Fife has always been one of Scotland’s most distinctive counties. Though never a ’kingdom’ in its own right, its
geographical position as a peninsular county between the firths of Tay and Forth has helped maintain its self-contained
identity through the ages, and even today Fifers are notoriously proud of their varied and beautiful corner of Scotland.
Although the county has played a central role in Scotland’s history since earliest times, its period of greatest historical
prominence was during the pre-Industrial age. St Andrews was one of the country’s great ecclesiastical centres from the
tenth century onwards, as well as the home of Scotland’s first university (1412). During Stewart times, Dunfermline and
Falkland were two of Scotland’s most important towns. Not surprisingly for a county of such extraordinary historical
resonance, Fife contains a huge number of churches, castles and houses that witnessed events that have quite literally
shaped the nation. |