West Wemyss

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Every publicly-accessible road, street, lane, track and path in the historic Fife village of West Wemyss

The small Fife coastal village of West Wemyss lies a few hundred meters down a side road off the A955 east of Kirkcaldy. This is the only way vehicles can reach the village and because of this it doesn't receive any through-traffic making it a quiet and leisurely place to visit (or live) - even though the Fife Coastal Path passes through the village and that can get busy at times. The village owes its origins to the Wemyss family who have lived here ever since a castle (more probably a fortified tower) was built close to the site of the present Wemyss Castle sometime in the 12th century. Allegedly, the castle is where, in 1565, Mary, Queen of Scots, met the man who would become her husband - Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley.

Although it is now a quiet village West Wemyss has a long industrial history involving the production of salt by salt panning, and the mining of coal, both of which were exported from its harbour, and the importation of wood, iron and flax from the Baltic countries. In the 19th century this trade went into decline for the village and the use of the harbour declined to the point where, in 1964, the inner harbour was filled in - it is now a public car park and grassy area. There are 24 listed buildings in the village and, in 1985, the entire village was designated as a conservation area. Since then, considerable rejuvenation work has taken place by both the Local Authority and the Wemyss Estates resulting in the picturesque village we see today.

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Where is West Wemyss?

With a population of about 300 West Wemyss lies on the Fife coast four miles or so east of the large town of Kirkcaldy

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