Tour The Picturesque Fishing Village Of Crail

Balcomie Links Hotel, Balcomie Road, Crail KY10 3TN, Scotland. Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor.

Caiplie House Bed and Breakfast, 53 High Street, Crail KY10 4RA, Scotland. Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor.

Selcraig House Bed and Breakfast, 47 Nethergate, Crail KY10 3TX, Scotland. Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor.

Crail, in The Kingdom of Fife, is a very popular East Neuk village adored by both artists and photographers. The picture of Crail harbour 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 Burgh in The East Neuk Of Fife, 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 picturesque harbor is the large, white, crowstepped, Customs House, built in 1690.

Just East of the village Crail are the famous 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.

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. The Kingsbarns Golf Links site has long been known for its intimate connection with the sea. The fact that it's golf origins date back to 1793 is testimony to the attributes of the site which foster ideal conditions for links turf to flourish amid interesting natural terrain. This unique part of East Fife has sandy soils, undulating ridges and hollows, Cambo burn running into the sea, all set against the rugged coastline of the North Sea.

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:

Return to Fife