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FIFE COUNCIL
It may be the home of golf, but a forthcoming Outdoor Activities Week will highlight the Kingdom’s abundance of other fun opportunities
IT’S known as the Kingdom of Fife but you don’t have to be regal to enjoy the region’s rich treasures.
With stunning, award-winning beaches, championship golf courses, thrilling watersports, scenic cycle routes, art, history and culture, it is the perfect place for a day trip or a longer holiday.
To highlight all that is on offer, Fife Council is promoting an Outdoor Activities Week from September 28-October 6 at venues across the region. The week includes taster sessions and free events and there is much to choose from for people of all ages, from the very young to the very old.
Those interested in art could check out the Falkland Art Trail which gives the chance to visit the studios of artists and crafters in the village and the estate, where there are also woodland walks and a café.
Watersport taster sessions include paddleboarding, canoeing and kayaking which are all available at Lochore Meadows Country Park.
More exhilaration can be experienced through waterskiing and wakeboarding at Town Loch National Training Site. There are beginner packages available which include one-to-one coaching from one of the fully qualified, experienced UKCC2 coaches. Wetsuit, flotation vest and waterski hire are all included in the price.
At Burntisland, group taster eFoil sessions are available, aimed at people who are new to watersports but would like to try eFoiling, which is like surfing on a motorised skateboard.
Slightly more sedate but still good fun is Footgolf and there is a chance to try it at Cluny Activities on the 9-hole Footgolf course.
If that all sounds a bit too energetic, there are seaside saunas at Cellardyke, Kingsbarns and Elie where it’s possible to cool off in the sea after sweating off any stress in the saunas.
Walkers and cyclists are also spoilt for choice in Fife. In total there are over 300 miles of dedicated cycle routes, offering everything from a leisurely ride to a more strenuous workout.
Image: Steven Sweeney
Road cyclists can discover the region’s rich history on the Inner Forth Cycle Route which is served by the Free Inner Forth Bike Bus that runs every Sunday until the end of October and takes walkers as well as up to 12 bicycles.
Fife Cycle Park at Lochgelly offers a range of programmes for children, young people and adults, including learn to ride, returning to ride, development and advanced sessions, while Kennoway Pump Track at Kennoway is a fully floodlit, free-to-use track that can be used by mountain bikes, BMX, skateboards, rollerblades, scooters, inline skaters and wheelchair users,
For walkers there is the Fife Coastal Path, Scotland’s longest continuous coastal path at 117 miles. It is a hiker’s paradise offering unrivalled views of rugged cliffs, golden beaches and picturesque fishing villages. History is everywhere, from the winding gear of the former coalyards to ruined castles and the Pictish and prehistoric carvings in the Wemyss caves.
There is also the Forth Bridges Trail, a five-mile circular route bringing together 22 points of interest offering historical facts, local tales and folklore as well as panoramic views of the three Bridges and the Firth of the Forth.
Alternatively you can follow in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims along the Fife Pilgrim Way, a 64 mile route from Culross or North Queensferry to St Andrew’s which was revered in the Middle Ages for hosting the bones of St Andrew, one of Jesus’s disciples.
Near St Andrews, the home of golf, the pine forest and pristine beaches of Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve are worth a visit, as is Lomond Hills Regional Park which became Scotland’s first regional park in 1986 due to its importance for recreation and conservation.
It offers a network of hiking trails, mountain biking routes and perfect picnic spots. Here you’ll also find the unusual Bunnet Stane and John Knox’s Pulpit waterfall,
There are plenty of other excellent parks and gardens throughout Fife, including Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline which was gifted to the people by the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
It is important that these green places are preserved for the future and community climate action will be celebrated at Fife Climate Festival which will take place during the Outdoor Activities Week, culminating in a Big Day Oot at Silverburn Park in Leven.
For more information go to www.welcometofife.com. This promotion is funded by the UK Government
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