From Issue Four of Hidden Scotland Magazine

Creatives of Fife

The makers and artists of Fife’s coast and farmland.

Words by Lucy Gillmore · Photographs by Simon Hird

Printed in Issue Four of Hidden Scotland Magazine, Spring and Summer 2022.

The fairytale Kingdom of Fife, just over the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh, is all picture-postcard fishing villages teetering and tumbling down to the sea; the curve of its coastline, fringed by soft, sandy beaches, cradling gently rolling farmland. This is where you’ll find the oldest university town in Scotland - St Andrews - its medieval quadrangles and cobbled streets, ruined clifftop castle and cathedral nudging up to one of the most famous golf courses in the world. So far, so traditional...

But scratch the surface and you’ll find an edgier side. The East Neuk of Fife is also home to a growing community of creatives, experimental musicians and an innovative food scene. Fife is not just quaint, it’s cool.

On Comielaw Farm on the Balcaskie Estate near Crail, forward-thinking owner Toby Anstruther has been instrumental in creating a nurturing environment for a group of artists and designers, converting an old steading complex into bespoke studio spaces. In a separate steading just outside the coastal village of St Monans, he founded a monthly, weekend-long artisan food market called Bowhouse. This site is also the base of Futtle, an organic microbrewery, bar and bottle shop, as well as indie record label, Triassic Tusk, which hosts an eclectic programme of indie music nights and events.