White Craigs

Island in Fife

Scotland

White Craigs

Harbour tunnel The Fife Coastal Path is routed through this small tunnel to the west of Dysart Harbour. — Harbour tunnel Credit: James Allan

White Craigs is a small island located off the coast of Fife, Scotland. It is situated in the Firth of Forth, approximately 2 kilometers southeast of the town of Burntisland. The island covers an area of around 6 hectares and is predominantly composed of rugged cliffs and rocky shores.

The island's name derives from the white chalk cliffs that dominate its landscape, providing a distinctive and picturesque feature. With its elevated position, White Craigs offers stunning panoramic views of the surrounding area, including the Firth of Forth, the nearby town of Burntisland, and the iconic Forth Rail Bridge.

White Craigs is home to a variety of seabirds, including fulmars, kittiwakes, and guillemots, which nest on the cliffs during the breeding season. The island's isolation and rocky terrain provide a safe haven for these birds, as well as a peaceful retreat for nature enthusiasts and birdwatchers.

Access to White Craigs is limited due to its status as a protected nature reserve. Visitors are required to obtain permission from the Scottish Wildlife Trust, which manages the island, before setting foot on its shores. The island can be reached by boat from Burntisland, with guided tours available during the summer months.

Due to its natural beauty and ecological significance, White Craigs is an important site for conservation and environmental protection. It offers a unique opportunity to observe and appreciate the rich biodiversity of Scotland's coastal habitats, making it a popular destination for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts.

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White Craigs Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 56.121013/-3.1265403 or Grid Reference NT3092. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Harbour tunnel

The Fife Coastal Path is routed through this small tunnel to the west of Dysart Harbour.

James Allan

Harbour mouth

Of Dysart Harbour, looking towards Kirkcaldy.

James Allan

Dysart Harbour

The inner harbour dries at low water, but when the tide is high, as here, the small craft are all afloat. The outer harbour is used by a host of pleasure craft and a number of small fishing vessels. The harbour is leased to Dysart Sailing Club.

Bob Jones

Dysart inner harbour

The inner harbour dries out at low water and the craft moored here will all be aground.

Bob Jones

Beautifully renovated housing at Pan Ha' in Dysart

Originally the homes of the salt panners of the 18th. and 19th. centuries.

James Denham

Dysart Harbour

"I came to myself in darkness, in great pain, bound hand and foot, and deafened by many unfamiliar noises. (...) The whole world now heaved giddily up, and now rushed giddily downward; and so sick and hurt was I in body, and my mind so much confounded, that it took me a long while, chasing my thoughts up and down, and ever stunned again by a fresh stab of pain, to realise that I must be lying somewhere bound in the belly of that unlucky ship, and that the wind must have strengthened to a gale. (...) I heard a gun fire, and supposed the storm had proved too strong for us, and we were firing signals of distress. The thought of deliverance, even by death in the deep sea, was welcome to me. Yet it was no such matter; but (as I was afterwards told) a common habit of the captain's, which I here set down to show that even the worst man may have his kindlier side. We were then passing, it appeared, within some miles of Dysart, where the brig was built, and where old Mrs. Hoseason, the captain's mother, had come some years before to live; and whether outward or inward bound, the Covenant was never suffered to go by that place by day, without a gun fired and colours shown." - R L Stevenson, Kidnapped 1886

kim traynor

Dysart Harbour

kim traynor

Dysart Harbour

"But the little fishing towns were generally disagreeable to pass, from the strong smell of the haddocks and whitings that were hung up to dry on lines along the sides of the houses from one end of the village to the other; and such numbers of half-naked children, but fresh-coloured, strong, and healthy, I think are not to be met with in the inland towns. Some will have their numbers and strength to be the effects of shellfish." -- Cpt. Edmund Burt, Letters from A Gentleman in the North of Scotland, 1754

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Harbourmaster's House, Hot Pot Wynd

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Harbourmaster's House at Dysart Harbour

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Storage shed, Dysart Harbour

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Dysart Tolbooth and Town House

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Dysart Tolbooth, High Street

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Dysart Tolbooth tower

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Dysart Tolbooth clock

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Dysart Tolbooth and Town House information panel

The information can be read more easily by clicking the More sizes button and downloading a larger image.

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Houses at Pan Ha'

An 18th-century range of seafront dwellings restored by the Crown Estate Commissioners, the National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Burgh of Kirkcaldy in 1969.

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