Burntisland

Burntisland is a port on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, in Fife in central Scotland, with a population of 6300 in 2022. Its west side is industrial and formerly had ship-building, but its east (downriver) is a small seaside resort and commuter town for Edinburgh. Its name refers to an island in the harbour that was long ago engulfed by shoreline development. The usual story is that huts there caught fire, but it could derive from "Burnet's land" a bygone landowner.

See Fife for inter-city routes. From Edinburgh Airport take Bus 747 (24 hours) across the river and change to train or bus in Inverkeithing.

Inter-city trains seldom stop in Burntisland so you need to change at Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket or Inverkeithing. Stopping trains run from Edinburgh (M-Sa twice an hour, Su hourly) via Haymarket (for airport), Inverkeithing (for Dunfermline), Dalgety Bay and Aberdour, taking 40 min. They continue to Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, then either Leven, or Markinch (for Glenrothes) and Perth, or Leuchars (for St Andrews) and Dundee.

56.0573-3.23351 Burntisland Station is near the docks. It has a ticket office staffed M-Sa and ticket machines but no toilets. There is level access to Platform 1 (for Kirkcaldy) and a ramp to Platform 2 (for Edinburgh).

From 1847 to 1890 the world's first ro-ro ferry plied across the Forth between Burntisland and Granton near Edinburgh: railway trucks were shunted on and off the ferry without needing unloading, while passengers walked. It closed once the railway bridge spanned the Forth. Dr Bell of Edinburgh, one of the main inspirations for Sherlock Holmes, once theatrically deduced that a patient had come by this ferry by the nature of the mud on his boots. Much too simple to notice the patient's home address on the case notes and make an obvious inference.

Inter-city buses don't call here. Stagecoach East Scotland Bus 7 runs along the coast from Dunfermline to Rosyth, Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay, Aberdour, Burntisland, Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy and Leven, M-Sa every 30 min and hourly on Sunday. The main bus stop is by the junction of High St and Kirkgate.

From the south cross the Forth on M90 Queen's Crossing Bridge (no toll) and take exit 1C onto A921 eastbound.

The town can be explored on foot. Bus 7 (above) gets you along the coast to Kinghorn and beyond.

Taxi firms are Island Cars (+44 1592 874321), Maginns (+44 7384 475884) and Lee's (+44 1592 871234).

• 56.0594-3.23441 Museum of Communication, 131 High Street KY3 9AA, ☏ +44 1592 874836. Jan-Sep Wed & Sat 11AM-4PM. Telegraph, radio, radar, TV and IT were all found in these parts from their earliest days, with military, industrial and commercial uses.  (updated Sep 2026)
• Burntisland Heritage Trust, 102 High St. This has moved from Burgh Chambers to 102 High Street but the new premises are not yet ready to open. (updated Sep 2026)
• 56.058-3.23232 Burntisland Parish Church, East Leven St KY3 9DH, ☏ +44 1592 872139. Wed noon-2PM, Sun 11:15AM-12:30PM. "What we most need, Your Majesty, is a new Bible." St Columba's Church of Scotland (Protestant) church was the first built in Scotland after the 16th-century Reformation. Protestant church architecture was still feeling its way and this is a very set-square building, a church symbolically founded upon a rock. It was completed in 1594, in a bit of a hurry as the new town walls had left its predecessor "without a city wall", prey to all sorts of marauders. The church has an interesting painted interior, and a gallery so that sailors could tiptoe out whenever tides dictated that they didn't stay for the end of the sermon. (A Presbyterian sermon, so thank God for tides!) In 1601 St Columba's hosted the C of S General Assembly that proposed a new Bible, which King James VI & I supported to create the "Authorised Version".  (updated Sep 2026) ^{[dead link]}
• 56.064-3.23763 Old Parish Church is a 12th-century ruin on Church St, north side of town.
• Town Walls are fragmentary. A gateway stands astride West Broomhill Rd towards Rossend Castle.
• 56.0587-3.240194 Rossend Castle, Melville Gardens KY3 0DF. Closed. This is a 16th century fortified mansion over the site of a 12th century bastion. By the 1970s it had gone to rack and ruin and was likely to be demolished, but a firm of architects converted it into their offices. It's now in different private hands so you can only admire the exterior, but its elegant timber ceiling is on display in the National Museum, Edinburgh.  (updated Sep 2026)

• The Beach: "Award-winning" they say, but the award must be for fuel efficiency because it's spattered with coal. This is natural pollution: there are coal outcrops on the sea bed, so shards continually wash ashore.
• 56.06-3.2275 The Links is the park above the beach, granted to the town by James V in 1541. His ancestor James II banned the sinful game of golf, but in 1502 James IV rescinded this, bought a set of clubs, and took to coming home very late for Sunday lunch in a foul mood with his Pringle sweater covered in burrs.
• 56.0643-3.19996 Alexander III Monument is the spot where that king (1241-1286) was killed, thrown from his horse down a steep embankment, travelling alone on a wild stormy night. It was during Alexander's reign that Scotland ousted the Vikings from the Highlands and Hebridean islands, though it took another 200 years to gain Orkney and Shetland. The monument was built in 1886 by Hippolyte Blanc, the prolific church architect.
• 56.07-3.177 Kinghorn and Pettycur is the next village east, 3 miles along the coast. There are small beaches, a golf course, accommodation and a couple of caravan parks. The trains also stop here.
• 56.0567-3.21048 Black Rocks are more the colour of a decomposing crab. They're a tidal islet out in the bay, reached at low tide by the spit from Pettycur to the northeast, and even then with a bit of sploshing. At other times they're within easy kayak and SUP distance from shore.
• 56.0322-3.13459 Long Craig is the island seen further out. It's half a mile north-south, a rugged sandstone scarp with gun emplacements from the First World War. It's now a nature reserve and landing is not permitted, but boats may approach for wildlife-spotting or scuba diving.

• Burntisland Fairground is on the Links each summer June-Aug.
• Golf: Burntisland House GC (aka Dodhead) is on B923 a mile northeast of town. Kinghorn GC is 200 yards west of Kinghorn railway station.
• The Binn is the hill rearing up behind Dodhead golf course to 632 ft / 193 m. An east-west footpath loops off the coast roads.
• Fife Coastal Path extends from Alloa all the way east beneath the Forth bridges to Burntisland and onward to Anstruther and the East Neuk. To go west, simplest from High St is to head up Lothian St and Kirkton Rd to pick up the trail by Haugh Road. This leads through housing estates then along the railway, eventually ducking beneath the track to come onto the shore path to Aberdour. Going east is only worth doing at low tide, when you can walk along the beach to Kinghorn then trend north towards Kirkcaldy. When the tide's in you have to follow the main road A921; there's a sidewalk but it's a busy boring road. You can walk one way and ride back on the bus or train.
• 56.0593-3.22491 Beacon Leisure Centre, Lammerlaws Road KY3 9BS, ☏ +44 1592 583383. Mon-Fri 11AM-9PM, Sat 8AM-3PM, Sun 9AM-4PM. Local authority-run centre with gym, fitness classes and pool.  (updated Sep 2026)
• 56.0585-3.22792 Divebunker, Lammerlaws Road KY3 9BS, ☏ +44 1592 874380. Mon-Fri 11AM-5PM, Sat 10AM-5:30PM. Dive shack, organises scuba dive trips in the Firth of Forth.  (updated Sep 2026)
• Burntisland Highland Games are held on the Links, third Monday in July. The next are on M 19 July 2027.

• Co-op Food is east end of High St, open daily 7AM-10PM.

Sit-down places are along High St: Burger Island, Gooz BBQ House, Cafe Verde and Arina Meze; plus takeaways.

• Burntisland pubs are The Star, 114 Wine Bar, Golf Tavern and Crown Tavern.
• Kinghorn has The Auld Hoose and Crown Tavern.

• 56.0591-3.23541 Burntisland House Hotel, 81 High St KY3 9AA, ☏ +44 131 538 6523. Basic place, but okay for what you're paying. Double (room only) £75.  (updated Sep 2026)
• 56.0636-3.22152 Burntisland Sands Hotel, Lochies Road KY3 9JX, ☏ +44 1592 872230. Friendly small hotel, most clients are here for the restaurant. B&B double £110.  (updated Sep 2026)
• 56.0651-3.20453 Kingswood Hotel, Kinghorn Road, Burntisland, KY3 9LL, ☏ +44 1592 872329. Clean comfy place a mile east of town, with good dining. B&B double £120.  (updated Sep 2026)
• Kinghorn accommodation includes Bay Hotel and Pettycur Bay Caravan Site.

As of Sep 2026, Burntisland and its approach roads have 4G from Three and Vodafone, and 5G from EE and O2.

• Aberdour is within walking distance, the next village west up the Forth. After Dalgety Bay the coast is industrial.
• Dunfermline is Scotland's medieval capital, with a fine abbey.
• Kirkcaldy and Leven going east are industrial, then the scenery improves as you approach the East Neuk.