Riggin o Fife

56°16′N 2°50′W / 56.27°N 2.83°W / 56.27; -2.83

The Riggin o Fife is an upland area of Fife, Scotland which runs eastward from the Markinch Gap and the Howe of Fife to form the elevated hinterland to the coastal villages of the East Neuk. At 290 m, Largo Law is the highest hill, with other high points including Clatto Hill (248 m),[1] Drumcarrow Craig (217 m),[2] Flagstaff Hill (207 m), Kellie Law (182 m) and Hill of Tarvit (211 m).[3][4] The area is rural, populated by farms and hamlets, with a few small villages, such as Largoward and Peat Inn.

Riggin denotes a high ridge, the roof, the backbone, the exposed parts or the watershed.[5][6][7]

William Wilkie, agriculturalist and professor of natural philosophy at the University of St Andrews, conducted successful experiments in moorland farming at his farm at Cameron.[8][9]

From 1898 to 1964, the Riggin was served by the East Fife Central Railway mineral and goods line.

The area lends its name to a pipe jig.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Fife Place-name Data :: Clatto Hill". fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk.
  2. ^ "Drumcarrow Craig | Canmore". canmore.org.uk.
  3. ^ "Fife Place-name Data :: Hill Of Tarvit". fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk.
  4. ^ Taylor, Simon; Gilbert Markus (2012). The Place-Names of Fife, Volume Five. Shaun Tyas. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-907730-08-5.
  5. ^ "Fife Place-name Data :: The East Neuk". Fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk.
  6. ^ "Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: riggin n1 v". Dsl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  7. ^ Scott, Maggie (13 March 2008). Scottish Place Names. Black & White Publishing. ISBN 9781845028220 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Glen, Duncan (1 August 1999). Scottish Literature: A New History from 1299 to 1999. Akros. ISBN 9780861421008 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Bayne, T.W. "Wilkie, William" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 61. pp. 258–259.
  10. ^ "Riggin' O' Fife, The". Pipetunes.ca.
  11. ^ "Sheet music for The Riggin o' Fife" (PDF). Ceolsean.net. Retrieved 2 July 2022.