The Kingdom of Fife, as this Scottish council area is often called, has a history that one might not expect from its unassuming place in the modern United Kingdom. Its towns are now dwarfed by sprawling cities like Edinburgh and London, but for centuries it was an essential holding of Scotland’s kings and an important hub for international trade.

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Fife was settled very early on, during the Stone Age. The Firths of the rivers Tay and Forth provided these early men with a convenient source of seafood. The first residents were eventually ousted by Celtic invaders who gained their first ground in Scotland along the River Tay. The realm of the Picts was eventually divided into seven provinces after the death of the legendary king Cruithne, and this particular one became known as Fife.

It was later described as a “beggar’s mantle fringed in gold” by King James IV of Scotland. In his time the area’s worth came from its numerous fishing villages and trade routes with merchants in the Low Countries; the interior was largely unused. Many years would pass before the rich farmland and coal deposits of Fife were properly utilized.

Today, the largest settlements in Fife are Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. Dunfermline is home to a large and ancient Benedictine abbey that houses the remains of many a Scottish noble, but for much of the Medieval period the church’s seat of power in Scotland was located in the coastal burgh of St. Andrews. This is where one of the first Christian missionaries to reach Scotland is said to have come bearing the relics of St. Andrew himself.

St. Andrews is the site of a monument to that early priest: St. Rule’s Tower. It’s all that remains of the original cathedral built to house the holy relics; it’s also older than the larger cathedral that sits in ruins nearby. The younger church, the Cathedral of St. Andrew, was built later while the town served as the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland for centuries. With the coming of the Scottish reformation it fell into disrepair and misuse but at one point was the largest cathedral in Scotland.

St. Andrews is also home to some more lasting institutions and customs. The University of St. Andrews was founded in the 1400s and is still one of the most prestigious schools in the British Isles. The town is commonly known, however, as the home of Scotland’s most widespread cultural export: golf. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the organization responsible for governing the sport’s rules, is based here.

Just a short distance away from St. Andrews is Birkhill Castle, hereditary estate of the Earl of Dundee. This castle on the shores of the River Tay estuary was built in 1780 and is now open to the public for events, tours or just a simple visit.