Kingskettle Coffin Road

Start location: Devon Farm (NO 341 058)
End location: A914 near cemetery, Kettle (NO 313 078)
Geographical area: Fife
Path Type: Rural Path
Path distance: 4km
Accessibility info: Suitable for pedestrians

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Route Description

At the side of the A914, opposite the cemetery, there is a wooden kissing-gate which leads into a field. The route then climbs directly up the face of the hill and past the wood on the left/east. At the top of the hill, a second wooden structure - more a chicane than a gate - leads into a well-vegetated, fenced and walled strip, clearly an old track. This leads to a 4-way junction of routes at NO319073; the going immediately improves dramatically. The route then comes to a T-junction at NO320071 where a gate directly ahead/south leads first into an untended grassy field then into the woods stretching south-east towards the Middlefield cross-roads. In the woods, the route is unclear, though the open spacing of the trees means that one can walk at will - the public road is an easier alternative.  At the crossroads, a signpost reads Public Path to Devon and from there, a grassy tractor-track leads along the side of a wood on the right, with fields on the left. After some 400m, a route branches off on the left/north, but this route continues a further 150m or so to the furthest corner of the wood, where there is a readily-openable gate (NO333066); there is also a stout, X-shaped, wooden stile, supporting a wooden sign reading Working Farm / Please Take Care / Dogs On Leads. The field beyond may not be inviting if in crop, but passage is possible via an uncropped strip along the left-hand side. At the far end of this field (NO334064) is another ‘gate’, possibly a property boundary; here there is again a stoutly-built wooden stile, on the same pattern as before, so passage is not impeded. From there on, a field-side tractor-track provides easy walking; this becomes a stony track on approaching Devon Farm and weaves, by an obvious line, through the buildings and onto a tarred drive leading to the public road. A ScotWays sign is on the far side of the road, pointing west into the farm drive and back to Kettle.

OS Landranger 59 (St Andrews, Kirkcaldy & Glenrothes)

Heritage Information

This old track has the local reputation of being a coffin road - there is a cemetary at its northern end. It was also thought there was a coffin rest on route, but we have been told this is unlikely. It was probably used simply by people travelling from Kennoway in the south or from Ceres in the east to get to Kingskettle. If anyone has any more information they can share about the history of the route, we would be pleased to hear it.

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