Fife

Fife (: Fìobh) is a of, situated between the  and the , with landward boundaries to  and. It was originally one of the, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland.

It is a, and was a until 1975. It was very occasionally known by the Fifeshire in old documents and maps compiled by  cartographers and authors. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer.

From 1975 to 1996 Fife was a  divided into three s &mdash;,  and. Since 1996 the functions of the district councils have been exercised by the Fife Council.

Fife is Scotland's 3rd largest local authority area with a resident of just over 350,000. Almost a third of the population live in the three principal towns of, and.

The historical town of is located on the east coast of Fife. It is well known for one of the most, and as the home of.

History
Popularly known as 'The Kingdom of Fife', Fife probably takes its name from, a 7th century. Fibh was one of the seven sons of, a warrior king who ruled over a wide area of ancient Scotland.

Legend has it that upon the death of Cruithne, the Pictish realm - known collectively as '' - was divided into seven sub-kingdoms or provinces, one of which became Fife. The name is recorded as Fib in 1150 and Fif in 1165. It was often associated with.

Fife, bounded to the north by the and to the south by the, is a natural peninsula whose political boundaries have changed little over the ages.

King described Fife as a 'beggar's mantle fringed with gold' - the golden fringe being the coast and its chain of little ports with their thriving fishing fleets and rich trading links with the, ironic given the much later development of farming on some of Scotland's richest soil and the minerals, notably coal underneath. Wool,linen, coal and salt were all traded. Salt pans heated by local coal were a feature of the Fife coast in the past.The distinctive red clay "pan tiles" seen on many old buildings in Fife arrived as ballast on trading boats and replaced the previously thatched roofs. Historically, there was much heavy industry in the century or so following the Victorian engineering triumphs of the Forth and Tay rail bridges, The Fife coalfields were developed around and the west of Fife reaching far out under the Firth of Forth. Shipbuilding was famous at and. The world centre for linoleum production was in Kirkcaldy (where it is still produced), and flax grown in Fife was transformed into linen locally too. Fife saw the development of Scotlands second,. Originally to be based around a coal mine the town eventually attracted a high number of modern companies to the region. Fife Council also centered their operations in Glenrothes.

There are many notable historical buildings to be seen in Fife, some of which are managed by the National Trust for Scotland or Heritage Scotland. They include Dunfermline abbey (last resting place of Scottish Royalty), the Palace in Culross, Ravenscraig Castle in Kirkcaldy, Dysart Harbour area, Balgonie Castle near Coaltown of Balgonie, Falkland Palace (hunting palace of the Scottish Kings), Kellie Castle near Pittenweem, Hill of Tarvit (a historical house), St Andrews Castle (with a gruesome bottle dungeon), St Andrews Cathedral and St Rules' Tower.

Geography
Fife is a in eastern Scotland bordered on the north by the, on the east by the  and the  to the south. The route to the west is partially blocked by the mass of the. Almost all traffic into and out of Fife has to pass over one of three bridges, south on The, west on the or north east via The , the exception being traffic headed north on the. It is a sore point among local residents that the only two bridges in Scotland (Tay and Forth) on which a toll has to be paid are those leading into Fife, with the tolls retained by the for national use. The and  bridges did have tolls, but these were abolished recently (as of 2006).

There are a number of extinct features, such as the  which rise above rolling farmland, and, a  in the east. At 522m (or 1713 feet), the is the highest point in Fife. The coast has many fine but small harbours, from the industrial docks in and  to the fishing villages of the  such as  and. The large area of flat land to the north of the Lomond Hills, through which the flows, is known as the. North of the Lomond Hills can be found many villages and small towns in a primarily agricultural landscape. The areas in the south and west of Fife, including the towns of, , and the  region are much more lightly industrial and densely populated. The only area which could claim to be heavy industry is that of, around the naval dockyard.

The east corner of Fife, generally that east of a line between and  is recognised throughout Scotland as the "East Neuk" (or corner) of Fife, small settlements around sheltered harbours, with distinctive vernacular "Dutch" or craw(crow)stepped gabled and stone-built architecture - an area much sought after as second homes of the  professional classes in the 30 years since the Forth Road Bridge was built. The on which the East Neuk settlements were built has declined in recent years with the main fishing fleet now operating from Pittenweem and the harbour in Anstruther being used as a marina for pleasure craft.

Towns and villages

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Places of interest

 * Cupar Garden Centre
 * Cupar Garden Centre

Notable Fifers

 * , architect
 * , Musician
 * , musician, frontman of
 * , writer
 * , footballer
 * , Radio 1 DJ
 * , MP for and current  and leader of the
 * , industrialist and
 * , actor
 * , driver
 * , singer and actress
 * , sailor and captain of  at
 * , actress
 * , Olympic Gold medallist
 * , actress, comedienne, writer
 * , writer
 * Craig and Charlie Reid, better known as
 * , writer
 * , actor
 * , seafarer and inspiration for
 * Sir, accordion player
 * , economist
 * , first female snooker referee to appear on the Crucible
 * , musician
 * , artist
 * , Signer of U.S. Declaration of Independence, appointed by Geo. Washington to first Supreme Court

Sports

 * , Senior football club based in Cowdenbeath
 * , Senior football club based in Dunfermline
 * , Senior football club based in Methil
 * , Senior football club based in Kirkcaldy
 * , the UK's oldest club
 * , Rugby League club
 * , the only senior club in Fife.

Council political composition
Fife Council has a joint SNP/Liberal Democrat local government administration following the recent elections. Labour and the other parties form the opposition. 


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Trivia
In 's play , the of Fife is.