Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Two people work on a curved wooden boat frame in a cluttered workshop lit by hanging lamps, tools and materials stacked along the walls.
Fife

Taran Guitars

A workshop in the East Neuk where Rory Dowling and his team build acoustic guitars and mandolins by hand for players all over the world.

Visit website

Welcome

In a whitewashed farm building at Comielaw, in the quiet country inland from Pittenweem, a small team builds acoustic guitars.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Taran Guitars was started in 2007 by Rory Dowling, who trained in furniture design and making before he fell for stringed instruments, and taught himself the rest.

The workshop is long and bright, lined with benches, clamps and guitar bodies at every stage. Each instrument is shaped by hand from carefully chosen wood, down to the rosette inlaid round the soundhole, and the range runs from the Origin Series to fully custom guitars and mandolins, with models such as the Tirga Mhor and the Feadan.

Taran instruments are played by musicians around the world and sold through dealers across the globe, and the waiting list for a custom guitar can run to years. This is a working workshop rather than a shop, open on weekdays, so it is best to get in touch before calling in.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 9 November, from Scotland with love. an autumn-wooded loch reflected in still water, rocks breaking the surface in the foreground

Before you go

A working workshop, open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm; get in touch before calling in.

Where
Comielaw Farm, near Pittenweem, KY10 2RE.
Founded
2007.
Makes
Guitars and mandolins.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
9am–5pm
Tuesday
9am–5pm
Wednesday
9am–5pm
Thursday
9am–5pm
Friday
9am–5pm
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review

Did you know

Globe pendant lights and paper snowflake decorations hang above an empty restaurant dining room, a yellow banquette and green-tiled wall along one side.
Did you know

A Swiss Army knife.

Rory Dowling's love of wood began with a Swiss Army knife given to him on his seventh birthday.

Three people work at benches in a cluttered woodworking studio, an X-shaped clamp and boat frame visible among the tools and machinery.
Did you know

Self-taught.

Rory trained in furniture making and taught himself to build instruments.

What is on

What is new across Fife, day by day.

New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Fife
01 / 03

Where it is

At Comielaw Farm, inland from Pittenweem near Kellie Castle, KY10 2RE.

Close byComielaw.
  1. Keny Drew East Neuk GlassKeny Drew East Neuk GlassUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. Di Gilpin's Wool HooseDi Gilpin's Wool HooseThe knitwear studio on the same farm.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Turreted stone castle tower with conical slate roofs and stepped gablesKellie Castle & GardenThe castle and rose garden nearby.Under a mile 5 min by road
  4. Timber lodge with covered veranda and hanging flower baskets overlooking open fieldsSt Andrews Farmhouse Cheese CompanyThis award-winning cheesemaker makes its cheeses from the fresh milk of local Friesian cows in the East Neuk2 miles 3 min by road
  5. The front of Craig Millar @ 16 West End in St Monans: its sign above white-framed windows hung with flower baskets, behind a whitewashed wall.Craig Millar @ 16 West End2 miles as the crow flies
  6. BowhouseBowhouseThe food hub between Elie and St Monans.4 miles 6 min by road
Directions
The Wee Chippy on Shore Street, Anstruther, on a sunny day, with people eating at the tables outside its front.RestaurantsThe Wee Chippy2.9 miles
Terraced houses with red pantiled roofs line a coastal lane beside a stone harbour wallAttractionsPittenweem3.1 miles
Golden angel statue against a terracotta wall beside framed pictures and wooden tablesCafePittenweem Chocolate Company3.3 miles
Fifies, FifePittenweemFifiesSleeps 2 · 3.3 miles
The Crow’s Nest, FifePittenweemThe Crow’s NestSleeps 4 · 3.3 miles
An orange leather sofa draped with a sheepskin faces a stone fireplace beneath a timber ceiling, a staircase rising behind.PittenweemThe Old StableSleeps 2 · 3.3 miles
Narrow lane winding past whitewashed houses beneath a sandstone cliff faceAttractionsSt Fillan’s Cave3.3 miles
White harbourside houses along a curved stone wall above the waterAttractionsSt Monans3.4 miles
White boat planted with flowers outside St Monans Welly Boot GardenAttractionsSt Monans Welly Boot Garden3.5 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the workshop, and when each is next free.

A stone cottage with red pantiled roofs and a gabled dormer sits behind a gravel courtyard, an apple tree in the foreground.Maybell Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pittenweem
  • 2 miles from Taran Guitars
Check datesAn orange leather sofa draped with a sheepskin faces a stone fireplace beneath a timber ceiling, a staircase rising behind.The Old Stable
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pittenweem
  • 2 miles from Taran Guitars
Free 14–16 NovThe Crow’s Nest, FifeThe Crow’s Nest
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Pittenweem
  • 2 miles from Taran Guitars
Free 9–12 NovFifies, FifeFifies
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pittenweem
  • 2 miles from Taran Guitars
Free 15–17 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in FifeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here

Read on

What we have written about it and more in Fife.

From the magazineCreatives of Fife
More in Fife

Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .