A former ferryport in Fife, Kinghorn is situated on the north shore of the Firth of Forth between Burntisland and Kirkcaldy. Created a royal burgh in 1170, Kinghorn's former castle was frequently visited by the Scottish Court, the town's name being included in the title of the earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne and the offices of Constable of Kinghorn and Keeper of the King's Door. During the Middle Ages the town had a hospice for the poor. In addition to its ferry link with the Lothians, Kinghorn developed into a thriving centre of spinning and shipbuilding and is today a popular holiday resort for caravanners.
There are many attractive 18th-century pantiled houses, the 17th-century Cuinzie Neuk, a railway viaduct built in 1847 and Kinghorn Parish Church (1774) with a Sailors' Aisle from an earlier church. To the west of Kinghorn a roadside cross erected in 1886 commemorates Alexander III, the last of Scotland's Celtic kings, who fell to his death from the cliff top here in March 1286.
Kinghorn has a lifeboat station, primary school, leisure centre, football ground, sailing club and 18-hole golf course.
