Nationals Countdown - What to do if you are not sailing

The Kingdom of Fife has many attractions, and things to do when you are not sailing. As you come into Fife over the Forth Road Bridge you can stop off at Deep Sea world in North Queensferry and get a look at all the creatures that might take a nip at you if you were to capsize. (Not all of them will be present in Largo Bay). Dunfermline has an Abbey, and a museum celebrating the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie, Kirkcaldy has some attractions, however since the linoleum factory closed it no longer smells of linseed oil, it is however the birthplace of the father of modern economics Adam Smith.

Slightly further up the road from the venue is Anstruther, where you can get fish and chips at a well known award winning Chippy, it is also where you can see how they got hold of the fish in the old days at the Historic Fisheries Museum which houses a number of historic boats and models. If you are after some non floating history then further round the coast is “Scotland's Secret Bunker” - an amazing network of secret underground rooms used during the Second World War.

There are a number of nearby castles, including;

• St Andrews Castle
• Aberdour Castle
• Kellie Castle
• Scotstarvit Tower

Further round the coast is St Andrews which has a nice Abbey, and some interesting buildings, chic shops, restaurants and cafes. Apparently some game with balls, sticks and sand is played there, sounds strange to me.

If you are in the mood for some more nautical history, then a bit further round the coast and across the River Tay Dundee has a wealth of old boats (no longer including the Ashes unless anyone wants to take the remains home for a visit) Ships that still exist in Dundee include;

• The North Carr Lightship the only remaining scottish lightship.
• The 46 gun friggate Unicorn
• Captain Scott's ship Discovery that was built in Dundee for his expedition to the Antarctic]]

Finally, if you fancy a bit of gentle hillwalking, the East Lomond is about 10 miles from Largo, is suitable for smallish children upwards and has fantastic views of the whole of Fife and the Forth and Tay estuaries from the top. Rather more challenging is the West Lomond. After a trip up either, stop at the village of Falkland (after which the Islands were named), and enjoy a sandwich or a pint in the cobbled streets. If it's raining, a trip to Falkland Palace is worthwhile. Now a National Trust property it was a Royal hunting lodge and has lots of interesting history and lovely gardens.