Kirkcaldy factfile

How to get to Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy, on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, is accessible from the A92, which connects the A90/M90 from Queensferry to Dundee, and via the A910 coast road. It's within easy reach of Edinburgh Airport too.

Kirkcaldy through the ages
The monks of Dunfermline Abbey were gifted Kirkcaldy in 1364, and Charles II confirmed it as a Royal Burgh in 1661. Kirkcaldy grew up around its harbour and expanded rapidly in the 19th century with the development of textile, linoleum and coal industries. At one point, Kirkcaldy produced most of the world's linoleum from a factory in the town centre.

Famous people from Kirkcaldy
The economist Adam Smith was born in 1723 in Kirkcaldy, where he wrote his most famous work, The Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Sandford Fleming, born in Kirkcaldy in 1827, devised the notion of international time zones, and was knighted in 1897 during Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Gordon Brown, who became Prime Minister in 2007, was born in Glasgow in 1951 but moved to attend Kirkcaldy High School. David Steel, the former Liberal Party leader, was born in Kirkcaldy in 1938.

How Kirkcaldy got its name
Kirkcaldy derives its name from "caer-caled-din", or fort on the hard hill. Its nickname is The Lang Toun (long town) because of its traditional shape, and locals are called Langtonians—author Daniel Defoe apparently described Kirkcaldy as "one street, one mile long".

Things to see and do around Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy town centre is itself a conservation area, and includes the Old Parish Church with its Norman tower, the 15th-century Ravenscraig Castle, 17th-century Sailor's Walk, Kirkcaldy Art Gallery and Museum, the Adam Smith Centre, the 18th-century Dunnikier House, and the 60m-tall St Brycedale Church, which celebrates Kirkcaldy's patron saint.

Sports and leisure in Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is lucky enough to have three excellent parks in Ravenscraig, Dunnikier and the Victorian-era Beveridge Park, the latter host to the Scottish Hot Air Balloon Challenge. Kirkcaldy's swimming pool is located in the centre of the town. There are also many golf courses in and around the town.

Entertainment in Kirkcaldy
The Adam Smith Theatre offers both cinema entertainment and live performance theatre.