Overview of Fife

The 'Kingdom of Fife' in east central Scotland forms a peninsula with an area of 1340 sq. km (517 sq. miles) jutting out into the North Sea with the Firth of Forth to the south and the Firth of Tay to the north. West Fife, between Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, is the region's industrial and commercial heartland, while the picturesque old fishing villages of the East Neuk are popular with tourists. Its chief rivers are the River Eden and the River Leven which flow eastwards to the sea from sources to the north and south of the Lomond Hills. The ancient city of St Andrews at the eastern tip of Fife has the oldest university in Scotland (1412) and takes its name from Scotland's patron saint whose bones are said to have been brought here. Glenrothes is the administrative centre.

More information is available...