Leven, Fife
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Leven (
Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...
; ) is a seaside town in
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, set in the east
Central Lowlands The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and ...
of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It lies on the coast of the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...
at the mouth of the River Leven, north-east of the town of
Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...
and east of
Glenrothes Glenrothes ( ; ; , ) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making it the third largest settlement in Fife and the 18th most populous locality in Scotland. Glenroth ...
. According to the 2022 Scottish Census, Leven has a population of 10,087. The town forms part of the
Levenmouth Levenmouth is a conurbation comprising a network of settlements on the north side of the Firth of Forth, in Fife on the east coast of Scotland. It consists of three principal coastal towns; Leven, Fife, Leven, Buckhaven, and Methil, and a number ...
conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...
, which has a total population of 37,651.


History

The origin of the name "Leven" comes from the
Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...
word for "flood". The nearby Loch Leven, being the flood lake, was the name given to both the river and town. A settlement is believed to have formed at the mouth of the River Leven very close to the area around Scoonie Brae with the discovery of the parish church of ''"scoyne"''. During the mid-11th century, Bishop Tuadal of St Andrews gifted the church of "scoyne" to the Culdees of Loch Leven. By the end of the 11th century, the village along with the church were acquired by Bishop Robert of
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
following the decline of culdeen faith. The first mention of the current town was made in the middle of the 15th century, according to two separate records referring to the town's name as ''"levynnis-mouth"''. This contained information about the urgent need for repair work at the town's monastery and Georgie Durie, a local estate owner, becoming the keeper at the harbour. In 1854 the Leven Railway opened, linking the town with Thornton Junction on the
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
-
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
main line. This helped it to become a tourist resort popular with visitors from the west of Scotland, and particularly
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Later in the 19th century the Leven Railway became part of a loop line of the
North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...
linking Thornton Junction and
Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; "rushes") is a town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by Nati ...
Junction via
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
. The railway between Leven and St. Andrews closed in 1965. The railway between Leven and Thornton Junction closed to freight in 1966 and passengers in 1969. In 2019 a scheme was approved to re-open the town's railway station. Until then, the nearest station was Markinch railway station. This re-opening occurred on 2 June 2024. The ecclesiastical and civil parish of Scoonie included the town of Leven.


Leisure and tourism

Tourism is a major economic activity in and around Leven. There are several large caravan parks in and around the town, in addition to a number of hotels and guest houses. The neighbouring villages of Lundin Links and Lower Largo have over 50 high quality self-catering properties available for visitors. The coast and the long sandy beaches are the main visitor draw. Leven has an attractive beach promenade with playparks and other facilities including an indoor Kids Action Zone. The promenade is part of the Fife Coastal Path that stretches for over from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Tay. There are also popular family facilities and walks in the large parks at Letham Glen and Silverburn. The former includes a crafts centre and woodland walks, while the latter has attractive gardens and coastal views. Golf is also a major draw with two courses at Scoonie and Leven Links and another within easy walking distance at Lundin Links. Leven Links has been used as a qualifying course for the Open Championship when it is held at St Andrews, the "home of golf" only to the north. There are also numerous
bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...
clubs in and around the town. A heritage railway has also been established near the Burnmill industrial estate, alongside the now disused Leven-Thornton branch line. With trains running along the yard for half a mile, between April and October with a Santa special in mid-December. The Fife Heritage Railway is the first of its kind in Fife since the closure of Lochty Private Railway in 1992. The railway completed its first steam engine in August 2016. Levenmouth Leisure Centre, at the start of the promenade, is an all-weather attraction with a large, modern indoor swimming pool and sports facilities. History enthusiasts can find out about the area's past at the Heritage Centre in neighbouring Methil, only a 15-minute walk from Leven town centre. The town centre is the main shopping centre for a wide area with a number of national chain supermarkets and retailers as well as award-winning independent local retailers. It also has a large number of restaurants and cafes.


Economic activity

Levenmouth suffers from poor connections to the rail and main road network of Central Scotland, particularly since the closure of the last railway link in 1969, which came at the same time as the collapse of coal mining. The knock-on effect virtually sealed the fate of Methil as a major port on the East of Scotland. On 15 June 2021 the transport minister
Graeme Dey Graeme James Dey (born 29 October 1962) is a Scottish politician currently serving as the Minister for Veterans and the Minister for Higher and Further Education since 2023. He served as Minister for Transport from 2021 to 2022, having previou ...
announced that rail services would be reintroduced to Leven and Levenmouth with an electrified dual-track railway. Services were reintroduced on 2nd of June 2024 after £116m of Scottish Government investment linking Leven to the main line at Thornton. However, there are good bus links to the main railhead at Kirkcaldy () and regular express bus services to the pretty resort villages of the neighbouring East Neuk and St Andrews. A new bus station has recently been built in the centre of the town at the foot of the High Street opposite the Leisure Centre. The main road through Fife, the A92, bypasses this area of Fife, the 4th largest conurbation, whereas
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
, Kirkcaldy and
Glenrothes Glenrothes ( ; ; , ) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making it the third largest settlement in Fife and the 18th most populous locality in Scotland. Glenroth ...
all have good road and rail connections. Leven is linked to Kirkcaldy by the A915 Standing Stane Road and Methil to Kirkcaldy through Dysart and East/West Wemyss. It also has a fast road link to Glenrothes on the A915 that continues on to St Andrews. Very little remains in the way of major employment since the closure of the coal mining industry. The major employers now are the drinks manufacturer
Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...
, which has its main bottling plant in the town, and one of the largest distilleries in the world at
Cameron Bridge Cameron Bridge is a village in the conurbation of Levenmouth in Fife, Scotland. It is near to the village of Windygates and west of the town of Leven. A distillery was established in the 19th century by the Haig family, which is now part of Di ...
, near Windygates; and supermarket companies
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
,
Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...
and
Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...
, which trade from large stores located throughout the town.


Education

Currently, the town is home to three primary schools. Two of which are non-denominational - Mountfleurie and Parkhill and the other being denominational - St Agatha's. Parkhill Primary School which serves the centre of the town opened in 1910, initially as an infant school before accepting primary school pupils in 1957. Mountfleurie Primary School, on the other hand, opened in 1957 with an infant department in 1974. The school also has a speech and language class which officially started in 1990. St Agatha's RC Primary School which dates from 1975, following a re-location from Methil, Fife has a catchment area stretching from East Wemyss to
Lower Largo Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links. Largo is an ancient fishing village in the parish of Largo, ...
. For Secondary schooling, most children within Leven will go to Levenmouth Academy. Previously, students would attend either Kirkland or Buckhaven high schools but these schools were merged to form Levenmouth Academy.


Notable residents

* Charles Augustus Carlow (1878–1954) mining engineer and colliery owner * David Gibb (1883–1946) mathematician and astronomer * Professor Alexander Robert Horne (1881–1953) engineer and author * Dr Douglas Haig McIntosh (1917–1993) meteorologist *
Jean Redpath Jean Redpath MBE (28 April 1937 – 21 August 2014) was a Scottish folk singer. Career Jean Redpath was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to musical parents. Her mother knew many Scots songs and passed them on to Jean and her brother, and her fath ...
(1937–2014) Scottish folk singer, educator and musician.


Gallery

Image:Letham Glen Park, June, 2015.jpg , Letham Glen Park Image:Silverburn Scotland June 2015.jpg , Stream at Letham Glen Park Image:Silver Burn Park - geograph.org.uk - 788884.jpg, Silverburn Park, Scoonie Image:Maitland Street, Leven - geograph.org.uk - 474765.jpg, Maitland Street, Leven Image:Leven's War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 474760.jpg, Leven's memorial to the War dead Image:Farmland by Pilmuir - geograph.org.uk - 98561.jpg, Farmland in Leven Image:Aithernie Castle - geograph.org.uk - 186581.jpg, Ruins of Aithernie Castle, Leven


Twin Towns

* Leven is twinned with the German town of
Holzminden Holzminden (; ) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden (district), Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
. * Leven is twinned with the French town of Bruges, Gironde.


References


External links


Leven on FifeDirect

Golf Club

Thistle Golf Club
{{authority control Levenmouth Towns in Fife Mining communities in Fife