Tour
Newport-on-Tay in north Fife
 Newport
- on - Tay in North Fife was previously named New Dundee
and was regarded as a fashionable place to reside by the
wealthy Jute Barons of Dundee in the 19th century. Consequently
this led to the village of Wormit being established as a
commuter town and rail link between Newport - on - Tay and
Dundee. Wormit also claims its place in history as the first
village in Scotland to be powered by electricity. Today
Newport-on-Tay and Tayport are ideal places to use as a
base to explore North East Fife and Dundee area. The narrow
country roads from Wormit lead to Balmerino with its ruined
abbey, picnic area and wonderful views of the Tay. The Abbey
was founded in 1229 and lies on the shores of the River
Tay and was always a popular ferry crossing for pilgrims
travelling between St. Andrews and Arbroath. In 1559 the
Abbey was destroyed by the Reformers and eventually was
taken under the wing of the present managers, the National
Trust for Scotland, in 1936.
The River Tay divides the north coast of Fife from Angus
and not surprisingly the coastal villages in North Fife
operated a ferry service to and from Dundee. The villages
of Tayport, originally named Ferryport-on-Craig, Newport-on-Tay
and Woodhaven relied on the road, rail and ferry transport
system for their very livelihood. The building of the Tay
Rail Bridge in 1878 caused their very existence to be threatened.
The opening of the Tay Road Bridge in 1966 brought them
back to life again.
Running alongside the modern Rail Bridge are the stumps
of the piers of the first bridge which collapsed in December
1879. That night as galeforce winds tore at the high girders
of the bridge the northbound train set off for Dundee. It
was to be a tragic journey, and as the bridge collapsed,
the train plummeted into the River Tay killing all seventy
five people on board. The new bridge was built in 1887 and
was the longest bridge in the whole of Great Britain. Many
of the victims of the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster are buried
in the cemetery at the small village of Kilmany.
Scotscraig Estate, next to Tayport, belonged at one time
to Archbishop Sharpe who was murdered on Magus Moor. The
golf course at Scotscraig is probably second to none in
the North Coastal area Fife.
Students of place-names will have observed that in this
area, as indeed in the whole of Fife, the names are mostly
of Gaelic origin, little changed phonetically from their
form in the ancient tongue. The reason is that Gaelic was
spoken in Fife long after it had passed out of use in most
adjacent regions.
The drive from Newport-on-Tay, west to Newburgh makes for
an excellent trip. The views of the River Tay, all the way
up to Perth, and across to Dundee are panoramic. The narrow
country road is not for the feint of heart and should be
driven slowly and with great care.Explorers of this area
will find ample reward in Newburgh, with ruins of the once
famous Lindores Abbey, Lindores Loch with its trout fishing,
ruined Ballinbreich Castle, Balmerino Abbey and much, much
more.
Newport is ideally located for easy trips to the St Andrews,
Dunfermline, Culross, Perth, Edinburgh, Falkland Palace,
and all of historic Fife and Perthshire.
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