A newcomer’s view of Kirkcaldy

Katy recently joined Greener Kirkcaldy’s media volunteer team and is new to Kirkcaldy. In this blog she shares her first impressions of the Lang Toun.

Scotland is beautiful. I know this from trips in the summer, when I loved the late-night sunsets and the many shades of green filling my camera’s lens. However, I chose to move from America to Scotland in December! I was immediately faced with 3:30pm sunsets and a snowstorm that hit the weekend after I moved in. 3:30 feels a lot earlier than the 5:30 or 6pm sunsets from home. So, I watched with great anticipation as we approached the equinox. Last weekend it was warm enough to walk around outside without a jacket on, and I made my way to Ravenscraig Park with my husband and my golden retriever, Alex. We decided to take advantage of the coastal park and my favourite hobby, photography.

Coming from America, I was excited to learn there was a local castle! I mean, I’m from the south, where everything was burned in the Civil War. We think 1850 is ancient. But here there is a castle, and ruins around the park you can just walk around and go up to and even touch. It’s pretty wild, if you think about it.

Ravenscraig Park turned out to be much larger than I thought. I kept expecting to pop out in Dysart Harbour and walk home from there. By the time we gave up and turned around, I was exhausted. We did walk home, but I was very thankful for another major change to my life since moving here – the ability to jump on a bus home if I’ve walked farther than my legs can carry me. There was a bit of a learning curve. The first time I hopped on a train to come from Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy alone, I wound up in Glasgow. Since then, I’ve been afraid of winding up random places on a bus, but now I can navigate Kirkcaldy like a pro.

I’ve loved the little community I’ve found here in Kirkcaldy, especially through places like the Love Kirkcaldy! Facebook group, where I found a yoga class and an affordable hair salon. The fact that there are so many people who love Kirkcaldy that the group sometimes becomes unwieldy makes me happy. This is one of the reasons we chose to move here when we were looking around Scotland.

I’ve jumped in with two feet, and joined aqua aerobics classes at the community gym and art classes through the Fife Council. I can’t imagine myself going back to large city life again after even such a short time living here. It’s such a lovely little place, and I hope that I continue to appreciate it as it becomes my new normal.

Katy de Souza

Media Volunteer