KIRKCALDY (pronounced "kir-coddy"), at a junction of roads from the Forth bridges, St Andrews, the East Neuk and Falkland, doesn't hold a great deal of interest, its charms largely obliterated by overdevelopment. If you're here in mid-April, you'll see the historic Links Market , a week-long funfair that dates back to 1305 and is possibly the largest street fair in Britain. The town's history is chronicled in its Museum and Art Gallery (Mon-Sat 10.30am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; free) in the colourful War Memorial Gardens between the train and bus stations. Since its inception in 1925, the gallery has built up its collection to around three hundred works by some of Scotland's finest painters from the late eighteenth century onwards, including works by the fine portraitist Sir Henry Raeburn, the historical painter Sir David Wilkie, the Scottish "Colourists", the "Glasgow Boys" and William McTaggart. For a town which is known primarily for linoleum production and whose reputation is firmly rooted in the prosaic, the art gallery is an unexpected boon.

The train and bus stations are in the upper part of town - keep heading downhill to get to the centre. For the tourist office , 19 Whytescauseway (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; tel 01592/267775), follow the road for about ten minutes round to the right from the bus station. The tourist office's accommodation booking service is a life-saver; there are few places to stay in the centre, and the layout of the rest of the town is not easy to follow because of the way it falls across the hillside. In the town centre the refined Dunnikier House Hotel , Dunnikier Park, Dunnikier Way (tel 01592/268393, ; £60-70), serves fine local food and is set in pleasant grounds. Otherwise, the Bennochy Bank Guest House (tel 01592/200733; £40-50) offers decent B&B in a relatively central location.