Fife doors

Fife holiday 2026 #17

I enjoy creating mini projects as well as narrative photos when I'm on holiday. For some reason I'm always drawn to doors - perhaps because they're both familiar and strangely comforting, whilst also being portals to the unknown. There's generally a wide variety to be spotted, some more cared for than others. So here are six Fife doors! 🤣🤣

Top left, in Crail, had a sign saying 'Bellringer Cottage'. signifying what the original owner's role was. Their house looked directly out to sea towards the Isle of May. If a ship was in distress or shipwrecked, they would ring a bell loudly so the whole village would come and help. These small fishing villages were tight knit communities and their lives depended on it.

Top middle, also in Crail, had a date stone of 1632. It's a listed building but I can't find out much more about it. 

Top right, Downie's Terrace in Crail, built in 1878 by a local farmer specifically to accommodate Victorian summer visitors. 

Bottom left, also in Crail, has a carved relief of a sailing boat above the doorway and some fine stained glass in the door. 

Bottom middle, a cottage called The Sporran in Crail. A sporran, of course, is the traditional leather and fur pouch worn in front of a kilt (since a kilt has no pockets). 

Bottom right, an ornate stone doorway somewhere in Anstruther, with a date stone of 1718. 

Lastly, below, a rather lovely wood carving above a door, said to be St Adrian. St Adrian of May, whose legacy is deeply tied to Crail and the East Neuk of Fife, was reputedly killed by invading Vikings in AD 875. His namesake chapel ruins are located on the Isle of May, while coastal caves linked to him sit just outside Crail along the Fife Coastal Path.