Cairneyhill is a village in West

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland. It is 3 miles west of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

, on the A994, and has a population of around () The village's architecture is a mix of old weavers' cottages and modern suburban housing estates. The village is located north and west of the A985, a major trunk road that provides fast travel by car or bus to the

Kincardine Bridge The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine, Fife, Scotland. History The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, to a design by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Consulting E ...

, the

M90 Motorway The M90 is a controlled-access highway, motorway in Scotland. It runs from Junction 1A of the M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorway, south of the Queensferry Crossing, to Perth, Scotland, Perth. It is the northernmost motorway in the United Kin ...

and the

Queensferry Crossing The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Bridge. It carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburg ...

Forth Road Bridge The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in Central Belt, east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the List of longest suspension bridge spans, longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. ...

. The

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

is located 1.5 miles south of Cairneyhill, which is 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Crossford.

Amenities

Cairneyhill hosts a number of local businesses and other amenities. There are two shops (a local Scotmid and a SPAR containing a post office), a garden centre, a petrol station, a number of housing estates, a guest house (The Maltings), a local pub (the Cairneyhill Inn), a primary school, a Scout hall, and a small industrial estate. There is a golf course, The Forrester Park Resort, which has two restaurants and a driving range. There is also a hairdresser (HB4).

History

The name is Scots language for ''rocky hill'', the village is, in fact, on a noticeable hill. Old maps before 1800 make little mention of the name, the area usually being marked as Pitdinny or Pitdinnie, which is still found in a local farm on the eastern edge, as well as an area of housing in the village. The village grew in the 18th century as a settlement for local weavers and was served by the parish church that was built in 1752 and is still used today. This was a hotbed of

dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...

s and the village was a central point for the religious disputes in Scotland in the early 19th century. There is a small bridge over the Torry Burn at the west end of the village known as the "Conscience Bridge". This name arises from local legend, in which a murderer was caught and confessed to his crime on the bridge and hanged himself. The line of the road has been straightened and widened over the years, with only the original north parapet remaining, but the name of the bridge is carved into a plaque which can be seen by leaning over the wall.

Schools

Cairneyhill is served by Cairneyhill Primary School, which opened in its current location in July 1980 with 110 pupils, and as of 2014 had 372 pupils. It has 11 classrooms over 2 buildings. The Headteacher currently is Fiona Hall. On 8 December 2017, part of the school was destroyed by a fire. All of the pupils and staff were evacuated and there were no injuries.

Burn

The Torry Burn runs through the village. There are seven bridges that cross the burn – four footbridges and three road bridges.

References

External links

Cairneyhill Church website

View a map of Cairneyhill
{{authority control Villages in Fife