Cupar, North Fife & The Howe

The towns & villages of the North coast of the 'Kingdom of Fife', along the shores of the Firth of Tay, provide an excellent base to explore Fife or across the Tay Bridge to Dundee. 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 famously 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 it's association with it's RAF base. It is also the site of one of the finest examples of Norman architecture, the 12th Centure 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.

The rich agricultural land of the valley of the River Eden, known as the Howe of Fife, is scattered with small & pretty villages such as Ceres, home of the oldest Highland Games in the world. The old county town of Cupar was the original seat of justice and government for the whole of Fife. Two miles south is the Hill of Tarvit, a glorious mansion house, now in the hands of the National Trust for Scotland.

Nestling in superb gardens, the royal palace of Falkland was once the country residence of the Stewart kings and queens as they hunted deer and wild boars in the forests of Fife. Built between 1501 and 1541 by James IV and James V, the palace has some of the most exceptional architecture of its time in Britain. It is also the home of one of only two 16th Century tennis courts (the other is at HAmpton Court in England). The surrounding village of Falkland is equally picturesque.