 Across the Firth of Forth to the north of Edinburgh is the historic county of Fife, sometimes known as the Kingdom of Fife. A number of towns and villages make for easily accessible day trips out of Edinburgh, including to Dunfermline (once the capital of Scotland), St Andrews, Kirkcaldy (birthplace of Adam Smith), and any number of picturesque small coastal villages which grew up around the fishing industry. Heading west after crossing the Forth, one historic village which is worth visiting is Culross - pronounced with a silent L - nestled between a high ridge, on which sites Culross Abbey, and the sea.  Culross is reputed to have been the birthplace of St Kentigern (aka St Mungo), the patron saint of Glasgow - as such it developed a healthy trade in the Middle Ages as a site of pilgrimage for travellers heading east to St Andrews. More recently the visitors to Culross have been walking in the footsteps of less saintly figures - the village was a filming location for the Outlander television series. The quaint and picturesque buildings of Culross are clustered around a central square where a mercat cross marks the original site of markets and trade in the village. Cobbled lanes - ill-suited for modern vehicles - wind between the original cottages with their whitewashed walls and pantiled roofs, many featuring the original crow-step style of gable walls which would later be co-opted into the Scots Baronial architectural style of the late nineteenth century.  The most eye-catching collection of buildings in the village are the orange or ochre coloured Culross Palace, built around the turn of the seventeenth century and visited by James VI in 1617. The original laird who built the palace was George Bruce, who established a successful trade link out from the Firth of Forth over to northern Europe, and in particular to the Netherlands and to Sweden. His house was built partly with imported materials, including Dutch tiles for the floors and decorative glass for its windows. The Ductch pantiles of many of the buildings in the village would have arrived as ballast in ships that Bruce operated. He also built Culross's other significant claim to industrial fame - the world's first coal mine which extended under the sea, which operated between 1590 and 1625. The palace is today managed by the National Trust for Scotland, and features extensive gardens planted with the kind of plants and flowers that would originally have decorated the space.  Culross's original town hall or tolbooth still stands overlooking the green at the southern side of the village. Built in the 1620s it served all manner of community purposes, including as a council chamber, a debtors' prison, a weigh station, and a place where accused witches would be held pending their trial and (usually) execution. A memorial to those who lost their lives due to accusations of witchcraft - including four women burned at the stake in Edinburgh after confessing to authorities at Culross town hall in 1675 - can be found in the village. The town's war memorial was designed by Robert Lorimer, who produced many such monuments across Scotland after the First World War.  Today Culross is an interesting place for a visit, with several nice cafes and ice cream shops for refreshments, a children's playground, and pathways to explore the historic, Instagrammable village itself.
Because of its Outlander connections it can be a busy place in the summer, but a large car park provides plentiful parking and you only need a short stop to get a flavour of the village and its picturesque houses and streets. If you're driving, you can continue westwards along the Forth to eventually circle back towards Edinburgh via Linlithgow or the Kelpies near Falkirk. Discover more scenic locations around Edinburgh with my private city walking tours! Comments are closed.
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