The town of Culross, on the Firth of Forth in Fife, is an almost perfect example of a Scottish burgh of the 17th and 18th centuries. Many of the houses are of that period and the crows' feet gables, pantile roofs and narrow cobbled streets are typical of that time. The "Town House" in the centre of the town is particularly fine.
A number of the buildings are now owned by the National Trust for Scotland including the "Palace" (illustrated here). This was built for Sir George Bruce, a wealthy merchant and industrialist in the 17th century. The Palace is particularly attractive both because of the painted wooden ceilings and as the National Trust have filled it with furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries. Unfortunately, as in all National Trust properties, you are not allowed to take photographs inside - but there is a well produced, low-cost booklet produced by the Trust. Beside the Palace is Bessie Bar Hall which now houses a tearoom.
The "Study" was built around 1610 with a projecting "Outlook Tower" with good views acrosss the rooftops to the Forth (seee illustration here). The oldest house in Culross has a date of 1577 on the gable and another has a plate with the inscription "In this spot in 1832 nothing happened". On the outskirts of Culross is an abbey which was founded in 1217. The abbey itself is now a ruin but there is a church which was restored in 1633.
The National Trust site has more about Culross and there is a Feature Article on the Kingdom of Fife, with lots of links to other locations in the county, elsewhere on this Scottish Culture site.
