My holiday park break in the tiny UK ‘kingdom’ without its own king

THE Kingdom of Fife has no king and never did – but this magnificent peninsula which stretches from the doorstep of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, right up past the home of golf, St Andrews, proved to be majestic.

I was staying about 20 minutes away from St Andrews at Letham Feus (pronounced fuse) Holiday Park in a beautiful log cabin with its own hot tub, just a short drive from the south east coast of Fife in Leven.

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Lochleven Castle, the first place Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1567, was close by.

Feeling royally looked after at the holiday park, the regal theme continued at Scone Palace (pronounced scoon) in Perth, a 45-minute drive – where Scottish kings were enthroned since the first monarch Kenneth MacAlpin.

Subsequently the most famous Scottish kings, Macbeth and Robert the Bruce, were enthroned there with the Stone of Destiny, most recently used in King Charles III’s coronation in 2023.

It was also the Scottish Parliament from the year 910.

The reason I know all this is because I was privileged to have the Viscount William Stormont take me on a tour of the Palace, his ancestral home.

His ancestor was David Murray of Gospertie, who was best pals with King James VI (later James I of England).

Of course that had its downside as he was a whipping boy for the king, which meant that when the young monarch was naughty it was poor Murray who got the punishment because, as the Viscount revealed, they could not smack the royal backside.

After a busy day it was great to get back to our own hot tub at the lodge, tucking into some of the lovely treats left for us, including Mrs Tilly’s Scottish Tablet (you won’t get this on prescription as it’s made of sugar, cream, condensed milk and butter).

It was an idyllic location with a farm nearby and a delightful woodland walk where you can watch the Scottish “coos” and sheep doing their thing.

That was before a lovely night’s sleep in a comfortable double bed with an en-suite.

The holiday park is also just 50 minutes by car to Edinburgh.

We spent the day strolling its historic streets and refuelling with some traditional Scottish grub like haggis, neeps and tatties.

Local attraction

Being a keen golfer I was also excited to get a walking tour of St Andrews.

Sports fans will know the famous old bridge on the 18th hole which has seen so many champions pass on their way to Open glory.

It was fascinating to learn the history of the complex – now home to seven golf courses – from tour guide Stephen Hotchkis.

We learnt it has the oldest putting green in the world – dating back to 1867.

Golf is believed to have been played here since the 1400s.

All that walking had worked up an appetite so we headed off to the Bonnybank Inn, a Mexican restaurant just a mile from Letham Feus.

Portions are huge but we did justice to a fabulous range of dishes from enchiladas and fajitas to tacos and tostadas.

We retreated for another relaxing evening in our hot tub. Bliss.

And that was our visit to the Kingdom of Fife, no kings but lots of little treasures.

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