We start the trail in Kirkcaldy. It’s a place with a fascinating history and a great location on the Fife Coast.
Over the years it has been home to some well-known names including Adam smith, the economist and philosopher, known as ‘the father of economics’, Robert Adam who was a neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer who designed many grand buildings and influenced the development of Western architecture.
More recently former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and World Darts Champion Jocky Wilson called Kirkcaldy home.
Another of Kirkcaldy’s famous sons is commemorated on the waterfront by a memorial sundial. Sir Sandford Fleming was an engineer and inventor, born in Kirkcaldy in 1827, who pioneered the changes to standard time and time zones for the whole world.
In 1876 confusion over a railway timetable in Ireland led Fleming to propose a single 24 hour clock for the whole world. In 1879 he proposed tying this to the Greewich Meridian and using standardised time zones around the world. By the 1920s time zones were almost universally in use.
The memorial is an analemmatic type of sundial that lies flat on the ground and the person casts the shadow to show the time.
Close to the sundial is a new artwork, the Kirkcaldy love heart. The heart is intended to put a smile on your face and bring out your love for Kirkcaldy! It’s a great selfie spot.
Next stop is the historic town of Dysart. Right next to the sea at Dysart are the impressive Sea Beams. They are a group of 30-foot high oak-pillars, in various shades of blue, which are meant to match the colours of the sky throughout the year. They also represent the masts of the 19th century clippers which used to carry coal and salt from Dysart Harbour to Holland and Scandinavia.
The Sea Beams are part of the Dysart Artworks Project which also includes the Shaded Wall; Nest Boxes; The Ravenscraig Gateway - 2 inscribed stones and the Portal which frames 2 different views: the view to the Sea Beams and the Bass Rock and the view to St. Serfs tower and the town; and Sailor’s Walk Window.
The next stop is just along the coast at West Wemyss, a former mining village. The village initially began as a settlement around Wemyss Castle and later developed into a centre for the local salt industry. The village is a conservation area and in recent years many of the buildings have been beautifully restored.
Take a walk along the Fife Coastal Path and look out for some lovely mosaics. The mosaics were designed by local artist Kerry Wilson and created by the local community. The mosaics are on the wall which was once part of the Victoria Pit.
The third stop is East Wemyss where you’ll find the fascinating Wemyss Caves. The Caves are home to over 50 inscribed symbols, animal figures and a depiction of an early medieval boat. The caves also house several crosses carved by the first Christian missionaries to visit the area and on the cliffs above sit the remains of medieval MacDuff Castle, once home to the Earls of Fife.
The Wemyss Caves are historically important due to the high number of carvings which are inscribed on their walls. The Pictish carvings are widely thought to be the highest concentration of Picitsh cave carvings in Britain.
The Save the Wemyss Ancient Caves Society runs guided tours of the caves on Sundays.
The final stop on the trail is Leven, a favourite for families and a lovely place to visit. There is a long sweeping beach, and on the promenade right beside it you will find Postie! Postie (pedigree name ‘Postcards From Fife’) is a brightly painted Scottie Dog sculpture who arrived in Leven in 2023.
Postie was part of the Scotties By The Sea trail and it was so popular in Leven that a fundraising campaign successfully raised enough money to give the dog a home!
You can travel to all the locations by bus and to Kirkcaldy and Leven (from 2 June 2024) by train too.
