Culross: Things to Do

Summary

Culross is a village and former royal burgh and parish, in Fife, Scotland. It is a popular tourist destination due to its historic ‘palace’.

Culross offers visitors picturesque walks through streets that have remained unaltered for over 200 years in addition to a tour through history in the ruins of Culross Abbey.

The highlights

1: Culross is one of the last remaining still-intact 17th-century Scottish villages. There are very few places like this left in Scotland so a trip to Culross is quite a unique experience.

2: There’s so much history to discover in the village, especially in the palace. Note that Culross Palace tickets are free for NTS members – Click here to join.

3: Culross is just a short drive from Dunfermline which means you can easily include a visit to Dunfermline Abbey after wandering around the village.

Visiting tips

1: Feeling hungry? Visit Bessie’s tea room near the palace.

2: If you have the time take a walk northwest on a farm track to the old West Kirk. It’s a nice walk and opens up a visit to Culross to the lovely Fife countryside. Failing that, heading east will take you past Culross beach and the Preston Island salt pans which is an enjoyable 3.5-mile easy-going coastal trail.

3: Be aware that the palace is closed in winter (1st November to 31st March).

Overview

The historic village of Culross is situated on the banks of the Firth of Forth where it overlooks the (sarcasm alert) beautiful delights of the Forth Road Bridge, the petrochemical works of Grangemouth, and the Longannet power station.

Not exactly what you’d call inspiring views then, so it’s surprising that this sleepy wee hamlet is actually one of the most picturesque villages in Scotland.

Culross has a rich history having been founded in the 6th century and enjoying great wealth from the 16th to the 18th centuries thanks to two exports that were readily mined there – sea salt and coal.

The export of these resources brought in a large amount of money to Culross which is why so many of the buildings in this quintessentially Scottish village are so impressive, most notably the 16th-century ‘palace’ that dominates the centre of it.

Visiting Culross is a bit like stepping into a time machine and it’s easy to see why so many television productions and movies have been filmed there.

Most recently, the ever-popular bodice-ripping TV show Outlander used it extensively during season 1 where it set the stage as Cranesmuir, and the movie ‘Captain America’ used Culross to portray a small Norwegian town.

The reason why the village appears to be stuck in time is that for the last 90 years the National Trust for Scotland has painstakingly restored the old buildings, cobbled streets, and defensive walls back to their former glory, and it’s now one of Scotland’s best preserved villages.

Such extensive renovation work has been carried out because this small village is one of the few in Scotland that has remained unaltered from the days when it was an industrial powerhouse.

You can discover this time capsule for yourself if you head towards Dunfermline in Fife and follow the brown tourist information signs that dot the A985.

Culross is only 10 miles from Dunfermline and should take no longer than 20 minutes to drive from the city so it’s an ideal place to visit after wandering around Dunfermline Abbey, (which you can read about in my Dunfermline Abbey guide) or exploring the attractive coastline near Charlestown.

Tourist information

Once at Culross you’ll find a large car park facing the Firth of Forth which looks out across a railway line (no longer serviced by a train station, unfortunately) where you can see the remains of the original pier that once served as Culross’s main harbour.

It’s worth crossing the rail track to take a look at the pier as you can still see the remains of the 400-year-old stonework at the far end, although it’s a shadow of its former glory having been partially torn down to repair the port at Leith in the 17th-century.

Thankfully though, a series of repairs are now underway and it’s hoped to completely restore the structure in the coming years.

From the pier, you can head towards the village square and two of the highlights of Culross – the ochre-coloured Culross Palace and the Town House.

The palace is actually the former dwelling of Sir George Bruce who owned the once-prosperous coal mines and salt pans, and while not officially a royal residence it was used by James VI in the early 1600s so it does at least have some royal connections.

It’s a stunning building full of tiny rooms decorated with elaborately painted ceilings that are joined by a maze of passageways, but it’s the outside that draws the majority of visitors.

The NTS has done a remarkable job of restoring the 17th-century gardens and in summer the smells of herbs and fruit trees are a real assault on the senses, especially with the salty tang of the crisp sea air blowing in from the Firth of Forth just a hundred yards away.

With the sun reflecting off the mustard-yellow of the palace’s harled walls and the gentle clucking of the resident dumpy hens you could easily be forgiven for thinking you’ve just been transported back in time 280 years to Jamie and Clair Fraser’s Outlander.

At this point it might be a good time to rejoin reality and pop around the side of the palace into Bessie’s tea room which is set inside one of the old storerooms.

The tearoom offers a welcome rest with a fine selection of meals and great coffee, and the prices are cheaper than any of the other Culross restaurants.

Next in a tour of Culross comes the Town House which was built in 1626 and expanded in 1873 with an enormous clock tower. It’s a very grand building and while not quite as statuesque as the palace it’s just as interesting with a small museum, an art gallery, and a local-crafts souvenir shop inside.

I really enjoyed looking inside the Town House as it’s very atmospheric and it’s got a surprisingly interesting history.

In addition to being the former home of the Bishop of Dunblane, it was also used as a prison for condemned Culross witches prior to their execution, with the witches supposedly locked away in a secluded room up in the attic somewhere.

I can only imagine the stories the walls of the building must have to tell and I’d have loved to explore it further, but sadly it’s largely off-limits to tourists.

From the Town House, you’ll follow steep cobbled streets lined with white-harled houses that lead to the village’s Mercat cross – a stone monument that was used for trading cattle and other goods back in the 16th to 18th centuries.

The cross is situated in a jewel of a village square surrounded by tall townhouses and low cottages roofed with a distinctive red slate, and it’s here where Jamie Fraser met Claire after her visit to Geillis Duncan in the show.

That will make absolutely no sense to anyone who’s not a fan of Outlander, but if you are you’ll recognise several of the buildings in this living museum and it’s a must-visit site if you ever decide to do an Outlander pilgrimage.

Once you’ve explored the square you’ll find the final highlight of a visit to Culross – Culross Abbey – up the narrow street of Tanhouse Brae which leads away from the coastline towards the highest point of the village.

The abbey is believed to have been founded in the early 1200s and it’s divided into two very distinct sections, with the medieval ruins on one side and the newer kirk directly behind it.

There’s not much of the old abbey that’s still standing, but it does have a lookout platform that offers amazing views across the Forth, while the pillars of a once-monumental cloister can be found in the grounds just around the corner.

The newer section has more to view and heading inside the kirk you’ll find a collection of beautiful stained-glass windows, monuments and transept chapels, along with a few information boards.

I recommend you take the time to read these boards as they’re quite interesting and they’ve got some fascinating tales to tell, like the fact that Culross is believed to be the birthplace of St. Mungo who later went on to have a shrine devoted to him which over time grew into the city of Glasgow.

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Things to do nearby

1: Culross Abbey. Kirk St, Culross, Dunfermline KY12 8JF. 8-minute walk.
The abbey was built in the 1200s for Cistercian monks but it later joined the parish church in 1560, after which it fell into partial ruin. It is open for public viewing and entry is free.

2: Dunfermline Abbey. St Margaret’s Street, Dunfermline KY12 7PE. 18-minute drive.
Many of Scotland’s great monarchs were laid to rest at Dunfermline Abbey which is now managed by Historic Environment Scotland.

The abbey and surrounding grounds are open to the public which is located close to the eateries of Dunfermline high street.

3: Tuilyies Standing Stones. A985, Dunfermline KY12 8HD. 7-minute drive.
Ancient standing stones with peculiar vertical grooves, the purpose of which is still unknown. Located in Tuilyies Park which is a large recreational public park near the A985.

4: Valleyfield Woodland Park. Dunfermline KY12 8ER. 8-minute drive.
Woodland with nature trails and lots of paths, some of which follow the Bluther Burn, others that join footpaths through open fields.

5: Devilla Forest Trail. A985, Alloa FK10 4AS. 6-minute drive.
A highly-rated forest trail that cuts through Scots Pine trees that are a stronghold for red squirrels. The forest opens up to the north where you will find the Peppermill Dam.

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