Leven, Fife

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For other places with the same name, see Leven (disambiguation).

Leven
Scots: Leven
Leven shown within Scotland
Population	8,051
OS grid reference	NO384007
Council area	Fife
Lieutenancy area	Fife
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KIRKCALDY
Postcode district	KY8 4xx
Dialling code	01333
Police	Fife
Fire	Fife
Ambulance	Scottish
European Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Glenrothes
	North East Fife
Scottish Parliament	Fife Central
List of places: UK • Scotland

Coordinates: 56°11′42″N 2°59′39″W / 56.195, -2.994167

Leven is a seaside town in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven. Its population in the 2001 census was just over 8,000. On the coast immediately south-west of Leven are Methil and Buckhaven. The three towns form the Levenmouth conurbation - a small conurbation which had a combined population of just over 24,400 in the 2001 census.

1 History
2 Leisure & tourism
3 Economic Activity
4 Twin Town
5 Education
- 5.1 Primary
- 5.2 Secondary
6 External links

[edit] History

Leven was formerly an administrative Burgh.

In 1854 the Leven Railway opened, linking the town with Thornton Junction on the Edinburgh - Aberdeen main line. This helped it to become a tourist resort popular with visitors from the west of Scotland, and particularly Glasgow. Later in the 19th century the Leven Railway became part of a loop line of the North British Railway linking Thornton Junction and Leuchars Junction via St Andrews. The railway between Leven and St Andrews closed in 1964/65. The railway between Leven and Thornton Junction closed to freight in 1966 and passengers in 1969.

[edit] Leisure & tourism

What remains of the tourist industry in this area probably revolves around golf. Leven boasts two golf courses, Scoonie and Leven Links - the latter being used as a qualifying course for The Open when the tournament is being played at the Old Course at St Andrews. There are also several other good golf courses in the surrounding area notably Lundin Links, Elie and Crail.

[edit] Economic Activity

The area now becoming known as "Levenmouth" is a virtual backwater and in desperate need of regeneration. Levenmouth suffers from poor connections to the rail and main road network of Central Scotland, particularly since the closure of the last railway link in 1969, which came at the same time as the collapse of coal mining. The knock-on effect virtually sealed the fate of Methil Docks as a major port on the East of Scotland. There has been a number of unsuccessful attempts to restore a passenger rail connection to Leven, but as yet no progress has been made. The main road through Fife, the A92, bypasses this area of Fife, the 4th largest conurbation, whereas Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes all have good road and rail connections. Leven is linked to Kirkcaldy by the A915 Standing Stone Road and Methil to Kirkcaldy through Dysart and East/West Wemyss.

Very little remains in the way of major employment since the closure of the coal mining industry. The major employer now is the drinks manufacturer Diageo which has its main bottling plant in the town, and one of the largest distilleries in the world at nearby Windygates. There is hopefully some light on the horizon in the proposed Fife Energy Park (this is operating now 2008, they produce wind turbines) which is to utilise the former oil-rig building yard in Methil which was itself built on the former Wellesley Colliery. On the North side of the Forth, there is talk of starting a ferry service to Edinburgh, and this may help to revitalise the area and increase house prices which at the moment are among the lowest in Scotland.