 and 1968. The aluminium works founded in 1917 is still a major employer in addition to marine service industries.
  Local landmarks include Rossend Castle which dates from the 12th century; the Burgh Chambers (1843); Burntisland Library and Museum; Mary Somerville's house (1595), once the home (1786-1817) of a daughter of one of Lord Nelson's captains and pioneer of women's education who gave her name to Oxford's first college for women founded in 1879; and the octagonal-towered St Columba's Church, said to be the first church built after the Reformation and where the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, meeting in 1601, decided to publish the new authorised or 'King James' version of the Bible. On the Binn Hill just above Burntisland James 'Paraffin' Young started shale oil production and founded a village in 1878.
  Annual events in Burntisland include a Fair, Highland Games and the crowning of a 'Summer Queen' on the Links. A popular summer resort, Burntisland has a caravan site, bowling green, football ground and 18-hole golf course.

Cadham

  A planned village in central Fife 1.5 miles (2 km) west of Markinch. Now part of Glenrothes New Town, it was originally built during the 1920s on land bought from the Balbirnie Estate to house employees of the Tullis Russell Paper Mill. Planned as a spacious low density housing development with a rural rather than urban character, it was designated a Conservation Area in 1985.

Cairneyhill

  A former linen weaving village on the A994 3 miles west of Dunfermline. In addition to a small industrial estate there is a golf range, garden centre and church, formerly a United Presbyterian church, built in 1752.

Cameron Bridge

  A settlement at a bridge over the River Leven just south of Windygates in South Fife. Situated 2 miles (3 km) west of Leven, it was the first upstream crossing of the river when the ford at Leven was flooded. An earlier bridge was rebuilt in 1870. A distillery was established here by the Haig family in the early 19th century.

Cardenden

  A former mining town on the Carden Burn in the parish of Auchterderran, W Fife. It incorporates the settlements of Auchterderran, Bowhill and Dundonald and was the home of the poet Joe Corrie (1894-1968) who gives his name to the Corrie Centre. Carden Tower was built in the 16th century by the Mertyne family of Medhope and the last duel in Scotland is said to have been fought on 2 August 1826 in a field at Cardenbarns to the south of Cardenden.
Local industries include engineering and the manufacture of alloy castings.

Carnbee

  A settlement and parish in the East Neuk of Fife whose lands were once owned by the Melvilles of Raith and whose church, rebuilt in 1793, was possessed in pre-Reformation times by the Abbey of Dunfermline. The parish also contains the hamlet of Arncroach and rises to 557 ft (182 m) at Kellie Law, and 600 ft (212 m) at Cassingray.

Carnock Parish

  A parish and village in W Fife to the north-west of Dunfermline; pop. (1991) 800.  Situated on the Carnock Burn, the village is said to be named after St Cearnock, one of the disciples of St Ninian. It has a parish church built in 1840, but nearby in the old kirkyard stand the ruins of the original 12th-century parish church which was rebuilt in 1602 by the salt manufacturer Sir George Bruce of Culross. There is a fine gravestone with Latin and Hebrew inscriptions commemorating John Row (1568-1646) who was minister of the parish and the Church of Scotland's first historian.

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