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Tour
The Picturesque
Fishing Village Of Crail
Crail,
in The Kingdom of Fife, is a very popular East Neuk village adored
by both artists and photographers. The picture of Crail harbor
with its little houses, white walls, crowstepped gables and red
pantile roofs, features on the front of numerous brochures and
many calendars. Yet there is much more to Crail than the pretty
harbor which was the lifeline for one of Scotland's most prosperous
burghs in medieval times.
Crail is the oldest East Neuk Burgh, and became a Royal Burgh
in the 12th century. In 1310 Robert the Bruce granted permission
for Crail to hold markets on Sunday - always a contentious point
with the Reformers. The markets, which were once among the largest
in Europe, were held in the Marketgait where the 17th century
Mercat Cross stands.
The distinctive squat tower of the Tolbooth with its rare Dutch
type roof has a fish as a weathervane. This is an old reminder
of the days when the Crail Capon - a split and dried haddock -
was a famous delicacy associated with Crail. The Tolbooth dates
from the 16th century and used to house the old Council Chamber,
Courtroom and prison. Also in Marketgait is Crail Parish Church
on a site where there has been a church since the 12th century.
Crail has many old houses and cottages and is best explored on
foot to capture the quiet atmosphere of a Scottish village. The
dominant building around the harbor is the large, white, crowstepped,
Customs House, built in 1690. East of Crail is the Balcomie Links
of the Crail Golfing Society which is the seventh oldest golf
club in the world. Visitors are always welcome to enjoy the bracing
air of Fife Ness while out on a round of golf.
To the north of Crail lies the attractive coastal village of Kingsbarns
so named because the King's grain was stored in the large barns
before being transported to the Crail or Falkland. The first church
in Kingsbarns was built in 1631.
Crail is ideally located for easy trips to St Andrews, Dunfermline,
Culross, Perth, Edinburgh, Falkland Palace, and all of historic
Fife.
If
you would like to visit this area as part of a highly personalized
small group tour of my native Scotland please e-mail me at;
email
me today
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To Fife
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