Things you didn't know about... Fife

Fife claims the longest street fair in Europe

The Links Market in Kirkcaldy, Fife, takes place along the town's Esplanade and, at over a mile in length, is thought to be Europe's longest street fair. It began way back in 1304, and attracts around a quarter of a million visitors every year.

When East Fife play Forfar, football results announcers hold their breath

One of the more humorous football results happened in the 1963/4 season, when Forfar played East Fife. The result was beautifully difficult to pronounce: Forfar 5, East Fife 4!

Fife is a kingdom, not a county

The region is commonly known as the "Kingdom of Fife" in Scotland. This comes from the fact that it was one of the Pictish kingdoms in the Dark Ages. Back then it was known as "Fib" (we're not lying).

The home of golf is here

St Andrews, a city on the east coast of Fife, is known the world over as the home of golf. People come from all over the world to play on the golf courses around the city. The most famous of these is the "Old Course", which claims to be the oldest golf course in the world. Golfers have been playing here for almost 500 years.

Macbeth was killed by a man from Fife

The fictional character Macduff, who in Shakespeare's play kills Macbeth, was the "Thane of Fife".

Jolly hockey sticks! Fife holds the record

The Fife Flyers are the oldest ice hockey club in the UK. They were founded in 1938 and have won over 60 league titles and cups.

Without Fife, there wouldn't have been Robinson Crusoe

It is thought that Daniel Defoe was inspired to write Robinson Crusoe after hearing about Alexander Selkirk. Selkirk was a Fife-bred sailor who spent four years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Juan Fernández archipelago in the South Pacific before being found and returning safely. In 1966 the island on which he stayed was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island.

Falkirk has more names than anywhere else in the UK

Uniquely, the Fife town of Falkirk has a name in four different languages: Egglesbreth in Old English, Falkirk in Scots, La Chapelle de Fayerie in French, and An Eaglais Bhreach in Gaelic. It is the only place in Great Britain for which this is the case.