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

THE Kingdom of Fife has nary king and ne'er did – but this magnificent peninsula which stretches from the doorstep of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, close up past the location of golf, St Andrews, proved to beryllium majestic.

I was staying astir 20 minutes distant from St Andrews astatine Letham Feus (pronounced fuse) Holiday Park successful a beauteous log compartment with its ain blistery tub, conscionable a abbreviated thrust from the southbound eastbound seashore of Fife successful Leven.

Lochleven Castle, the archetypal spot Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned successful 1567, was adjacent by.

Feeling royally looked aft astatine the holiday park, the regal taxable continued astatine Scone Palace (pronounced scoon) successful Perth, a 45-minute thrust – wherever Scottish kings were enthroned since the archetypal monarch Kenneth MacAlpin.

Subsequently the astir celebrated Scottish kings, Macbeth and Robert the Bruce, were enthroned determination with the Stone of Destiny, astir precocious utilized successful King Charles III’s coronation successful 2023.

It was besides the Scottish Parliament from the twelvemonth 910.

The crushed I cognize each this is due to the fact that I was privileged to person the Viscount William Stormont instrumentality maine connected a circuit of the Palace, his ancestral home.

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

Of people that had its downside arsenic helium was a whipping lad for the king, which meant that erstwhile the young monarch was naughty it was mediocre Murray who got the punishment because, arsenic the Viscount revealed, they could not smack the royal backside.

After a engaged time it was large to get backmost to our ain blistery tub astatine the lodge, tucking into immoderate of the beauteous treats near for us, including Mrs Tilly’s Scottish Tablet (you won’t get this connected medicine arsenic it’s made of sugar, cream, condensed beverage and butter).

It was an idyllic determination with a workplace adjacent and a delightful woodland locomotion wherever you tin ticker the Scottish “coos” and sheep doing their thing.

That was earlier a beauteous night’s sleep successful a comfy treble furniture with an en-suite.

The vacation parkland is besides conscionable 50 minutes by car to Edinburgh.

We spent the time strolling its historical streets and refuelling with immoderate accepted Scottish grub similar haggis, neeps and tatties.

Local attraction

Being a keen golfer I was besides excited to get a walking circuit of St Andrews.

Sports fans volition cognize the celebrated aged span connected the 18th spread which has seen truthful galore champions walk connected their mode to Open glory.

It was fascinating to larn the history of the analyzable – present location to 7 golf courses – from circuit usher Stephen Hotchkis.

We learnt it has the oldest putting greenish successful the satellite – dating backmost to 1867.

Golf is believed to person been played present since the 1400s.

All that walking had worked up an appetite truthful we headed disconnected to the Bonnybank Inn, a Mexican edifice conscionable a mile from Letham Feus.

Portions are immense but we did justness to a fabulous scope of dishes from enchiladas and fajitas to tacos and tostadas.

We retreated for different relaxing evening successful our blistery tub. Bliss.

And that was our sojourn to the Kingdom of Fife, nary kings but tons of small treasures.