Letham Glen
A Nature & Ancient Sites in East Neuk Villages

Letham Glen is a woodland valley located just off the A911 at the roundabout which directs visitors to the Town of Leven or, the East Fife Tourist Trail. The Glen, offers visitors a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of traffic and urban noise. It provides a formal entrance with car park, floral bedding schemes and sunken garden. In Spring, the cherry trees are a profusion of colourful blooms.The Glen slopes down on either side of the Scoonie Burn and further into the Glen visitors can take a circular walk of aprroximately forty minutes through a peaceful woodland valley setting, or, there are several bridges over Scoonie Burn which offer shorter walks. The old Glen footpath was originally part of a drove road, taking cattle to market. This "Right of Way"; was also used by monks to go to the harbour to collect fish. Letham Glen had an ochre mine - sunk in 1802. By 1830 a lot of yellow ochre was exported abroad as a pigment for paint. Many fishermen's cottages were painted with paint containing yellow ochre dye. The site of the mine can still be identified and the stone wheel for grinding the ochre can be seen in the Glen. There were also coal mines around Letham Glen at Durie, Broom, Sauchenbush and Siller Hole. During the mining depression of 1920 local miners were employed to build an outdoor Swimming Pool where the Sunken Garden now stands. At that time the area north of the Glen was known as "Spinky Den" (Spinky meaning Primroses). In 1925, the land owner, Mr. Letham donated the Glen to the people of Scoonie