Home Report Leven

Leven is a seaside town of about 9,000 residents in the council area of Fife. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, roughly 8 miles north-east of the town of Kirkcaldy and about 6 miles east of Glenrothes. Leven, along with Buckhaven, Methil and several other nearby smaller settlements form the Levenmouth conurbation with an estimated population of about 37,500 people. Leven takes it name from the nearby Loch and River Leven. Many residents tend to work in the nearby towns and villages of Levenmouth or commute a bit further to Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes.

Leven appears to have had some form of recorded settlement since the 11th century, but the town as we might know it today began to form when in the 1850s the Leven Railway was opened. This linked the town with the Edinburgh – Aberdeen mainline and significantly helped the town become a popular tourist resort, particularly from Glasgow.

Indeed, this continues today. Leven is a busy small town with an economy mostly centred around tourism in or around the town. There are several large caravan parks in the nearby area, in addition to a number of hotels and guest houses. Leven Beach is just one of the attractions that draws visitors to the town. The beach promenade offers lovely views out over the sea and also includes playparks and many other facilities along its stretch. The promenade here is part of the Fide Coastal Path that goes on for approximately 150 miles from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Tay, another reason why many visit or pass through the town. Other attractions include the woodland valley of Letham Glen and Silverburn Park. These parks offer locals and visitors attractive landscaped picnic and recreational areas, including crafts centre and woodland walks, attractive gardens and scenic coastal views.

Golf also draws a significant crowd to the town. Scoonie and Leven Links are the local courses with Lundin Links also nearby. Leven Links is particularly notable as it has been used as a qualifying course for the Open Championship when it is held at St Andrews (only 15 miles to the north).

In terms of amenities, Leven has the typical chain and independent stores you would expect. The town centre is the main shopping centre for other towns and villages because of the number of national chain supermarkets and retailers as well as some award-winning independent local retailers. It also has many quality restaurants and cafes catering to the tourist trade which local residents can take full advantage of.

In terms of transport links, the town is served by good bus links to larger towns like Kirkcaldy and regular express bus services to the pretty resort villages nearby. A new bus station has recently been built in the centre of the town. By road, Leven is linked to Kirkcaldy by the A915 Standing Stone Road and Methil to Kirkcaldy through Dysart and East/West Wemyss. It also has a fast road link to Glenrothes on the A915 that continues on to St Andrews. The town now has a dedicated railway station via the Levenmouth rail link.

As for local schooling, Leven has three primary schools. Mountfleurie and Parkhill and St Agatha’s. For Secondary schooling, Levenmouth Academy is the nearby secondary school. Previously, students would attend either Kirkland or Buckhaven high schools, but these schools were merged to form Levenmouth Academy.