Discover the village of Limekilns.
Limekilns is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, close to Dunfermline and 13 miles northwest of Edinburgh. It was formally the harbour to the Royal town, now city, of Dunfermline.
In the early 14th century it was the port for the royal town of Dunfermline, called Galletts, at the site of the current settlement of Limekilns, this served as the principal port for the royal town which lies a few miles inland. The town gets its name from its 18th century limestone industry, with the lime kilns ruins still found at the nearby Charlestown. Limekilns is a popular historic town and has forty historic buildings listed by Historic Scotland. Limekilns had a large natural harbour, sheltered by the rocky ridge known as ‘The Ghauts’, and had facilities for small transport and cargo ships. From here ships traded with the ports in the Baltic Sea and France until the 17th century when the Union of the Crowns moved the Scottish royal house to London.
The importance of the local limestone in the village’s history, it was used both as a fertiliser and for the manufacture of mortar in the construction of stone buildings. Workings using kilns fuelled by charcoal and later coal to convert lime to quicklime developed the product being exported from the port along the east coast of Scotland. Today, the only tangible legacy of this industry is the name of the village of Limekilns. In the 1750s the lime industry transferred a short distance along the coast to Charlestown, where the ruins of the massive kilns can be seen today. You will get excellent views of the ruins on the Forth Boat Tours Blackness Castle Cruise
For many centuries Limekilns was also the northern connection for a ferry linking it to Bo’ness on the southern side of the Forth. Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Kidnapped’ mentions that it was from Limekilns that David Balfour and Alan Breck were carried across the Forth in a rowing boat.
Soap was also produced from a soap works located near Caupernaum Pier. The ‘Soap Sheds’ still exist and are used as storage facilities. Over the years industrial decline has meant that these industries are now gone, and Limekilns became just another coastal village. New housing developments, during the property boom of the 1970s and 1980s, have increased the size and population of the village.
To explore more local attractions around Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth click HERE.
Blackness Castle Cruise
Blackness Castle Cruise
Enjoy one of the best days out in Scotland. Take in views of the Three Bridges as you have never seen them before. View Blackness Castle (as featured in Outlander and Outlaw King) and known as the ship that never sails. We pass Limekilns village, as mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson’e Kidnapped. It was from Limekilns that David Balfour and Alan Breck were carried across the Forth in a rowing boat.
PLUS ADD THE OPTION OF AN AFTERNOON OR CREAM TEA
