The East Neuk or East Neuk of Fife is an area of the coast of Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, which is geographically ill-defined but nonetheless stirs local passions.

"Neuk" is the Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 word for nook or corner, and the East Neuk is generally accepted to comprise the fishing villages of the most northerly part of the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

 and the land and villages slightly inland therefrom. In effect, this means that part to the south of a line drawn parallel to the coast from just north of Earlsferry to just north of Crail. As such it would include Elie and Earlsferry

Elie and Earlsferry

Elie and Earlsferry is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven...

, Colinsburgh, St Monans, Pittenweem

Pittenweem

Pittenweem is a small and secluded fishing village and civil parish tucked in the corner of Fife on the east coast of Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 1,600. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,747....

, Arncroach

Arncroach

Arncroach is a small village situated in the East of Fife, a couple of miles inland of the fishing village of Pittenweem and around 10 miles away from the famous St Andrews, on the east coast of Scotland...

, Carnbee, Anstruther

Anstruther

Anstruther is a small town in Fife, Scotland. The two halves of Anstruther are divided by a small stream called Dreel Burn. Anstruther lies 9 miles south-southeast of St Andrews. It is the largest community on the stretch of north-shore coastline of the Firth of Forth known as the East Neuk,...

, Cellardyke

Cellardyke

Cellardyke is a village in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The village is to the immediate east of Anstruther and is to the south of Kilrenny.- History :...

, Kilrenny

Kilrenny

Kilrenny is a village in Fife, Scotland. Part of the East Neuk, it lies immediately to the north of Anstruther on the south Fife coast....

, Crail

Crail

Crail ; ) is a former royal burgh in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.-History:Crail probably dates from at least as far back as the Pictish period, as the place-name includes the Pictish/Brythonic element caer, 'fort', and there is a Dark Age cross-slab preserved in the parish kirk, itself...

 and Kingsbarns

Kingsbarns

The village of Kingsbarns lies on eastern coast of Fife, Scotland, in an area known as the East Neuk, 6.5 miles southeast of St Andrews and 3.6 miles north of Crail....

. At Balcarres, Colinsburgh, is Balcarres House, home of the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres

Earl of Crawford

The title Earl of Crawford is one of the most ancient extant titles in Great Britain, having been created in the Peerage of Scotland for Sir David Lindsay in 1398. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll.The title has a very complex history...

 (family name Lindsay). The boundaries set by local government are the old wards. This means according to this method that Lundin Links to Crail are part of the East Neuk.

However, there is a cachet to being part of the East Neuk, and other villages have laid claim to the address, particularly Lundin Links

Lundin Links

Lundin Links is a small village in Fife, Scotland. The village is best known for its two golf courses. The 18 hole course, Lundin Golf Club, was used as a pre-qualifying course when The Open Championship is held at St. Andrews. Lundin Links Ladies 9 hole course is the oldest woman's golf course in...

, Upper Largo

Upper Largo

Upper Largo or Kirkton of Largo is a village near the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. It rests on the southern slopes of Largo Law and half a mile north of Largo Bay and the rather larger village of Lower Largo...

 and Lower Largo

Lower Largo

Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland situated on Largo Bay on the north side of the Firth of Forth. An ancient fishing village, Lower Largo has gained fame as the 1676 birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.The arrival of the...

. Some disquiet was evident in the fishing villages when a sign was erected outside Lundin Links proclaiming that the passer was entering the East Neuk of Fife.

External links

• Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland, John Keay
• The East Neuk of Fife: Its History and Antiquities, Geology, Botany, and Natural History in General, Rev. Walter Wood, A.M.
• Rick Steves' Great Britain 2008, Rick Steves
• Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Men of Fife, M. F. Conolly 1866