Targate Road

Start location: Knockhouse Farm, Berry Law, Dunfermline (NT 069 877)
End location: Milesmark (NT 073 887)
Geographical area: Fife
Path Type: Rural Path
Path distance: 1.2km
Accessibility info: Suitable for pedestrians

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Route Description

This road is fairly straightforward and starts at Knockhouse Farm, formerly known as Berrylaw. It runs north along the east side of a plantation before turning north east through some stables, over the Dunfermline to Alloa cycle path and terminates on the A907. It was signposted by ScotWays some time ago, so these should help people to find their way.

OS Landranger 65 (Falkirk & West Lothian)

Heritage Information

This old road is known locally as the Targate Road. Indeed it is named such on the first edition of Ordnance Survey's 6 inch to the mile map, surveyed in 1853, which also marks Targate Well at NT068877. The road is said to be named after a nearby bellpit; certainly the area around Knockhouse was the Berrylaw Colliery and several Coal Pits are marked thereabouts. By the time the second edition OS 6" map was surveyed in 1895, these same pits are marked as Old Shafts. 

It is also speculated that perhaps this road was distinguished by being tarred earlier than most other roads.

The road is also noted on Sharp, Greenwood and Fowler's map of 1828 and so is of a fair age. It seems to make an obvious alternative road north, running parallel to the Lundin Road and so may have been used to bypass Dunfermline.

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