Fife

Travel writers cannot resist referring to Fife as a "kingdom" and even the folk who live there use the expression. It recalls very ancient times when the region bounded by the two long sea-firths of Forth and Tay was truly a kingdom on its own - an independent Pictish state gradually subdued in the long Dark Ages battle towards a united Scotland.

The further east you travel in Fife, the greater grows the sense of a special identity. Glittering sea views along a south-facing coastline, hedgerows and stubble fields in winter, architecture echoing the lowlands of Holland, and - hopefully - pale and settled skies as a reminder that the northeast part of Fife enjoys low rainfall and high sunshine hours.

There is also a sense of a kind of well-groomed neatness, certainly noticeable in Fife's golf courses with their finely-honed greens and enticing fairways. These are a conspicuous ingredient of the Fife landscape (not to mention the local economy). The western part of the Kingdom, lying closer to the industrial heartlands of Scotland, inevitably played a part in the Industrial Revolution.

The ancient Royal Burgh of Culross on the shores of the Forth, a little way west of Rosyth, actually predates the Industrial Revolution. Its prosperity came from coal and salt, in medieval times. When the emphasis switched to other parts of the central belt of Scotland, Culross missed out on further redevelopment.

This meant that many examples of Scottish domestic architecture from the 16th-18th centuries have survived into the 20th century, so that parts of the village, with tiled roofs and crow-stepped gables, look like a period-drama setting Ñ only for real. Dunfermline, minutes away to the north of Rosyth, was once a major centre of damask linen manufacture. In 1835, in a cottage in the town, a child called Andrew Carnegie was born into a poor weaving family.

Soon the family decided that a better opportunity awaited across the Atlantic. Decades later, the millionaire philanthropist Carnegie became Dunfermline's greatest benefactor. The town is also noted for Dunfermline Abbey and Palace, the remains of a greatly modified complex of religious and royal buildings, which survive as a reminder that Dunfermline was once the seat of the Scottish Royal Court.

This is a theme explored by the unique Abbot House heritage centre, the town's oldest surviving domestic building, which has outlasted much of the neighbouring Benedictine Abbey. Hardly any aspect of Dunfermline's and Scotland's colourful history has failed to leave its mark upon the fabric of this noble house. In its time it has been an Abbot's home, a laird's mansion, an iron foundry and an art school.

Now the story of Abbot House is told in a series of fascinating displays and tableaux. Deep Sea World, Scotland's national aquarium, lies almost directly below the Forth Rail Bridge and features Europe's largest collection of sand tiger sharks, as well as the world's longest underwater safari tunnel.

East of the M90 motorway, the biggest town is Kirkcaldy, known as the "lang toun" (long town) because it stretches out along the shore. In its Museum and Art Gallery you can trace the history of Wemyss ware, the very collectable pottery formerly made locally, and also enjoy a superb collection of Scottish paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Kirkcaldy bustles with shops, and offers various entertainment programmes, some based round the Adam Smith Centre, a name recalling the economist who is one of the town's most famous sons. Kirkcaldy nods towards the historic at nearby Ravenscraig Castle, strategically placed on a rocky headland to guard the sea approaches to Fife and the capital across the Firth of Forth.

Further out lies the "East Neuk". Neuk is a Scots word for corner and the East Neuk is a string of picturesque villages and their tidy hinterland, running away to the breezy tip of the Kingdom. The little coastal community of Lower Largo was the birthplace, loosely speaking, of Robinson Crusoe.

In his original form he was a seafarer called Alexander Selkirk whose true-life adventures inspired Daniel Defoe to write one of the best-known novels in the English language. Look for the statue, in a niche in the wall, along the main street. Nearby the twin communities of Elie and Earlsferry, in season, the sheltered harbour is criss-crossed by wind-surfers and dinghy sailors - just one of the many places on the coast suitable for these sports.

A few minutes away is the busy harbour of St Monans. Pittenweem stacks its white-harled, crow-stepped gabled houses round a busy harbour, where bright-hulled fishing boats are berthed. At Anstruther all this emphasis on the seafaring life comes into focus at the Scottish Fisheries Museum, housed in historic waterfront buildings round a central courtyard.

The museum illustrates the past and present life of Scottish fishermen, by means of models, documents, artefacts, paintings and particularly effective tableaux. The most easterly settlement on this attractive south-facing stretch of coast is Crail, perhaps the most photogenic of all the East Neuk villages. Here the architecture most strongly echoes the Low Countries, a reminder of the trading links with Holland which were strong in medieval times.

Crail's Tolbooth is certainly in the Dutch style and houses the oldest bell in Fife Ñ cast in1520. In past centuries, the little Forth ports from Crail all the way west to Kincardine had strong European links. They traded their wares with the Low countries. Far from being a backwater, they absorbed all kinds of European influences.

These old themes are echoed not just in language, but in the very fabric of the buildings, especially of the East Neuk communities. The main road turns north and soon reaches St Andrews Ñ a town with a unique ecclesiastical heritage. ScotlandÕs oldest university was founded here in 1411.

These distinctions alone would guarantee interest for the visitor, even without the townÕs claim to be the "spiritual" home of golf and a place of pilgrimage for golfers from all over the world. A local legend tells of the shipwreck off the coast of a certain Greek monk Regulus (or Rule), carrying relics of St Andrew.

He founded a church which later became the St Rule's Church (or tower). It still stands near the ruined cathedral today and is actually older, probably dating from the early 12th century. Work on building St Andrews cathedral began in 1160 and the building was consecrated in 1318. St Andrews Castle was also started at the end of the 13th century and the town's status grew as it became a royal burgh and a centre for Scotland's spiritual, intellectual and political life.

Today you can climb St Rule's Tower for a grand view over the town (note how the streets today still follow the mediaeval ground plan) and also visit the castle with its fascinating mine and counter-mine - rare examples of medieval siege techniques Ñ as well as its gruesome bottle dungeon from which death was the only escape!

With sandy beaches above and below the town, a wealth of historic interest centred round cathedral, castle and university, a fascinating local museum, a wide choice of restaurants as well as a range of designer boutiques and giftshops, St Andrews certainly offers a diverse visitor experience.