KY11 8ST

NEIGHBOURHOOD REPORT

KY11 8ST - Crossgates

Crossgates is a village in Fife, Scotland. It is located close to the junction of the M90 and A92, about two miles east of Dunfermline and a similar distance south west of Cowdenbeath. The village name means 'crossroads': it is situated at the point where the main Dunfermline-Kirkcaldy road crosses the old Great North Road from Inverkeithing to Perth.

According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 2,458.

Crossgates has a long history of mining, both deep and opencast. In 2008 ATH Resources opened an opencast mine at Muir Dean to the south of the village, with the intention of removing 2,000,000 tons of coal. Planning permission for the mine was initially refused by Fife Council but the decision was later overturned by the Scottish Government. In April 2011, an application for an extension to the Muir Dean mine was lodged by ATH Resources to extend the surface mine to the south, which was granted. ATH Resources went into administration, leaving an ecological disaster with an uncertain future at the time. The majority of reparation works have now been completed, with the former mine infilled, and the landscape returned to farmland.

Crossgates is designated, via a signpost, as "Fife's first energy efficient village", though there is no evidence for this." [1]

Situated in local authority Dunfermline Central , Crossgates is classed as . Nearest towns are Dunfermline (2 miles away), Cowdenbeath (3 miles away), South Queensferry (6 miles away), with the capital city, Edinburgh being 11 miles away.

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Fife

Sitting between the Firths of Forth and Tay, Fife sometimes feels cut off from the rest of Scotland, or at least has the air of being a bit different. Perhaps this is because visitors approach the area by crossing a bridge and this lends the region a kind of island feel.

Or perhaps it is something snootier - that the region has traditionally been home to generations of Scottish monarchy and it is sometimes known as 'the Kingdom of Fife.' However one thing is certainly worth such plaudits, and that is the landscape of Fife. Described by King James IV as a 'fringe of gold' Fife's coastline is some of the best in the UK with numerous award-winning white and gold sandy beaches and hundreds of tiny fishing villages popping up everywhere you look.

Perhaps this landscape is why it has such a proud heritage and why it was once the center of both religious and secular power in Scotland. Indeed Dunfermline was the chief stronghold of Celtic royalty and in the grounds of Dunfermline Abbey (also known as the Westminster of the North) there are buried 22 different kings, queens and other assorted royals. None other than Robert the Bruce is also buried there, and it holds the shrine of St Margaret.

For such a small region Fife has a considerable number of other historic sites and buildings, from the palace in Culross to Balgonie Castle, from Falkland Palace to Ravenscraig Castle as well as Kellie Castle, St. Andrews Castle (worth visiting for the dungeon alone) and St. Andrews Cathedral. Lastly there is the mystical Dunino Church and Den, site of a former stone circle and featuring a sundial from 800AD.

For those who want to get out and about there are hundreds of parks and gardens in Dunfermline, including the beautiful Pittencrieff Park and the countryside between the city and coast is a mecca for birdwatchers and ramblers, with endless trails teaming with birds and wildlife. Lastly, of course, for golf fanatics there is St. Andrews, the spiritual home of golf set in a beautiful and stunning medieval town.

Where is it?

Nearby Towns